You don’t need me to tell you how easy it is to accumulate a ton of stuff. In the blink of an eye, it can feel like clutter has invaded certain rooms in the house. While you don’t have to throw out everything to have a neater home, there are definitely some items you can do without. Here are 14 of them!
1. Expired Makeup And Medication
You’d be surprised at how many of your makeup products and medication bottles are actually past their best-before dates. Check those expiration dates and throw out anything that’s no longer good!
2. Old Textbooks
Yes, your college textbooks were quite important to you at one point. But if you no longer need them, there’s no point in hanging on to them. You can try selling them online or back to your college bookstore, or you can simply donate them.
3. Lonely Socks
If you can’t find a sock’s match after a certain amount of time, chances are that you’re never going to. Toss them and free up some space in your sock drawer!
4. Old Or Broken Cellphones
If you’re not using your old cellphones stashed in a drawer somewhere, you probably never will. Don’t hang on to useless junk, just toss it!
5. Take-Out Condiments
Although it seems like a good idea at the time to hang on to take-out condiments, unless you’re actually using them (which you probably aren’t), just throw them out.
6. Old Magazines And Calendars
Once you’ve read a magazine or used a calendar for an entire year, it’s time to recycle them. Storing items like these leads to unnecessary piles and crowded shelves.
7. Anything Broken
Most of us tend to hang on to broken items with the thought that we’ll fix them sooner or later. If you’ve let a broken item sit around, chances are you won’t miss it if you throw it out.
8. Clothing You Don’t Wear
One of the most common things we hold on to that we really shouldn’t is clothing. Unless you wear it often and it fits you, there is no sense in storing it in your closet. Donate clothing you don’t wear instead.
9. Phone Books
Let’s be serious — does anyone use a phone book in this day and age? They take up a lot of space, so it’s better to just recycle them.
10. Cookbooks
If you use a cookbook regularly, then of course, hold on to it. However, if a cookbook is no longer relevant to your lifestyle or you haven’t opened it in ages, it’s probably best to donate it.
11. Old Towels And Linens
If you have a sheet set you haven’t used in years or towels that you’ve replaced ages ago, consider donating or repurposing them. You’ll free up valuable space in your linen closet.
12. Old Holiday And Greeting Cards
It’s nice to display holiday, birthday, and greeting cards for a short period of time after you get them, but keeping them only generates clutter. Display them for up to a week, then toss them in the recycling.
13. Miscellaneous Plastic Dishes
If your kitchen cupboards are stuffed with random plastic dishes that don’t match, toss them in the recycling. Your cupboards will be much more organized without them.
14. Old Bills And Receipts
Unless it’s absolutely pertinent that you keep a specific receipt or bill, there is no sense in storing them. That’s why paper shredders were invented!
