Did you know you don’t have to wait until spring to do a little spring cleaning?
Lately, I have been finding myself throwing little things away, and it’s making a huge difference in my decluttering, in my organization, in my mental health, all the above.
But these are the things that I’ve never regretted throwing away before. Ready?
The Bridesmaid Dresses
Always the bridesmaid, never the bride. Why do I hang on to these dresses when I only wore them once, right? They take up a lot of space. Feel free to go ahead and donate them with zero regret.
Every Broken Umbrella
Why do I hang on to broken umbrellas? Is it me, or is it more or less my children that don’t want to give up these things? If the umbrella is broken and it doesn’t work, they’re so affordable that you can just throw it away. Go get a new one.
The Lids With No Containers
Oh, let me count the ways. My container drawer, my Tupperware drawer I mean, there’s got to be a little elf in there somewhere stealing the lids, right? So it’s not a bad idea, and it doesn’t take too much time, to get into your container drawer and figure out which lids fit which containers. And anything else, throw them away. What are you hanging on to them for?
Pens That Do Not Write
I have a serious pen and pencil collection. However, even I know that if it stops writing, don’t stick it back in the cup with the others. If it doesn’t write, throw it away. Pens are cheap enough. You run out of pens because they’re all dead? Go buy a new pack.
The Takeout Menu Drawer
If you save takeout menus like me, I have a drawer full of them. And why? I don’t know. I really don’t need them anymore. I mean, everything is right at my fingertips on my phone.
The Sauce Packet Collection
Oh, the dreaded sauce packet collection. Now, this is one thing that I struggle throwing away, just because I love all the different sauces from all the different restaurants. And I will be the first to admit, I have a problem collecting these things. But every now and then, when I know that I haven’t touched them in a long time, I’ll just go in and grab a handful of them and throw them away. Get rid of them.
Expired Medicine
Old prescriptions, over-the-counter cough syrups why do we hang on to these if they’ve expired? Again, you have your phone at your fingertips, you can order for delivery, or there’s plenty of stores around that now sell all kinds of products like these, where you can get medicine that’s not expired.
College Textbooks
Why do we all insist? Is it because we spent money on them? Maybe. That’s part of the reason why I hold on to mine. But in reality, I don’t think I’ve touched them since graduating. Feel free, throw them away or if you don’t want to throw them away, donate them. All kinds of thrift stores will gladly take them, and other people will be so thankful if they come across one of your college textbooks in a thrift store that they can take and learn from and get their own degrees.
Movies With No Machine to Play Them
Raise your hand if you still have a VCR. Raise your hand if you still have a DVD player. These are outdated. Throw them away, especially if you have a smart TV now and it doesn’t even connect to your old devices. Throw them away or donate them, or have a yard sale. LOL.
The String Lights That Half Work
Half-working string lights, broken string lights, are a major thing around my house. I love to get the frost white ones for Christmas, the small bulbs, and hang them all on my back patio. I spend a lot of time on my back patio. But to be honest with you, I need to replace half of them right now. So I’m going to do that right after I write this article, because I need to take action.
Old Paint Cans
What are you using them for? Are they really giving you a purpose? Do they have hazardous waste in them, or are they just empty? They’re empty? Throw them away. If they have paint in them still, look it up on Google your local places you can find a place that you can take them and drop them off. Get rid of them. They’re taking up space.
Scratched Nonstick Pans
Now, don’t get me wrong. Backup pans are always good to have, but if they have scratches on them, what are we really doing? They can ruin your food, and they’re not really backup pans anymore if they’re ruining your food.
Stretched-Out Hair Ties and Old Headbands
Listen, if you collect them like I do long-haired girlies, where you at? Keep 10 good ones and dump the rest. You can buy them in large packages, either online or at a regular store. They’re everywhere. Get rid of the old ones that make no sense anymore. Why are you holding on to them?
The Bras That Never Fit Right
Listen, us girls, as we get older, we gain weight, we lose weight, we gain weight, we lose weight. If the bra doesn’t fit you anymore, get rid of it. Why would you walk around in an uncomfortable bra? Despite the cost, if it’s uncomfortable, it’s only hurting you.
Shoes That Hurt
Listen to me. If they hurt your feet, donate them. Point blank and period. Stop wearing shoes that are painful. They cause so much more problems in your lower back, in your legs, in the way you walk, et cetera.
Clothes in Three Different Sizes
Time to go through your clothes. I just did this with my son because he’s starting school again and he has grown out of all of his old clothes. Take the advice, go through them. If you have 10 black shirts and they’re all in multiple sizes, figure out which ones fit you and donate the rest.
Planners From Years Gone By
Outdated planners. Listen, unless they have sentimental notes in them that you want to keep and hold on to, throw away your old planners. Why are you doing that?
The Souvenir Shot Glasses
Now, some might say that no, these are collectible items. However, if you’ve grown out of that era of taking shots, then why are you hanging on to them? As a memento? Okay. But if they’re cluttering your cabinets and you don’t use them anymore, maybe it’s time to go ahead and let them go.
Free T-Shirts From Events
You know, nothing’s wrong with holding on to a couple of these, but only a couple. If you have multiple free event t-shirts, get rid of them. Donate them. Keep a couple of them for, you know, odd jobs like painting a room or something down the road.
Phone Cases for Phones I No Longer Own
Why? Why do we do this? Why do we hang on to our old cases? Phones get updated every few years on average. If you’re not using that phone anymore, throw away the case that goes with it.
Puzzles and Games With Missing Pieces
You know what’s funny? It’s trash day at my house today, and I actually just threw away a bucket full of old games and puzzles that I know all the pieces are not there. Very refreshing. You only want to keep complete sets anyways otherwise, what’s the purpose?
