191+ Things to Throw Away

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A few weeks ago, we talked about the 5 easy steps to declutter your home.  While the decluttering process is simple, deciding what things to keep and what things to throw away can be easier said than done.  For those who like a little more help in deciding what to ger rid of, this post is for you.

When I say throw away, I don’t necessarily mean these that items should be thrown in the garbage.  Some can be sold, some can be donated, some can be recycled, and others are destined for the trash.  The key is to make the decision on where they should go and do it, so the items don’t end up sitting in the basement for a few months, only to trickle back into the house over time.

I recommend tackling this room by room, except for the items that are stashed all over the house (candles, office supplies, etc.).  For those items, gather all of the similar items before you begin. When you have twenty candles sitting in front of you it’s easier to make the decision to get rid of some, than when you’re coming across 1-2 per room.

As a refresher, here are the four simple categories of items that I aim to get rid of when I’m decluttering.  Keep these in mind when you go through the decluttering process – don’t be limited by the list of items below!

• Anything that’s broken, missing parts or worn out beyond repair.
• Any unnecessary duplicates.  
• Anything that’s outgrown by every member of your family.   
• Anything you don’t use or love.

Now, let’s dive into it room by room.  Here are 191+ things to throw away:

Kitchen

1. Extra measuring cups
2. Extra measuring spoons
3. Extra kitchen utensils
4. Extra cups and mugs
5. Travel mugs that leak or have to be hand washed (unless it’s a family member’s favourite and they’re willing to clean it themselves!)
6. Extra cookware, baking ware, and serving items
7. Cookie cutters and cake pans you don’t use
8. Excess tableware and decorations you never use (placemats, tablecloths, chargers, napkins, etc.)
9. Chipped or broken dishes
10. Stained plastic containers
11. Plastic containers without a lid, and vice versa
12. Extra bibs
13. Extra bottles
14. Sippy cups that leak or are missing parts
15. Children’s dishes they’ve outgrown
16. Expired food
17. Expired condiments
18. Food that your family will never eat
19. Freezer burned food
20. Unidentifiable frozen goods
21. Old spices
22. Take out menus (can you get it online?)
23. Take out condiments
24. Chopsticks
25. Recipe books you don’t use
26. Leftover paper plates and plastic cutlery from birthday parties (they’re perfect for picnics and short camping trips – use them!)
27. Those one-off kitchen appliances and gadgets you never use (ice cream maker anyone?)
28. Broken or unwanted magnets

Related: 8 Simple Habits for an Organized Home

Bathroom

1. Old towels and washcloths (how many do you really need?)
2. Hotel toiletries
3. Almost-empty toiletries and products
4. Hair products you don’t love or use regularly
5. Hair tools you never use
6. Stretched out hair elastics
7. Excess, or bent bobby pins
8. Hair accessories you don’t use
9. Expired makeup
10. Makeup that you don’t like
11. Makeup samples that you will never use
12. Lip products you’re scraping the bottom out of
13. Makeup that has shattered and threatens to spill everywhere every time you use it (just me?)
14. Makeup bags you never use (am I the only one that ends up with tons of gift with purchase bags?)
15. Nail polish you never use
16. Nail polish that’s dried up
17. Dull nail files
18. Old perfumes and colognes
19. Expired sunscreen
20. Expired medication
21. Extra syringes and cups that come with children’s medication
22. Bath toys that are past their prime

Bedroom

1. Bed linens (keep 2 sets per bed, max)
2. Extra pillows
3. Clothes that don’t fit (including kids clothes, unless you’re saving them for another child)
4. Clothes that you never wear
5. Clothes that you just don’t like
6. Stained or worn clothing
7. Hand-me-downs that aren’t worth saving
8. Swimwear that’s lost it’s stretch
9. Socks without a match
10. Socks with holes
11. Tights with a hole
12. Underwear that has seen better days
13. Bridesmaid dresses and formal dresses you will never wear again
14. Ties you’ll never wear again
15. Belts that no longer fit, are worn-out, or you never wear
16. Scarves you never wear
17. Mittens without a match
18. Hats you never wear
19. Jackets you never wear
20. Extra or broken umbrellas
21. Old purses and bags that you no longer use
22. Old suitcases and luggage that you no longer use
23. Old wallets that you no longer use
24. Shoes that no longer fit
25. Shoes that are broken (if you haven’t gotten around to repairing them in 6 months, you won’t)
26. Shoes that are past their prime. (If you don’t feel good when you wear them, you don’t need them.  You don’t need 3 different pairs of old runners for “yardwork” or “camping” – I promise!)
27. Uncomfortable shoes
28. Old shoe boxes
29. Jewelry you never wear
30. Earrings without a match
31. Glasses with an out-of-date prescription
32. Extra contact lens cases
33. Old sunglasses
34. Extra, broken, or mismatched hangers
35. Hangers from the dry cleaners

