Are you overwhelmed by clutter or just feel like you need a fresh start? We are with you! It can be difficult to determine what to throw out when decluttering, but we’re here to help. Here’s a list of 25 Things to Throw Out When Decluttering. We hope this list makes the process of decluttering and get organized easier! Feel free to comment below with any items we may have missed. Happy organizing!
A List of 25 Easy Things to Throw Out When Decluttering
- Expired Food and Medicine: We choose these first, because expired food and medicine can be dangerous! Some medications can be taken to pharmacies to be disposed of properly.
- Cardboard Boxes: Cardboard is one of the easiest items to recycle!
- Books You’ve Already Read: Donate books you’ve already read. Little free libraries are a great place to start!
- Paper Clutter: Paper clutter and junk mail are the worst! Go through your mail and trash unneeded items as soon as you get them. Have a system to file the necessary paper.
- Carry Out Menus: Most menus can be found online now!
- Old Makeup and Nail Polish: Here is a guide for when to throw out old makeup.
- Old T-Shirts: Do you have old shirts with holes and pit stains? Yeah, throw those out and make more room in your dresser!
- Old Magazines: You’ve read it once, so why keep it?
- Wire Hangers: Mommy Dearest. Enough Said.
- Old Credit Cards: Just shred them already!
- Games with Missing Pieces: You’re never going to find those missing pieces!
S.W.A.G.: Stuff We All Get. This are the free promotional items that you got from a trade show, conference, or fair that gets shoved under the bed or in a cabinet! SWAAAAAAAAG.
- Old Cell Phones: You can recycle these anywhere that takes e-waste and even some Target locations or mobile phone carries like Verizon. More on cell phone recycle here.
- Old Coffee Mugs: These can be easily donated. No need to throw them out!
- Ratty Old Towels: Towels can also be donated to some animal shelters!
- Project Pieces: Are you saving broken down furniture for future DIY projects that will never happen? It is time to get rid of those!
- Stuffed Animals: It is perfectly fine to keep the sentimental ones. But not ALL of the plush toys. Some animal shelters will also take these as donations.
- Outdated Holiday Decor: Do you have holiday decorations you haven’t used in years? These items are easily denotable to charitable organizations or even nursing homes.
- Worn Out Shoes: Shoes are also easy to donate, especially when you know you’re not realistically going to wear them again.
- Plastic Food Containers: Recycle these. There is such a thing as having too many old butter tubs or lunch meat containers doubling as Tupperware.
- Damaged Teflon Pans: Coated cookware can become dangerous when its worn. Be sure to recycle these worn out pots and pans.
- Old Sports Trophies: Time to toss that participation trophy you got in 4th grade!
- VHS Tapes: Get rid of these, unless they are family movies!
- Old Toys: Do you still have toys your kids haven’t played with in years? Now is a good time to donate those old toys!
- Plastic grocery bags: Do you have a cabinet full of mangled plastic Kroger bags? Switching to reusable bags is the earth friendly and less cluttered choice. Here is some information about recycling plastic bags. And here are some of our favorite reusable shopping bags.