Expired Coupons
Get in that junk drawer and get rid of expired coupons. You didn’t take advantage of it. Get rid of them. More will be distributed as the holidays come and go.
Broken Holiday Decorations
You should only be using working decorations. So if you have decorations you’re holding on to that are broken, that are busted, that don’t work anymore, please throw them away. Your garage, your shed they will love you for it.
Ratty Bath Mats
If you have cheap or ratty bath mats, get rid of them. When I was younger, my mom told me, how can you clean yourself in a dirty bathroom? And since then, I’ve kept my bathroom pretty clean but that means the mats on the floor as well. The mats on the floor take a beating. If they’re old and dingy, get rid of them.
The Scratchy Blankets
Listen, blankets should be soft. That’s my opinion. But if you have blankets that are scratchy, donate them to a shelter. Donate them to an animal shelter. Get rid of them. They take up a lot of space in your cabinets.
Pillows That Went Flat
You should not be resting on a flat pillow. I don’t care. It’s not good for your posture, for your neck. It will cause a lot of aches and pains as you get older. You should have two good pillows per bed.
The Mug Population
How many coffee cups do you really need? It’s kind of like the shot glasses. If you have too many, or if you’re collecting them, fantastic. But in reality, how many do you really need?
Florist Vases
You should keep three really nice ones and recycle the rest. Floral vases are sometimes large and bulky, and they take up a lot of space. Get rid of them.
Remote Controls to Nothing
Raise your hand if you’re guilty of this. How many devices do we have, and all of them come with remotes? If you’re not using that device on a regular basis and you don’t know where that remote even goes to, throw it away.
The Cassette Tapes
Listen, nothing’s wrong with keeping the paper inside if you want to hang on to it as memorabilia. But in reality, cassette tapes and cassette tape players are just way too vintage these days. And with all the other options out there, get rid of them, throw them away.
Decade-Old Utility Bills
Shred your old bills in one evening and be done with it. Why are you hanging on to bills from 5 years ago? Throw them away.
Other People’s Wedding Favors
They’re not even from your wedding. Toss them in the trash. If you want to keep one as a memento, okay. But in reality, if you have multiple wedding favors from other people’s weddings, throw them away.
Broken Jewelry and Single Earrings
Only keep pieces that work. If you have no intentions of getting your broken jewelry fixed, then you might want to consider donating it.
Glasses With Old Prescriptions
Charities love these items. Please donate these, especially if you’re not using them. If your prescription has changed over time, donate your old ones. They will repurpose the lenses and give somebody else the benefit of seeing better.
Rusted Garden Tools
Rusty anything is not good. Keep and oil your good ones, and recycle the rest.
Expired Sunscreen
You should not be using expired sunscreen. They’re cheap, you can replace them every year. So if you have multiple bottles, or even one bottle of expired sunscreen, please get rid of it.
The Twist Tie and Bread Tag Museum
Did you know that every time you buy a new bag of bread it comes with a new twist tie and a new bread tag? Why are you hanging on to the old ones? Why? Throw them away. They’re little, but they add up and take up space. They cause too much clutter.
Mystery Batteries
If you do not know whether or not a battery works, throw it away. If you don’t want to do that, then invest in a battery tester and end your guessing game. But if the battery is no good, then it’s no good. Throw it away.
Leftover Renovation Scraps
Once you get rid of your leftover materials, you’re making more space. That’s the bottom line. If you’re a homeowner, if you’re a new homeowner, doing renovations is great but if you have leftover product and you have no intention of using it right away, throw them away.
Curtains That Fit No Window
After multiple moves, you’re left with curtains that match no windows. Throw them away or donate them. There’s no need to hang on to these.
The Fondue Set
Come on, seriously, if you haven’t used it since 2011, what are you doing? Donate it.
Trophies From Decades Ago
This can be hard to do, getting rid of old trophies. Those are awards. Those are achievements. But if you’re in your 40s or 50s now and those trophies are from decades ago, what are you doing? Let them go.
Worn-Out Wallets and Purses
Women, listen to me, girls. You should only have two good bags. Other than that, you shouldn’t be collecting these things. They take up a lot of room. Same with you guys. If you have worn wallets and you’re currently using a new one, get rid of it.
The Broken Toy Bin
Listen, one of my favorite things to do is go into my kids’ room when they’re not there and not paying attention and find their broken toys. Not one of my children has yet to notice let alone complain that I have gotten rid of broken toys. Throw them away.
Stretched-Out Swimsuits
Will you stop pretending like these are backups? You want a new swimsuit almost every year. Retire the rest, donate them to people who don’t have any swimsuits.
Dead Plants and Their Pots
Listen, get rid of the dead. I don’t have a problem keeping pots. I love pots. I’m a plant mom as well as a mom. But the dead plants, they need to go. Toss those out, and then you have good pots for future use.
Orphan Earbuds and Their Cases
Put all your recycles in one bag and donate it. Earbuds are constantly evolving as technology evolves. If they don’t work, or if you don’t use them anymore, get rid of them.
Dried-Out Markers and Crayon Stubs
Test everything at once and get rid of all the rest of them. There is no need to have multiple broken crayons or dried markers that no longer work.
The Party Supply Remnants
I get it. You spend a lot of money on party supplies, and I’m not saying to get rid of all of them, but just keep a few that are for memorabilia, maybe a couple that can fit in a shoebox or something. And then get rid of the rest.
The Leaky Garden Hose
If you have been patching your garden hose, stop. You can get another hose for around 20 bucks. So stop wasting time on an unreliable hose when you can get a brand new one.
