Admit it. We all have those forgotten baskets under the bed, the closet bursting at the seams with unworn clothes from your college days or the full shelves lining your garage that are home to once-used camping gear or a random assortment of exercise equipment. Clutter isn’t just a physical issue that takes up space and makes your home seem disorganized; those strange odds and ends can quickly affect your mental state as well. Having unneeded items can bring feelings of guilt and inadequacy that can begin to hamper productivity make it harder to reach your goals. Here are a few things that you should throw away right now.
Expired Medication
Go through your medicine cabinet and clear out any outdated or unnecessary medication. This also applies to old prescription medication or that massive bottle of ibuprofen that has been sitting on your shelf for three years.
Holey or unmatched socks
Just face it, the long lost sock matches will never be found. Whether the dryer eats them, or they fall through some crack in the laundry process, socks will inevitably part ways. Instead of keeping a pile of unwearable socks because you “might find the matches,” realize that it is time to say goodbye. It is also a good idea to toss any socks with holes or tears.
Unread magazines
Though they may look nice sitting in a basket by your toilet or stacked nicely on your coffee table, eventually magazines can look cluttery. This is especially important if you’ve had a magazine for years and never read it, or have read it enough and want to make room for new issues. You can also use this opportunity to be sure that you aren’t paying for any unnecessary magazine subscriptions.
Those toiletries you’ll never use
Whether it’s the end of a bottle of lotion that you’re too lazy to try and use or that random hair mask you bought that is neither nourishing or moisturizing, it is time to do a serious purge of your toiletry collection. If you haven’t used it in a year, or merely don’t like it, toss it out or give it to your cosmetically inclined friend.
Stained clothing items
No matter how much you love that cute blouse, just admit that no amount of stain remover is going to get out that massive sharpie mark. Have one last moment with your beloved piece of clothing and say adieu.
Old Tupperware
If you have been able to hang on to every lid and Tupperware container since you got it eight years ago, then congratulations. For the rest of us mere mortals, it is time to face the fact that you will never suddenly stumble upon those five lids that mysteriously disappeared. Throw away any unmatched containers, and if you’ve been using the same plastic storage for over five years, it is probably time to invest in a new set as it can hold bacteria and absorb food flavors over time.
Broken or unneeded cords
Do you have a pile of cords tangled in an unrecognizable ball in some dark corner of your home? It is time to stop ignoring it and bring it into the light. Chances are, you don’t even have devices for half the cords, and the other half are probably broken. Take a little while and unravel that ball, making sure that all the cords are needed and work properly. While you’re at it, bring some organization to your cords with twist ties or cord holders.
VHS tapes
Please don’t tell me that you still have VHS tapes in your home…If you do, now is the time to throw them away. Immediately. Enough said.
Old shoes
Why is it so hard to get rid of shoes that you no longer wear? If you’ve had three “backup” pairs of old sneakers taking up space in your closet, it is probably past time to toss at least one or two. Your beloved Nikes from 5 years ago won’t hold it against you.
Electronics
Do you really need that old PC from 2004 that doesn’t turn on anymore or that defunct iPhone 4 that has been lying unused for years? Be sure to appropriately remove all files and go through proper recycling channels to clear away those old electronics.
Old makeup
There is a reason that most makeup has an expiration date. If you haven’t worn it in a year. Toss it.
-Susan Patterson