Springtime is just around the corner, and if you’re like me, that means you’ll soon be feeling the itch to clean, organize, and declutter your home! Spring is the season of fresh starts and new beginnings, so it’s a great time to tidy up your surroundings for a cleaner and more comfortable home!
But as it is with many of life’s unpleasant tasks, the hardest part of decluttering is getting started. In order to give us all a nudge in the right direction, I’ve put together a list of 30 household items that you can get rid of today! (Or as soon as you finish reading this post, that is!) ;-)
If you’ve been procrastinating some much-needed decluttering work, this list makes a great place to start. Once you’ve addressed these items, at the very least you’ll have made some major headway toward a less cluttered home, and you might even be ready to turn your attention to cleaning or organizing!
Oh, and one more thing—the phrase “get rid of” is purposefully vague here. You should always try to donate what you can (whether to a charitable organization or to someone you know), and you can always sell things for extra cash too!
For the items you can’t donate or sell, try to recycle wherever possible. (For more helpful tips about recycling, check out these 25 items you may not know you can recycle!)
30 Things You Should Get Rid Of Today For A Less Cluttered House
1. Office Supplies
Wherever you keep office supplies in the house, go through them and throw away any dried out pens and markers. If you have a bunch of extra pencils or sticky note pads, store them in a separate drawer or basket to keep the area less cluttered.
2. Old Gadgets
Get rid of old cell phones, broken electronics, and outdated gadgets. Any unused gadgets are just taking up space, and you may even able to get some cash if the items are in relatively good condition by taking them to an ecoATM!
3. User Manuals
While user manuals contain a lot of useful information, they’re also bulky and can take up a lot of space depending on the size of your collection. Take some time to track down and download a digital copy of each of your owner’s manual and user guides. Once you have them saved on your computer, you can recycle the paper manuals and free up some valuable space!
4. Extra Cables And Chargers
Designate a central charging station in your house. Then you’ll be able to get rid of extra cables and old chargers that may be cluttering up outlets around the house.
5. Unused Or Incomplete Board Games
Check your board games and decks of cards to see if anything is missing. Get rid of anything that’s incomplete or unplayable, as well as anything you haven’t played in ages.
6. Gift Wrap
Check your wrapping paper and other gift wrap supplies. Get rid of anything that’s wrinkled or torn, and any rolls of wrapping paper that may be too short to be of use.
7. Unused Linens
If your linen closet is overflowing, get rid of blankets, sheets, and towels that you don’t need. It’s smart to keep an extra set of clean linens on hand, but no one needs eight spare sets of sheets!
8. Old Remotes
Do you have any old remote controls lying around that you’re not actually sure what they control? If the remotes for all your important electronics and appliances are accounted for, go ahead and get rid of the others.
9. Unused Seasonal Clothing
Seasonal clothing can take up a lot of space, especially bulky winter clothes. Go through your collections of seasonal clothing and set aside anything that wasn’t used in the past year.
10. Utensil Drawer Clutter
After taking the inventory of my utensil drawer recently, I realized that I have two can openers, a set of measuring spoons who’s measurements are now illegible, and a few odd-sized spoons that I’ve never used. Utensil drawers can get cluttered up fast, so get rid of unused or unwanted items in your utensil drawer to free up some of that space.
11. Old Travel Guides
Travel guidebooks that are over a few years old are sure to contain some amount of outdated information at this point. So get rid of those old travel guides and search for up to date information online.
12. Flower Vases
“Do you really need eight different vases for flowers?” I asked myself, after discovering that I did indeed have eight different vases in my possession. The answer is clearly no. (Unless, of course, you are currently being courted by several gallant suitors, in which case you may keep up to one vase per suitor.)
13. Old Makeup And Toiletries
Check your makeup for expiration dates, and toss out anything that’s expired, an old shade you don’t use anymore, or that you’re just never going to wear. And be sure to donate any mini toiletries if you won’t use them (or turn your collection of mini bar soaps into hand soap!)