Kids

1. Baby gear (if you’re done having babies)
2. Extra baby blankets
3. Soothers that are worn or that your kids are done with
4. Artwork (pick a few favourites, or snap a picture of it)
5. Random stickers they’ll never use
6. Kids books you never read
7. Old colouring books
8. Kids books that are torn or damaged
9. Broken toys
10. Toys that are missing parts
11. Toys that are no longer played with
12. Puzzles with missing pieces
13. Unloved stuffed animals
14. Games with missing pieces
15. Kids meal and goody bag trinkets

Decor

1. Extra decor items that you’re tired of storing or dusting
2. Knick knacks that you don’t love
3. Broken decor items
4. Extra throw blankets
5. Any candles that you don’t use or enjoy
6. Extra vases
7. Extra picture frames that you’ve been storing for ages (display them, or get rid of them!)
8. Coasters you don’t use
9. Christmas or other seasonal decor that you don’t love and you’re sick of storing

Office & Paper

1. Expired coupons
2. Junk mail
3. Thumbtacks (unless you actually use them, they’re just something dangerous that the kids will inevitably find)
4. Gift bags
5. Wrapping paper scraps
6. Old textbooks
7. Old school notes
8. Dried out glue sticks
9. Dried up super glue
10. Dried up markers
11. Broken crayons the kids won’t use (search Pinterest for some fun ideas to use them up!)
12. Duplicate office supplies (staplers, hole punch, pens, pencils, pencil sharpeners, highlighters, scissors, etc.)
13. Novelty pencils
14. Novelty erasers
15. Extra, half filled notebooks
16. Extra binders
17. Fabric, yarn, ribbon or paper scraps
18. Crafting supplies that you don’t want or will never use
19. Old magazines
20. Old bills
21. Old pay stubs
22. Old Christmas cards (I keep one copy of our family’s card from each year.  For cards we receive, I pack them up with the decorations to look at them next year when I unpack the decorations – then toss.)
23. Old cards (save the special ones, but you don’t need to save all of them!)
24. Letters and mementos from exes
25. Product manuals that you can find online
26. Product manuals for items you no longer have
27. Ticket stubs
28. Old receipts
29. Old calendars and planners
30. Broken staple rows
31. Phone books
32. Business cards (add them to your electronic contacts)
33. Books you will never read, or will never read again

Related: Simplify and Organize Your Finances: Part 1

Technology

1. Old video game systems or games you never play
2. Old printers
3. Old cell phones
4. Old cell phone cases
5. Old digital cameras
6. Video cameras
7. Electronics that you no longer use
8. Chargers and cords for old electronics
9. Extra power cords
10. Extra extension cords and power strips
11. Extra USB drives
12. Extra headphones
13. Blank CDs you will never use
14. Any floppy disks that have somehow survived the last 25 years
15. Old CDs
16. Old DVDs that you’ll never watch again
17. Old PVR recordings (it’s like a to-do list – you don’t have to!)
18. Old product boxes (I just threw out two Apple TV boxes – I have no idea why we saved them!)

Related: Simplify and Organize Your Digital Life

Other

1. Promotional items you never use (clothing, water bottles, coffee bottles, umbrellas, etc.)
2. Keys that you have no idea what they’re for
3. Combination locks you don’t remember the combination for
4. Old store loyalty cards
5. Gift cards you’re “saving” (use them!)
6. Reusable shopping bags (you only need so many!)
7. Plastic shopping bags (again, you only need so many!  Try to avoid getting them altogether)
8. Spare change
9. Extra decks of cards, and incomplete decks of cards
10. Puzzles that you’ll never make again
11. Games you never play
12. Cleaning products you don’t use
13. Worn out cleaning rags
14. Furniture that is damaged, broken, or you simply don’t like
15. Dead or almost dead plants
16. Old rugs
17. Old paint
18. Mystery screws, nails, nuts, bolts
19. Extra tools (how many identical screwdrivers do you need?)
20. Extra tape measures
21. Spare parts that you can’t ID where they’re from
22. Old or unused sports equipment (that treadmill takes up a LOT of space for a clothes rack!)
23. Duplicate sports equipment (are we the only ones who have somehow ended up with 4 soccer balls?)
24. Outgrown bikes
25. Extra matches
26. Air mattresses that leak
27. Old lunchboxes and backpacks
28. Scrap wood
29. Extra lightbulbs you’ll never use
30. Half-finished projects, and the supplies for the half-finished projects (see: things that make you feel bad)
31. Extra buttons

I hope this list helps kick-off your decluttering!  What did I miss? Let me know in the comments!