25 Things It's Time To Get Rid Of
Are you fed up with clutter? Are you feeling a bit defeated? Maybe you just don't know where to start. I will provide you with a list of things you can immediately eliminate from your home.
25 Things It's Time To Get Rid Of
1. Expired food in the refrigerator: Expired food needs to go. Grab a trash bag and start tossing. You will be surprised at how much room you now have in your refrigerator.
2. Expired Food In The Freezer: Most of us, if we look through our freezer, will find a few outdated things that need to be tossed away.
3. Expired food in the pantry: Once you toss the expired or forgotten items, it will be easier to organize.
4. Hotel Freebies: If you have stayed in any hotels, you probably have those little bottles of moisturizer and shampoo the hotel supplies for you. If you didn't use them during your stay at the hotel, what makes you think you will use them at home? Toss them.
5. Makeup: Most of us keep old makeup and things we bought and never used. It's past time to declutter the makeup. When buying something new, remember to toss out the old stuff.
6. Hair products: We buy hair products to try, but if we don't like or use them, we leave them in the cabinet. Why? Probably because we paid good money for them and we might use them in the future. If you haven't used them in a few months, chances are reasonable; you never will. Trash them!
7. Old Electronics: Many of us have a basket or box filled with old tablets, old cellphones, and misc chargers and cords. And don't forget the shelves filled with VHS tapes. Something tells me that we probably have not even glanced into that basket of discarded electronics or even thought of watching an old VHS movie. Most of us no longer have a VCR. Check with your local recycler and find the best way to dispose of old unusable electronics.
8. Vases: If you have been on the receiving end of floral arrangements and vases of flowers, you probably have a few too many vases sitting around somewhere. Pick a couple of favorites and give them away or donate the rest.
9. Old Spices: How often have you tried out a new recipe and had to buy some spice you didn't have and maybe never heard of? So you make the recipe and never use that spice again. It gets shoved to the back of the spice cabinet along with other seasonings you rarely use. It might be time to start cleaning out the old spices. Make some room for the things you do use regularly.
10. Pens And Markers That No Longer Work: Have you reached for a pen and found that it no longer works?
Annoying. Take a few minutes and check your pens and markers to ensure they all have ink. If not, you know the drill. Trash them.
11. Plastic Storage containers: We all have lids with no containers and containers with no covers. It's just one of those unexplained phenomena. Those unpartnered plastics can go in the recycle bin.
12. Lonely Socks: Why do we hang onto socks with no mates? And what happens to those lost socks? It truly is a mystery.
13. Old Receipts: Receipts are usually shoved into your purse or tossed onto the kitchen counter—time to gather them up and get rid of them.
14. Old Expired Medication: Old expired medication needs to be correctly disposed of. GoodRxHealth has some tips for doing just that.
15. Plastic Grocery bags: We tend to get overrun with plastic grocery bags. Despite my best efforts to remember to take my reusable cloth bags, I occasionally forget them. But the good news is that we can return them to many stores for recycling.
16. Costume Jewelry: Have you looked through your costume jewelry lately? I have, and boy, I had a bunch of junk. I sorted through it all and tossed a bunch in a box for donation. Someone may appreciate it. Little girls would probably enjoy playing with it.
17. Old Planners: I am guilty of having a drawer full of at least 6-8 years' worth of planners. They are now in the trash. I realize, of course, that they do come in handy if you need to look back to check the date of something. But 6-8 years is just too much to keep.
18. Old Greeting Cards: It always seems a shame to toss out a greeting card someone sent you. I save those more sentimental to me in a pretty decorated box. Sadly, it is just impossible to keep every card you receive.
19. Old Home Decor: If you have redecorated, you probably have some decor items you had to store somewhere. Do you think you will ever use them again? If not, get rid of them. Sell them and make some money or donate them.
20. Dishes You Don't Use: Take stock of the dishes in your cupboards. Are there some you hardly ever use? Maybe never use? It sounds like a good time to make some room in your cabinets and do a little organizing. Box them up and donate them.
21. Plastic Take-Out Silverware And Condiments: You take a trip through the drive-through for some fast food or stop and pick up some Chinese food. You get plastic utensils and maybe some ketchup or salt packets with that food. But you take your food home, grab some silverware out of the drawer, and settle in to eat. And if you use ketchup or salt, you use what you already have in your cupboards. Those packets get tossed in a drawer.
22. Clothing You Never Wear: Time to purge your closet and get rid of all the clothes you no longer wear. I know it's painful to look at your clothes and consider getting rid of them. But if they don't fit or you haven't worn them in two years, I think it might be time to donate them and let someone else enjoy them. But it's your call.
23. Small Appliances You Never Use: We have all bought the latest new kitchen appliance, thinking it was something we couldn't possibly live without. We just knew that we would use it all the time. And now our ice cream maker, pizza oven, or maybe our bread maker sits lonely and unused. Sell them or donate them. Make room for the next small appliance that comes our way.
24. Mail And Junk Mail: It seems like mail anymore is mostly junk. But whether it is junk mail or old mail and sales papers cluttering up your space, it's time to shred it or toss it. The best thing is to sort and toss as you look through it.
25. DVDs: I know everyone has their favorite treasured movie favorites. But in today's world, many are available to stream. So you might want to start streamlining your movie collection and have some extra space for other things.
You might want to tackle this list one day or once a week. Whatever works for you. But when you have finished, you will have done a great declutter of your space.