14. Reference Books
You can access dictionaries, thesauruses, maps, and atlases instantly from your phone or computer. So if reference books are taking up a chunk of your bookshelf, get rid of them and reclaim that space!
15. Take-Out Menus
One or two take-out menus or local business cards are fine to keep on hand, but there’s no need to devote valuable storage space to a big stack of them! You can usually find take-out menus and information about your favorite local businesses on their website or social media channels.
16. Old Cleaning Supplies
Gather your most used cleaning tools and supplies into a caddy, and then get rid of anything else you don’t really use.
17. Old Keys And Keychains
Lighten up your keychain by removing keys you can’t identify and keychains that have seen better days.
18. Old Paint
Latex paint can last for several years if properly stored, but it can also go bad if it isn’t. If you have old cans of latex paint stored somewhere, check to make sure that it smells normal and that it blends together easily when you stir it. If it smells off or looks lumpy, get rid of it responsibly.
19. Expired Medications
After going through my medicine cabinet, I realized I had several bottles of expired vitamins, allergy medicine, and ibuprofen taking up space in there. If you have any expired or old medications to get rid of, be sure to dispose of them safely.
20. VHS Tapes
Do you still have old VHS tapes lying around somewhere? Unless they’re keepsakes or you watch them regularly, those tapes are just too bulky to justify keeping.
21. Phone Books
In the age of the internet, phone books are far from necessary for tracking down phone numbers. If you have any old phone books tucked away somewhere, recycle them.
22. Unmatched Socks
Socks that have lost their partners can be reused as a mop head for your Swiffer, or you can fill them with baking soda and use them to eliminate odor and moisture from smelly shoes.
23. Old Glasses
Old prescription eyeglasses can be donated to the Lions Recycle For Sight Program. Collection boxes can be found at many eyeglass retailers and vision centers, or you can learn more at lionsclubs.org.
24. Old Air Fresheners
Throw out any old and dried out potpourri, empty plug-in air fresheners, and stubs of old candles.
25. Extra Reusable Shopping Bags
When I gathered all of my reusable shopping bags, I realized that I had more of them than any one person could ever need or use! Go through your house and collect all the totes and shopping bags you can find, pick out your favorites, and get rid of the rest.
26. Old Instruments And Sports Equipment
Many garages turn into a holding facility for instruments and sports equipment from past eras. If it’s been years since someone has actually played that French horn or used that lacrosse stick, find them a new home with someone who will get some use out of them!
27. Unworn Dresses
Sitting on a dusty collection of old dresses that don’t get worn? Gather up those old bridesmaid dresses, prom dresses, dance costumes, and other unworn attire and donate it.
28. Old Schoolwork
Your children’s schoolwork can be a great keepsake, but there’s no need to keep every single piece of it. Keep the stuff that makes you proud and the stuff that makes you laugh, and get rid of the papers that aren’t as meaningful to cut down on bulk.
29. Lidless Containers (Or Container-less Lids)
I’m all for keeping and reusing all different types of containers, but I try to make sure that each container has a lid and that each lid has a container. Go through your food storage containers and up-cycled container collection and pair the lids and containers. If some don’t have matches, get rid of them.
30. Unused Kitchen Appliances
Save some space on the kitchen counter by getting rid of appliances you never use.
Whether it’s this week or in the coming months, carve out a few hours to address the items on this list and clear out some clutter. You and the people you live with will surely be glad you did!
Looking For More Decluttering Tips?
- Addressing the items listed above is a great place to start your decluttering efforts, but it may not cover everything! Get specific tips about decluttering your home room by room here:
- 9 Things To Get Rid Of In Your Closet
- 6 Things To Get Rid Of In Your Pantry
- 7 Things To Get Rid Of In Your Bathroom
- 11 Things To Get Rid Of In Your Kitchen
- 7 Things To Get Rid Of In Your Garage
- 5 Things To Get Rid Of In Your Bedroom
Do you do any decluttering during your spring cleaning?
No comments:
Post a Comment