The story below is a preview from our January/February 2023 issue. For more stories like it, Subscribe Today. Thank you!
Decluttering has never been so much fun — or so satisfying!
Happy new year, homeowners! Last year, we put together a list of simple maintenance resolutions that included check ups on your roof, plumbing and fireplace. And while you can keep that list for the coming new year (don’t forget to change those HVAC filters quarterly!), this year we’ve got the declutter bug, and we’ve got it bad. As we’ve spent so much more time in our homes since the pandemic, the way we’ve used our spaces and needed them to function has shifted. If you’re like us, this might mean a hastily created home office corner has settled into something that could use a little TLC.
To get you started, we’ve put together a list of items in every room of the house that could be tossed, donated, or sold today. No lengthy decision making trees necessary – these are the things you can take action on right away. Hear that rattling in the background? That’s your kitchen junk drawer getting nervous.
Read on for a quick start guide for fast decluttering, along with some tips and ideas for discarded things that go beyond the trash can.
Home Office
Empty bill envelopes. This might be something specific to my house, but we somehow always end up with an excess of opened, empty envelopes lying around. My new year’s resolution is to file the bills, then immediately recycle the envelope it came in. Better yet, go paperless this year!
User manuals. You can find these online – no really, I promise.
Greeting cards. Let them have their week or season on the mantle and then recycle all but the truly sentimental ones – and these deserve a special box to preserve them!
Dried up pens, or novelty/corporate branded free pens that you never use because they are cheap and ugly. (But if you use them, keep ‘em!)
Pens are tough to recycle, but there are nonprofits that take usable pens for kids in need of school supplies. Totally dried up pens can be used in art projects and sometimes recycled with donation orgs like TerraCycle.
Closet
Anything you haven’t worn in the past year that isn’t sentimental. If you find yourself consistently trying it on and then putting it back for any reason, off it goes!
Free t-shirts. You know the ones – corporate retreats, 5K shirts, clubs you haven’t belonged to in years – save one or two for gardening or housework, and donate the rest.
Costumes you know you won’t wear again.
Uniforms for jobs you don’t work at anymore.
Trends that have passed. (Bye-bye peplum tops and kitten heel flip-flops – see ya never!)
That collection of single socks you’ve been keeping in a basket, waiting for the match to one day return. (It’s never coming back. We don’t know where it went but we have to believe it’s in a happier place.)
Creative things to do with your old clothes besides donating:
Host a clothing swap party with friends.
Cut up old cotton garments for rags.
Create make-believe dress-up boxes for kids with old accessories.
Repurpose old T-shirts for crafts like rug weaving or quilt making.
Upcycle into a new item: think cutting the arms off a jean jacket to make a vest, or sewing old scarves into an artful wall hanging.
Learn to mend tears, holes and more so you can keep your favorite items for longer!
Bathroom
Expired makeup & toiletries. Yep – they go bad! Check the labels for the tiny container icon that has a “6M or 12M” marked there, then estimate how long you’ve owned the item. You can probably get by hanging on to the eyeshadow or powder blushes if they still have pigment and aren’t irritating your skin (and if you are cleaning your makeup brushes regularly), but anything that has direct contact with your skin or mouth should probably go – goodbye bacteria!
Old toothbrushes. When the bristles look like Beaker the muppet’s hair, it’s past time to swap for a new one.
Products you don’t use or just don’t love. (Maybe you have a friend who’d like to give it a try!)
Loofahs. I can almost guarantee that if you have a loofah, it is old and gross and needs to be replaced. Consider a washcloth, which can be laundered with your towels and will last you years!
Old or expired medicines. It’s extremely important to properly dispose of your old prescriptions, especially! A quick online search can show you which nearby Kroger, CVS, Walgreens or other location will accept your old medication.
Kitchen
Duplicate tools. Do you have six vegetable peelers even though you only use one? Multiple can openers? Pick the best one of the bunch and donate the rest.
Single-use or novelty appliances. Garlic presses, cherry pitters, apple corers, egg slicers and more can all be replaced by one very sharp knife and a YouTube tutorial.
Measuring sets with missing parts. Ah, the missing socks of the kitchen! Somehow, we always seem to accumulate measuring cups and spoon sets over the years, mysteriously lose one unit, then replace the whole thing in an endless cycle that only overwhelms our baking supply drawers with mismatched, unused sets. Time to choose a complete set and bid the rest farewell!
The odd flatware pieces that somehow made it home from the office kitchen. (Take these back – we won’t tell!)
Non-stick pans and cookie sheets that are peeling, warped, or used beyond recognition.
Oven mitts with holes in them.
Expired cans, condiments and anything with freezer burn. And while you’re at it, you can give your pantry and fridge shelves a good scrub!
Old kitchen supplies make great kid’s toys. Nothing like a mud pie made with an actual mixing bowl! And no need to buy sandbox or beach toys when you have measuring cups, pots and ladles!
Living/Dining Room
Old magazines. (Except The Roanoker, obviously.) If you’re keeping whole stacks of magazines for a handful of recipes, start a folder for the cutouts – it will be easier to access and take up far less room in your home.
Old single gloves missing their match. (See also: Closet, single socks.)
Winter accessories and coats you never wear. Whether you just don’t like them anymore, or the fit is off, or whatever the reason – they are taking up room and someone else will use them. If it’s been more than a year, say adios and donate!
Books you’ve read (or never could quite bring yourself to read) and don’t think you’ll ever read again. Google your nearest Little Free Library and pass it on!
Spare keys that you can’t identify.
Want to learn more about decluttering your spaces, including the basement and storage, plus useful tips on how to responsibly chuck or donate items? Check out the latest issue, now on newsstands, or see it for free in our digital guide linked below!
The story below is a preview from our January/February 2023 issue. For more stories like it, Subscribe Today. Thank you!