If you want to get organized, start by decluttering your house. These are 25 things to get rid of as you declutter and organize your home. Throw away, sell, recycle or donate these items and get a more organized home.
Decluttering your house frees up space in your home, making it easier to organize and find your things.
You don’t have to adopt a new lifestyle to declutter and get organized. Decluttering is not exclusive to minimalists, or simple living, or any other lifestyle.
Decluttering doesn’t need any labels. It can simply be decluttering with what fits your lifestyle.
If you’re thinking about getting rid of clutter and organizing your home, start now. Throw out these items, or some of them, today! Don’t put it off any longer. Any time is a good time to declutter.
25 Things to Throw Away when Decluttering
Here are 25 things to get rid of today. I’ve broken them down into rooms to make it easier.
Decluttering the Kitchen
1. Inedible foods: this includes expired foods, things that have gone off because they were not stored properly, leftovers that have been sitting in your fridge for too long. All of these foods need to go away. They are inedible anyway, and could invite mold and flies into your home.
2. Mystery Food Items: I mean you can’t even remember what it is.
3. Utensils that you do not use: or maybe never even used. The tools and utensil with the sole purpose of taking up space in your kitchen cabinets need to go.
These are the tools that you never use, like things that you got as a gift, or that pasta maker you got when you were motivated to make your own fresh pasta (but never did). If you don’t/won’t use it, it’s time for it to go.
If an item is valuable, there are many platforms to sell used items. Donate it if it’s in good condition. Otherwise, throw it out.
4. Unusable food storage containers: These create a lot of clutter. Throw away your warped tupperwares, containers without lids, those that are damaged or you just don’t use for any reason. Throw away unhealthy containers that later the taste of the food that is stored in it.
5. Empty Alcohol bottles: Displaying empty alcohol bottles is not cool, trust me. Upcycle, or recycle them. But don’t keep them laying around for when you might upcycle them. Just get rid of them.
6. Oven mitts and hot pads that are old or damaged, or you have too many of and don’t use them.
7. Chipped Mugs, glasses and plates: You don’t want to be using them anyway, and there is no point in keeping them in your cabinets. Using chipped dishes can actually be dangerous for you. It could easily break and cause an injury. Additionally, it could harbor bacteria within the crack, which could make you sick. If you’re guilty of keeping those cracked dishes or mugs, it’s time to let them go.
Read this next: 7 Tips to Keep a Clean and Organized Home
Your Bedroom and Closet
8. Damaged clothes: start decluttering your clothes by getting rid of any damaged items. These are not usable anyway, and you won’t wear them. Cut up your t-shirts to use as dishcloths and reusable wipes in the kitchen. Get rid of anything else that cannot get a new life.
9. Plastic bags from the dry cleaner’s: As soon as you get your clothes from the dry cleaner, you should remove them from the bag, and discard it. These bags are a suffocation hazard for children, and can trap moisture in your garment leading to mildew. If you want to protect your clothes, put them in a cotton storage bag instead (like this one).
10. Clothes you’ve never worn: Decluttering clothes is not just for used and damaged clothing. Whether you just can’t find the right occasion, or you’re waiting to shed those extra pounds to fit into this, or maybe it was a gift and not really your style; if you have clothes that have been sitting in your closet for a long time and you never used, it’s time to part with them. Donate, sell, or recycle them.
11. Lonely socks: Do you have socks that have been lonely for too long? Never found the partner that completes them? Let’s face it, you most likely won’t.
12. Old threadbare towels: Frayed, threadbare towels are just not effective, and uncomfortable to use. You can either throw them out, or find new life for them. Reuse them for cleaning as cleaning rags, dishcloths, or mop towels. You can also donate old towels that are in pretty decent condition to your local pet shelter.
13. Expired and old makeup: This stuff is very unhealthy for your skin, so you don’t want to use it anyway. Old lipsticks, mascaras, concealers, eye shadow, and pretty much any makeup collects and grows bacteria when it’s been open for a long time. You don’t want that on your skin.
Declutter Your Bathrooms
14. Empty bottles of shampoo and soap: stop saying you’ll throw them out later.
15. Sample size and hotel toiletry items that you won’t use. Don’t even grab them from the hotel anymore.
16. Old tools: this includes old razors, toothbrushes, hairbrushes, hair ties, etc..
17. Old products: whether they are expired or you no longer use them. Anything that you haven’t used for a while, like old makeup or other toiletries.
Your Living Room
18. Random Knick-nacks whose sole purpose is collecting dust.
19. Old magazines and newspapers.
20. Home decor: If you have too many, it’s probably just clutter. Get rid of decor items that don’t match your style or home anymore.
21. Candles: Burnt out, or almost burnt out; any candles you don’t like or won’t burn. You can remove the remaining candle wax, and reuse the glass jar as a container for your makeup brushes or toiletries.
More Things to Declutter
22. Souvenirs: especially when it’s from someone else’s trip.
You know those pointless souvenirs, the key chains, or shot glasses that you buy on your trip, and then throw them in a box to be forever forgotten? That’s clutter too. You took many photos to remember the trip, no need to keep the souvenir.
And if someone got it for you from their trip, please do not feel guilty about throwing it out
23. Old receipts: If they are important, file them properly. Otherwise, it’s just junk.
24. Take-out menus: You can find all the menus online these days. You can do the ordering online too, so these are obsolete really nowadays.
25. Expired Medicine: Follow FDA guidance on how to dispose of expired or unwanted medicines.
Decluttering “Anything”
You can declutter anything, and anything in these categories must go. When you are cleaning out and getting rid of clutter around the house, think about these. If the item is “anything” mentioned below, then you need to toss it, and you won’t miss it.
Anything that is broken
Broken items don’t belong in your house, repair or throw and replace.
Anything that is expired
Expired anything, food, products, etc.. If it’s too old, it’s not good for you.
Anything that serves no purpose
An item that doesn’t have a purpose is useless, and is clutter. Ask yourself: do we use this? does it serve a purpose? Don’t keep it if the answer is no.
Anything that doesn’t bring you joy
If you don’t love it anymore, it doesn’t belong in your home.
Are you ready to start decluttering?
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