Being unable to directly delete lists on Trello annoys the neatnik and engineer in me. Yes, you can archive them, but it’s not the same- sometimes you just want things deleted (for example when they’re created by mistake, as opposed to just being not relevant to your board anymore).

Here’s a very easy way to actually delete lists:

1. Create a new board and call it “To Delete” (you can call it anything you want really, I just call it that to make it a bit more obvious).
2. In the title bar of the list you want to delete, click the ellipsis / … / three dots and select “Move List”
3. Move the list to your newly created “To Delete” board.
4. Go to the “To Delete” board and select “Show Menu” (if it is not already visible on the right side of the Trello window/screen.
5. Select “More” in the board menu.
6. Select “Close Board” in the “More” menu then click the “Close” button to confirm.
7. You will then be presented with a “To Delete is closed” screen- click the “Permanently Delete Board” option then click the “Delete” button to confirm.
8. All done!

Have a number of lists to delete? Move them all to your “To Delete” board first, then delete the board.

One caveat: not sure if this works on the mobile version, but you can always do it in the desktop app or the web version.

Enjoy your newly empty archives 😀