A stressful home situation usually doesn’t have to do with how big or small your home may be. It has to do with the quiet pressure of all the things that build up, the drawers you can’t close, the shelves that you just can’t stand looking at. The good news is that being calm is mostly about what you take away. Here are 33 things to get rid of this week so that your home will feel less cluttered.
1. Expired Pantry Food You Forgot You Had
The pantry is a great place to start. Take a look at the crackers and snacks from the last two holiday seasons. They may be stale or have gone bad. While you’re in there grab any mystery cans and stale snacks and toss them. Once you do this, you will be able to see all the shelves, and you will not be annoyed each time you open the door.
2. Food Containers Missing Their Lids
Everyone has that one cabinet that releases an avalanche of plastic whenever you open it. You may have one that looks like this. To fix it, match up each container with its lid and recycle the “orphan” containers and lids, and then you’ll be left with storage containers that can actually be stacked, and finding the right size container won’t be a small daily battle.
3. Duplicate Kitchen Gadgets and Utensils
Consider donating those five spatulas, three can openers, and single-use avocado slicers you have lying around. Keeping only the utensils you use most and donating the rest will free up space and allow your utensil drawer to close without fuss. It’s a small thing that helps calm the kitchen chaos, even before you start chopping your first onion!
4. The Mug Collection That Outgrew the Cabinet
Mugs are easy to come across, especially from gifts and promotional items at work. As long as they feel good to hold, you can keep the favorites. The chipped and corporate ones should be let go. Your cabinet will appreciate it!
5. Spices That Expired Years Ago
Ground spices slowly lose their flavor after a year or two, meaning that old dusty jar isn’t helping your cooking. Get rid of the duplicates and the ones you bought for a single recipe in 2019. A cleaned up spice shelf will help you cook more!
6. Worn Out Sponges and Stained Dish Towels
Crusty sponges and grey, fraying dish towels make the whole kitchen feel a little grim. Replacing them is cheap and weirdly satisfying. Fresh ones cost next to nothing and instantly make the sink area feel cleaner.
7. Expired Medicine in the Cabinet
Head to your bathroom closet and remove anything that is expired, including that cough syrup from a cold that you can’t even remember. Outdated medications are not simply a mess; they can also be dangerous when you really require a remedy. Safely get rid of them and enjoy the clean space.
8. Old Makeup and Skincare Past Its Prime
Makeup doesn’t last forever, and old mascara and creams can irritate your skin. Do you really think you’ll ever use those sample products? And as for those shades you never wear, be honest with yourself. It’s time for a clear out. You will be surprised how much faster your morning routine gets when the vanity holds just a few products you actually use.
9. Dried Up Bottles of Nail Polish
That basket of nail polish probably has a bunch of thickened and separated bottles of colors you don’t love anymore. Nail polish has a shelf life, and ruined ones are not worth keeping. Keep only the few you actually use and recycle the rest.
10. The Hoard of Hotel Toiletries
While you may find the tiny shampoo bottles useful, chances are you aren’t going to use all of them. Keep a few for travel and consider donating the rest to a local shelter. They can actually use them! Plus, your bathroom instantly feels less crowded.
11. Thin, Scratchy Towels You Never Reach For
Most of us have a collection of sad, thin towels we never actually use. Keep your good ones and part with the threadbare ones, since animal shelters will gladly take them. Your linen closet will close with ease!
12. Clothes You Have Not Worn in a Year
Your body has already made the choice for you. If you haven’t worn that item of clothing in an entire year, through every season, it’s time to get rid of it. Also, get rid of the ill-fitting, itchy, and “someday maybe” pieces. Having a closet full of pieces you love is a small everyday luxury.
13. Single Socks and the Ones With Holes
The sock pile will stay lonely forever, and deep down, you know that. Get rid of the singles, the holey ones, and the ones that the elastic gave up on months ago. A sock drawer where everything has a match is a little, but real, pleasure.
14. Flimsy Wire Hangers From the Dry Cleaner
Wire hangers clutter your home, snag your clothes, and tangle up with each other. They also create a chaotic appearance in your closet or any space where you use them. The best solution is to recycle your wire hangers and switch them out with a uniform set of hangers. The mental ease of having a sleek and organized closet will pay off immediately!
15. Shoes That Hurt or Are Falling Apart
Life’s too short for shoes that cause blisters or have soles that are worn all the way through! Be ruthless with the pairs you avoid for any reason. What’s left should be comfortable, in good shape, and actually yours.
