Declutter Vases & Flower Pots {15 Minute Mission}

Today's decluttering mission is to declutter vases and flower pots.

This seems like the perfect mission for spring, since flowers are finally starting to bloom!


We often accumulate those cheaper vases you get from the flower shop when a bouquet is delivered on holidays and special occasions such as Mother's Day, birthdays, anniversaries, or just because.

If you only have a few vases, and you use them consistently, this isn't really the mission for you, since I'm not saying to get rid of all of them!

But for many of us those cheaper vases that I mentioned above begin to accumulate over time. You need to be realistic and know that there are just so many vases you can use at one time, so having a whole lot of them isn't worth the space they take up.

Decide how many you will keep, keeping in mind both the space available and how often you really will use these vases, and how many you could practically use at once.

The prime suspects to declutter are inexpensive ones, ones you don't like, or any above the number you've chosen as being a reasonable amount to keep.

Below I've provided some inspirational pictures from readers who've done this mission, including a few ideas for where to donate these vases, if you're stumped, and also a few alternate uses for them around your home beside for holding flowers.

Top photo courtesy of julie

Clearing Out My Cabinets Makes Things Easier To Find

A reader, Fiona, sent in the photo above showing off the before and after of the kitchen cabinet where she held vases, along with several other types of items.

She said, "I did the tea/ coffee shelf and the one above which has jugs and small vases. Now that my eldest daughter has started drinking tea and coffee we need more space. It's not easy to see much difference from the before and after pics but believe me getting rid of stuff from the back of the top shelf has made it all much better."

Similarly, here's another before and after photo set, sent in by a reader Mardi, after working on this mission.


Mardi said, "It is a tribute to my husband that I had 25 vases in the cabinet — a result of the flowers he has sent to me for various occasions.

I forgot to take a before pic, but here is what I took out of the cabinet, and the after. I’m noticing a pattern — I never get rid of as much as I should. I could still cut what I keep by at least 50%, but for me it’s a big step to get rid of anything!"

Great job Mardi! I'm proud of you for what you've accomplished!

Ideas For Places To Donate Vases Or Ways To Repurpose Them

If you've found yourself with too many vases to actually realistically use regularly, you've got a couple alternatives, the main two being donation or repurposing. Here's ideas below for what you can do with your excess vases.

Possible Places To Donate Vases

As with most decluttering projects, one of the easiest ways to get rid of your clutter is to donate it, hopefully to someone who will appreciate it and be able to use it.

As always, you can donate vases to thrift stores who can then give them to those in need, or resell them.

But there are other more creative places to donate as well, and I know it can feel good to give something to someone that can really appreciate it.

Think about what places get a lot of flowers delivered, but perhaps not with vases. The two that come to my mind include hospitals and nursing homes. When someone gets a bouquet without a vase having some extras on hand can be helpful.

Always check first though before dropping off any donations to such places to make sure they can actually accept and will appreciate them.

Another creative idea mentioned by several readers who've already done this mission is to just give some of these vases back to your local florist. It cuts their cost, and is the ultimate in reusing since obviously floral shops do often deliver their orders in vases.

I'd love to hear even more ideas from you below, in the comments, about places to donate these objects.

Ideas For Repurposing Vases Around Your Home

Obviously vases are designed to hold flowers, which are typically long and thin. That means you can often use vases in your home for storing or organizing other objects that have basically the same shape.

Most of these ideas work better with smaller vases, because the taller the vase the less likely you can find objects long enough to actually fit without just being engulfed.

But that being said, often people will use a pretty vase as a utensil crock to hold frequently used cooking utensils close to the stove. In fact, that's exactly what a reader, Rolonda did when she did this mission, and she sent in this photo to the right. She said, "And here's the vase I'm using to hold my cooking utensils. I can't wait to declutter my cabinets and drawers next!"

Similarly, you could use a vase to hold your makeup brushes in the bathroom or on your vanity, or in your home office to hold some pencils and pens.

Another reader, Linda, used her old vases for displaying sentimental collectibles. She explained, "Tossed out broken vases! I was taking cracked vases and 'repurposing' them to hold/display the various pebbles/stones/rocks gathered up by my son and gifted to me over the years! Since the vases were not going to be able to hold water for flowers, thought this would be another use. This mission gave me pause for thought, should one of the cracks give way, what a mess that would be of broken glass. I replaced the vases with intact ones, the others are in the recycle bin. As I come across broken items will be realistic on if it's actually repairable/safe to repurpose."

Here's the photo she sent in:



I'd love to hear more ideas from you below, in the comments, for ways to repurpose and reuse vases so they don't go to waste. After all, you may not get flowers too too often, but if you really love a vase you might discover a way to have it out on display basically all the time so you get to enjoy it more!

Are You Ready To Declutter Your Home?

I hope this mission has inspired you to remove excess clutter from your home.

When you begin to declutter the feeling you get is contagious, so if you're loving the results you're getting I would encourage you to keep going.

I've got a whole series of 15 minute decluttering missions (eventually 365 of them!) that you can do.

Just pick and choose the ones you want to do, that will make a big impact in your home. But if you want someone else to tell you the order you can also grab the 15 minute daily decluttering mission calendars and follow along as we all get our homes clutter free together!

Top photo courtesy of abbybatchelder

Related Pages You May Enjoy

Getting Clutter Free 15 Minutes At A Time Hall Of Fame

Free Printable May Declutter Calendar With Daily Missions

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