In this post: No matter the season, it’s always good to declutter unnecessary things. To help you here’s a list of 50 Things You Should Throw Away Today…plus a free printable version to keep handy!
Clutter has a way of creeping up on us, little by little, doesn’t it? And sometimes it can be hard to figure out which things to get rid of when our house feels overrun with clutter. To help you here’s a list of 50 Things You Should Throw Away Today plus a printable version!
What do you do with the stuff you “throw away”
When I say “things you should throw away” it is just a blanket statement. I don’t necessarily mean trash.
Many of the things on this list below can be donated to Goodwill, or to other charitable organizations.
Others can be recycled (you can recycle some electronics at Best Buy, for example).
Some may be worth selling on eBay or at a garage sale.
And others could be upcycled/repurposed into something new with a little DIY skill.
Don’t use excuses to procrastinate
If you’ve looked at some of your clutter and though you’ll turn them into something cool one day or to list on eBay some other day – translation: you’re procrastinating – just do yourself a favor and throw them out or donate them now.
If you’ve held onto something and thought this for six months to a year or more and haven’t done anything with it, it’s time to part with it.
Again, please hear me, I am not advocating trashing perfectly good things or filling your car and going to the dump unnecessarily.
I’ve gotten emails about this because someone misses what I’m saying and thinks I’m telling them to just pile everything into the landfill. That’s not true at all.
What I am saying is, below you will find a list of 50 things that you can part with (appropriately trash, donate, or recycle) guilt-free because they are not serving a purpose in YOUR home anymore and they’re adding to your stress.
Stress you really don’t need at the moment. Stress that is completely unnecessary because you can do something about it.
Got it? Clear?
Okay, here goes the list…
- Worn out shoes (you can recycle them at Nike stores to have them turned into Nike Grind material)
- Old glasses (you can donate them at most optometrists)
- Take-out menus
- Toys your kids don’t play with anymore
- Old tech devices (VHS player, cassette player, etc.)
- Socks without matches
- Old newspapers and magazines
- Broken jewelry and earrings without a matching pair
- Expired food- don’t forget to check your freezer along with your fridge and pantry. No food stays good forever!
- Old makeup
- Expired medicine/vitamins (check the FDA’s website for details on how to safely dispose of medicines)
- Half-finished craft projects
- Craft supply scraps
- Cleaning rags (you really only need a few since you can wash them)
- Worn out towels (if you don’t have enough cleaning rags, you can cut one towel up into rags, but get rid of the rest)
- Product boxes- keep them for up to 3 months in case you’ll have to make a return, then get rid of them. Exceptions would be expensive tech devices that you may want to later resell with the box (like a smartphone or game system).
- Broken or damaged hair ties
- Old video games
- Dead batteries (be sure to check your area’s battery recycling options specifically for rechargeable batteries)
- Old board games (especially if they’re missing pieces)
- Extra holiday decor (if you haven’t put it out in 2 years, it’s time for it to go!)
- Decor that doesn’t match your home anymore
- Extra calendars
- Old cookware/bakeware
- Duplicate or broken kitchen tools
- Old clothes
- Expired coupons
- Used up/dried out pens, highlighters, and markers
- Pet toys that your pet doesn’t play with, or that are broken
- Old pet clothes/collars that don’t fit your pet anymore, or that are broken
- Expired pet medications (vet offices are happy to take back many medicines that your pet no longer needs, especially flea/tick and heartworm medicine)
- Completed school projects
- Old backpacks
- Unused or filled notebooks and binders
- Cards and invitations (either file them away in a keepsake binder or get rid of them)
- Burned out light bulbs
- Flash drives (transfer anything useful to the cloud first)
- Extra headphones
- Excess phone cases (especially if they don’t fit your current phone)
- Duplicate computer accessories (mice, keyboards, etc.)
- Extra cords and cables
- Random nails, nuts, bolts, and screws
- Scrap wood (if you don’t have a distinct project in mind for it, get rid of it!)
- Manuals for products you don’t have any more
- Random keychains
- Hotel toiletries
- Extra flower pots
- Beauty products that you didn’t like (you can donate these to local homeless shelters and women’s shelters)
- Unraveled gift bows
- Wrapping paper scraps (if the amount of paper is too small to wrap most gifts, get rid of it!)
Phew! That’s quite a list!
Free “things you should throw away” decluttering printable list
To help you remember all the things you should throw away today as you go through your home, here is a handy decluttering checklist printable!
As soon as an item is the trash, recycling bin, or donation bin, check it off of your list.
You’ll feel very accomplished when the list is all checked off, and your home will feel so much lighter without all the extra stuff!
More Decluttering Ideas:
How often do you do a big decluttering session? Or do you prefer to do smaller, more frequent decluttering bursts?