16. Tangled Cables and Mystery Chargers
Most people have a drawer full of knotted cords from devices that are long gone. If the cords don’t identify which device they belong to, you definitely don’t need them. Hold on to the ones that matter, put a label on them, and take back your drawer.
17. Broken Electronics Waiting to Be Fixed Someday
Your cracked tablet and your toaster that you promised to repair have been sitting there for years. “Someday” is not a plan, it’s a way of avoiding the issue. Recycle them and clear the shelf and your mind of the clutter.
18. Remote Controls for Long Gone Devices
Those remotes are from TVs and stereos long gone from the house and they’ll never have partners again. Free your coffee table from being a remote graveyard and toss them.
19. Instruction Manuals You Can Find Online
All the manuals in your drawer can be found online as free PDFs. These booklets are only taking up space, so trust the internet and recycle the pile.
20. Stacks of Old Magazines and Catalogs
Magazines always promise a future issue that never comes. If there’s a recipe or article you like, just take that page out and get rid of the rest. A space without a leaning tower of magazines feels so much better.
21. The Bottomless Junk Drawer
The junk drawer is where dead batteries and random keys, takeout menus, and other oddities go to retire. Clear it out, keep the useful things, and throw the rest out. A drawer that opens and closes smoothly is a surprisingly satisfying thing.
22. Dead Pens and Dried Out Markers
Odds are half the pens in your house do not write anymore, yet you keep putting them back in the cup. Quickly test them and recycle any that do not write. The remaining pens will be a nice change to grab when you need to.
23. The Pile of Extra Throw Pillows
Cozy throw pillows are nice, but at a certain point they become the pillows you throw on the floor every night. If you have some that you still love, that’s awesome. But the rest can be given away. You’ll find that your couch feels more inviting!
24. Dusty Knickknacks With No Real Purpose
Shelves full of trinkets mostly collect dust and slow down cleaning. Keep the ones that actually mean something to you and let the rest go. Allowing your space to breathe makes the pieces you truly value stand out.
25. Plants That Are Beyond Saving
A thriving plant can raise the mood in a room, but a crispy, half-dead one will drain it of energy. Stop nursing your plants back to life and compost them. New plants will take their place and actually thrive.
26. Broken and Outgrown Kids Toys
Old toys and toys with missing pieces are taking up space in your bins. If possible, sort through them with your kids. They may find some toys that they still play with, and donating the good ones gives them a second life. It is often the case that fewer toys means calmer and better play time for everyone.
27. The Graveyard of Half Empty Cleaning Sprays
If there are cleaning supplies you have bought but forgotten about, don’t worry. They are probably under the sink. Go ahead and combine duplicate bottles, throw away the ones that you don’t use, and keep your essentials. When you have a more simple collection of cleaners, it makes the task less daunting.
28. Old Paint Cans Crowding the Garage
Paint cans collecting dust from projects you finished years ago are just taking up space on your shelf and are most likely starting to rust. Most towns have drop off locations for safe disposal of the paint cans. Removing them from your garage makes it feel like you are actually using it for storage instead of just a place to throw things.
29. Free Swag and a Mountain of Tote Bags
Conference lanyards, branded pens, and free tote bags all start adding up. You didn’t choose any of them, so it’s easy to throw them away. Keep some totes that are useful and get rid of the rest.
30. Mismatched and Worn Out Sheets
It can be a little jarring to see old, mismatched, wrinkled, and pilled sheets. Save two good sets of sheets per bed and send the rest to the rag bin or a shelter. There is nothing like slipping into some clean and crisp sheets.
31. Paper Piles and Bills You Can Shred
It’s common for old bills, junk mail, and expired coupons to pile up. Shred any sensitive documents, recycle the rest, and go paperless. Clear counters can relieve some of the stress in the entire room.
32. Gifts You Only Keep Out of Guilt
Keeping a thoughtful present you don’t like just clutters your space and doesn’t do anything to honor the person who gave it to you. They already showed kindness. Move on and let someone else use it by donating it. You can leave the guilt behind.
33. The Avalanche of Reusable Shopping Bags
Reusable bags are great until you have forty of them stuffed under the sink. Keep a manageable stash by the door where you will actually grab them, and donate the overflow. Your cabinet, and your grocery trips, will run smoother.
