25 Items to Purge Right Now
Below are the items I see in people’s homes taking up space and energy for no reason at all. If you want to make a big impact in your home without even organizing one thing, get rid of these right now!
Trash and Recycling – Most of what I throw away in client’s homes is food and candy wrappers, receipts to everyday items, cardboard pieces, uneaten food between the couch cushions, clothes tags, empty laundry detergent bottles, etc. Set your sights on the actual trash that is under your bed or couch, inside of a bag or box or purse, and near the trash and recycling cans but not actually inside them. I’m often surprised by the fact that I’m able to fill a few kitchen trash bags with actual trash that’s just lying around.
Mail – This is one of the biggest sources of clutter for people. Who wants to deal with their mail when they bring it inside on a daily basis? No one, really. But we’ve got to! If nothing else, sort through your piles of mail for campaign flyers, credit card offers and sale ads, etc. You can easily recycle those right away because you have no use for them. Plus, they’re probably old news at this point anyway! You can further prevent this build up by asking the companies via phone or their website to take you off of their mailing list.
Electric cords – It almost never fails that I can fill an entire bin with cords that my clients have no idea what they go to. I encourage you to try to find all of the electronics in your house and match them up to a cord from the bin. If you do find a match, then take a piece of tape and wrap it around a section of the cord. Use a permanent marker to identify what the cord goes to in case they get separated again. If there are cords in the bin that still have no match, it’s time to get rid of them. I’m super cheap myself, but I know that if I had to replace one or two cords, it wouldn’t cost all that much.
Old cell phones and computers – I completely understand the concern about getting rid of any electronics that may contain personal information. So, take them to Best Buy to be wiped clean and recycled. Period. You’re never going to use these obsolete items again! Learn more here: Electronics and Appliances Recycling at Best Buy
Manuals – If you ever need to consult a manual for something you own you can find it online. There is no reason to keep the paper copy whatsoever. The chances of you even consulting the e-manual are slim so just go ahead and recycle this paperwork right away!
VHS/DVDs/CDs – do you even own a piece of equipment that can play these??? I doubt it. If you’re using streaming services for TV, movies and music, there’s no reason to hang on to the old versions of the same information you have built into your smartphone and smart TV. Lighten the load!
Small boxes, plastic and reusable grocery bags – Anything small enough to hold just a few items is usually not your friend. I find way too much “crap” in these types of small “containers” because so many people feel that if they shove something they don’t know what to do with inside of something else that the problem is solved. Rather, you’re just hiding your clutter or trash and putting off the work of getting rid of it until you can no longer hide these containers in a closet or under the bed.
Items that aren’t yours – if something belongs to your brother’s ex-girlfriend that you haven’t seen in two years then send it packing like he did her. Likely your brother doesn’t want the reminder of the ex-girlfriend and you very likely have no use for whatever she left behind.
Magazines and newspapers – the same articles and coupons in these old, dusty publications can be found online. There’s no reason to keep them stacked up on your floor or coffee table unless you plan to use them for packing and moving within 2 weeks or less.
Expired food, medicine, makeup and cleaning products – I’ll be the first one to use expired things because I have a hard time getting over the wasted money spent on them. However, most people would never fathom using something that was even coming close to expiring. So, why keep those items around? A lot of clients tell me that they kept the item so they would remember what to buy to replace it. If that’s the case then simply take a picture of it, add it to your shopping list and chunk it!
Wrapping supplies – I’m glad to see so many gift givers in the world, but I know you’re not using those flattened bows and ripped gift bags. Recycle and trash them! Replace them with something new and intact that you will actually put a gift in. However, going forward it’s important to store them in a safer manner so you’re not replacing the replacements too.
Broken items – if you can’t figure out how to fix something or haven’t spent the money to have someone fix it for you, get rid of it! There’s little that can’t be replaced or upgraded so there’s no sense in holding onto something that doesn’t work. In the end, you’ll spend less energy and potentially even less money by replacing (necessary) items rather than fixing old broken ones.
Torn or stained clothes and linens – this is the same story! If you’ve spot treated, washed and/or mended items and they still look ratty, it’s time to get rid of them. You’re not going to wear these items again or give them to guests to use when they visit so free up some space and replace them with new, usable items that make you proud.
See! No organizing involved. Just some easy purging of unnecessary items adding to the clutter and disarray in your home.
Tidy Kitchen in Boiling Springs SC