It’s easy to let clutter build up without realizing and this means that over time, things pile up in drawers, cabinets, and closets. Many items are broken, expired, or just plain useless, but for some reason, they’re still sitting around. If this sounds like your home, then it might be time to have a serious clearout.
Expired Medications
Let’s be honest, most of us have a medicine cabinet filled with half-used bottles and expired pills. Over time, their potency decreases, and in some cases, they can even become harmful. Instead of letting them pile up, take a few minutes to check expiration dates and dispose of them properly.
Old Makeup and Skincare Products
If you’ve got a drawer full of half-used beauty products, it’s probably time for a purge. Makeup and skincare items have expiration dates, and using old products can lead to irritation, breakouts, or even infections.
Mascara and liquid eyeliners, in particular, should be tossed after a few months, as bacteria can build up quickly.
Mismatched Socks
Somewhere in every home, there’s a lonely sock drawer filled with singles waiting for their missing pair. But let’s face it, if that sock has been sitting alone for months (or years), its match isn’t coming back. Instead of letting them take up space, repurpose them as cleaning rags or finally toss them out.
Chargers for Devices You No Longer Own
If you open your junk drawer, chances are you’ll find a tangled mess of old charging cables, power cords, and adapters that don’t match any device you currently use. With technology constantly evolving, many of these cords become obsolete, yet they still somehow manage to stick around.
Takeout Menus and Expired Coupons
Now that we rely more on technology, keeping stacks of paper menus and old coupons is completely unnecessary. Most restaurants have their menus online, and those expired coupons you were planning to use someday aren’t doing you any favors.
Toss expired coupons, recycle old menus, and clear out the unnecessary papers taking up space.
Old Tupperware with Missing Lids
Let’s be real, if a container doesn’t have a matching lid, it’s basically useless. Over time, food storage containers pile up, and somehow, lids and bottoms seem to disappear into thin air. Instead of digging through an avalanche of mismatched plastic every time you need to store leftovers, do yourself a favor and get rid of the extras.
Worn-Out Towels and Bedding
Old linens take up valuable storage space, and let’s be honest, if they’re no longer comfortable, you’re probably avoiding them anyway. Instead of holding onto a pile of ragged towels and sheets, donate them to an animal shelter, where they can be repurposed as bedding for pets.
Instruction Manuals for Everything
It’s amazing how easy it is to accumulate a stack of instruction manuals for appliances, electronics, and furniture you don’t even own anymore. While it might seem useful to keep them, most product manuals are available online, making the paper versions completely unnecessary. Instead of letting them take up space, recycle the ones you no longer need.
Dried-Up Pens and Markers
There’s always a drawer filled with random pens, half-dried markers, and mechanical pencils that don’t have lead. The problem? Half of them don’t even work.
Toss the ones that are dried out, leaky, or missing caps, and only keep the ones that work. Your desk will be more organized, and you won’t have to deal with the frustration of grabbing a useless pen when you need one.
Unworn Clothes That No Longer Fit
We all have those clothes in our closets, the ones we’re hoping to fit into again someday, the trendy items we never actually wore, or the pieces we just don’t like anymore. If something hasn’t been worn in over a year, chances are, it’s not going to be.
Old Cleaning Supplies
Most people don’t realize that cleaning products have expiration dates. Bottles of half-used disinfectant, dried-out sponges, and crusty old mops aren’t doing your home any favors. Expired cleaning solutions lose their effectiveness, and using a bacteria-laden sponge just spreads germs around.
Broken or Outdated Electronics
If you have an old laptop from ten years ago, a flip phone you haven’t touched since 2008, or a DVD player collecting dust, it’s time to let go. Many people hold onto broken or outdated electronics with the idea that they’ll fix them someday, but let’s be honest, that day probably isn’t coming.
Random Freebies and Promotional Items
We all know that free tote bags, plastic cups, and branded pens accumulate faster than anything else. These promotional items might seem useful at first, but most of them just end up sitting around, unused and forgotten. If you have a drawer full of random freebies from events, conferences, or giveaways, it’s time to let them go.
Old Magazines and Newspapers
At some point, we’ve all held onto a stack of magazines or newspapers, thinking we’ll read them later or cut out an article worth saving. But let’s be honest, most of those stacks are just collecting dust. Unless you’re keeping a specific issue for sentimental reasons or historical significance, it’s time to recycle them.
Random Takeout Containers and Utensils
Somehow, takeout orders seem to come with an endless supply of plastic forks, spoons, and sauce packets that get tossed in a drawer and forgotten. While having a few extras on hand can be useful, there’s no reason to hoard a mountain of mismatched utensils and unused condiment packets. Most of them will never be used and just take up unnecessary space in your kitchen.
Old Greeting Cards and Holiday Decorations
It’s easy to hold onto greeting cards from loved ones, but after a while, they start to pile up. While some may carry sentimental value, most just sit in a box, never to be looked at again.
Also, if an ornament has been in the bottom of the bin for years without being used, chances are you don’t need it. Keep the meaningful ones and donate or toss the rest.
Excess Coffee Mugs
For some reason, coffee mugs seem to multiply over time. If your cabinet is overflowing with mismatched cups, it’s time to declutter. Keep your favorites and donate or recycle the extras. Having a more organized kitchen will make your morning routine smoother, and you’ll actually be able to find the mugs you love without digging through a cluttered shelf.