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There are two types of people in this world:
- Those that keep everything
- Those that want to get rid of everything
You don’t have to be one or the other but oftentimes you are one or the other. What’s the happy middle ground?
Probably keeping the things you truly LOVE and NEED and getting rid of the things you think you LOVE and NEED.
Pretty confusing, right? How do you decide which category an item falls under?
37 Things You Can Safely Throw Away
In this mega list I’ve gone through all of the things in my home that I’ve had no problem throwing away over the years, to help me live clutter-free.
When I say that I’ve had no problem I mean that once I got rid of it I didn’t have any remorse about it later on.
That’s key.
It can be easy to toss things but what happens a couple hours, days, or weeks later? Do you wake up in a cold sweat because you decided that you really need those grubby old hair ties? No!
- Extra buttons you get with clothes. It’s nice that you get these buttons but come on, nobody actually uses them again. Instead, you end up with a drawer full of buttons.
- Cable cords and wires. You never know when you’ll need that 5 ft cable with a weird thingy on the end but you just never know? Let me tell you something. You probably will never need it again and if you do then just hop on Amazon or drive down to Lowes/Home Depot and pick up another one.
- Tupperware containers that are missing lids. They miss their lid soulmate so it’s time to put them out of their misery. It’s probably time to upgrade to a better model anyway.
- This is a weird one and I never thought I’d say this but old cellphones. Sometimes we damage our phones so much so that the carrier won’t take them back so we’re left with a phone. The simple thing is to throw it away but there are plenty of electronics recycling programs out there that you should hunt one down and do some good for the environment.
- Magnets. Seriously, if they aren’t on your fridge yet you can get rid of them.
- Dried-up nail polish. You’re better than that.
- Wacky Dollar Store items that you had good intentions for but now you can’t even figure out why the hell they are in your home.
- Tiny screws and other widgets that you get with furniture that is already put together or you no longer have. You aren’t going to find a use for that 7-sided metal wiggly-thingimajig so just get rid of it.
- Expired coupons. Seriously, they are expired.
- Hangers from the dry cleaners. Those things suck and are only good for breaking into cars. You didn’t hear that from me.
- Extra salt and pepper shakers. The world and your home only need so much salt and pepper.
- Take out menus. If you don’t believe that the Internet was created for the sole reason of never having to store a takeout menu again then you are sadly mistaken.
- Those beautiful shoes that hurt your feet so much you are too scared to wear them. Your feet deserve better.
- That pesky alarm clock. You have a pesky phone that can do the exact same thing. Unless the alarm clock is making you coffee like this one from Amazon then what is the point in even keeping it?
- Plastic cutlery. You don’t take it out because you don’t want to be embarrassed so don’t even keep it in your house!
- Paperweights. You don’t even know what paper is do you?
- Hole punch for paper. See above.
- Unused vases. You had grand plans for that beautiful vase but it’s just there gathering dust. It hasn’t even reached the level where you store umbrellas in it. It’s just there. Make it not there.
- Make-up that you bought on a whim and think you’ll try one day. By the time you think you’ll try it, it will be out of style.
- Stockings with runs that not even the largest bottle of nail polish can fix.
- Cards that you’ve received that really don’t hold any value to you whatsoever. Happy Lawn Day?! Pffft.
- Highlighters. Unless you’re doing art projects with that 37 color set then you probably only need a couple. And that’s being generous.
- All of that damn scrap paper. What’s it going to be used for? When the apocalypse comes and you need to start a fire?
Gift cards to places you don’t even visit. You shouldn’t throw them away because you can give them to someone that will use them or find a marketplace that allows you to sell them like Raise.
- Those old emery boards that you think are so convenient to leave in every drawer. They are cheap enough that you can buy more useful ones when the time comes. Look at how cool these ones on Amazon are!
- Staple remover. Hell, get rid of the stapler as well if you have one.
- Extra keychains. How many sets of keys do you have?
- Speaking of keychains get rid of those keys that have been around for years and you have no idea what they are for. They aren’t going to unlock a secret underground lair. The locksmith will do that for you.
- Magazines you’ve already read 37 times in the bathroom.
- Worn-out hairbrushes. Time to upgrade.
- Remotes that don’t get any…wait for it…remote use. Universal remotes were created for a reason.
- Craft supplies that will never see the light of day. Unfortunately, you can’t make every awesome project you see on Pinterest.
- Broken hangers. Do I even need to dive into this one?
- Stained clothes that can’t be unstained. You won’t even wear them around your house, what purpose do they serve?!
- Crappy pens that seem to run out of ink every single time you use them. Do yourself a favor and invest in some decent quality pens that will last you a bit.
- Abused towels. Ratty, broken down, Motel 6 look towels. Get fresh, soft towels that you will enjoy.
- Old receipts that aren’t going to allow you to return anything anyways.
So there you have it. Not so hard, was it? Just make sure what you are throwing out is safe to do so.