100 + Things To Throw Away Right Now!
We all have too much stuff – I bet if you looked around your home right now, you’d find way more than 100 things to throw away.
If you are like me, you may have spent a good portion of your life acquiring material things. So many things that often they go missing around the house and when they emerge months later, you find that you had completely forgotten that you had that thing in the first place! That’s a good sign that you have too much stuff – too much junk. It’s time to declutter! My following list of over 100 things to throw away is here to help!
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Let Go
Parting with your excess things can be hard at first. We tend to attach sentimental feelings to objects, which then make them difficult to throw away. Sure, that bra was the one you were wearing when you met your husband, and every time you open your underwear drawer you see it and you think of that fateful meeting of the love of your life; but that was five years ago, the bra is all stretched out and ratty now, do you really need to keep it forever? The memory of meeting your husband is what matters, and the memory isn’t going to be lost when you toss the stinkin’ old bra out. Remember that pretty much everything can be donated, recycled, sold or given away.
Knowing that someone else can enjoy the item is reason to feel even better about letting it go.
100 + Things To Throw Away Right Now!
- Anything that previously belonged to or reminds you of your ex
- Expired or empty Makeup
- Calculators – You have one in your hand, it’s called a cell phone now!
- Hairdryer attachments – Learn how to use that ‘diffuser’ vacuum nozzle looking thing TODAY, or get rid of it!
- Magazines & Newspapers
- Wrapping Paper
- Kitchen utensils you don’t use (lookin’ at you, whisk)
- The boxes that products came in
- Take-out menus & flyers from restaurants. It’s all online!
- Phone Books Again, everything is online
- Clothes you rarely wear or don’t fit
- Socks with holes / without a mate
- Stockings with runs
- Baby + kids clothes they’ve outgrown
- Any underwear that is old/ugly
- Old greeting cards
- Expired meds + vitamins
- Shoes that are old/ugly/don’t fit/you don’t wear
- Half used chapstick containers – Buy one good one.
- Toys
- Anything in that ‘junk drawer’ you haven’t used in 30 days
- Almost empty hair products – use it up now or lose it
- Books you won’t read again
- Printed photos – Scan the good ones and save digitally
- Extra / unmatched cups & dishes
- Mismatched plastic containers
- Plastic cutlery
- Old paint
- Shopping receipts – If you aren’t intending to return the item, there’s no need for the receipt.
- Old video game consoles
- Kid’s gear they’ve outgrown
- Baby monitors, once your kids are no longer babies
- USB cords
- Old nail polish
- Random salt & pepper packages
- Old bridesmaid dresses
- Worn-out bras
- Gifts you don’t like but held onto out of guilt (throw out the guilt too!)
- Worn-out sheets, bedding, and pillows
- Jewelry you don’t wear
- Emergency sewing kits – I don’t know about you but I have had exactly zero sewing emergencies.
- Old towels
- Old fortune cookie fortunes
- Old bank statements
- Cords and wires that you don’t use
- Clear your inbox by unsubscribing from sites
- Delete emails you don’t need
- Home decor knick-knacks you don’t truly love (Useless ceramic birds, I’m lookin’ at you)
- All those random pieces of paper with your various passwords scrawled on them.
- Old bills (Switching to paying bills online is the way to go)
- Luggage you don’t use
- Random containers, boxes, flower pots + jars
- Store loyalty cards you aren’t loyal to
- Player cards to casinos from that time you went to Vegas
- Delete unwanted music from your iTunes
- Dog toys that are worn out
- Board games that are missing pieces
- Old schoolbooks + textbooks you’ll never use again
- Old manuals to appliances + electronics
- Cell phone accessories you don’t use anymore
- Pens and pencils – You really only need 2 or 3
- Grocery receipts – But make sure you scan them with
- Mini shampoos from hotels
- Ugly fridge magnets
- Those buttons in little bags that came with your clothes (You will never use them)
- Duplicates of anything
- Craft supplies you haven’t used in 6 months
- The other side of a pair of lost earrings
- Receipts you don’t need
- Invoices you don’t need
- Purses + wallets that you don’t use
- Old batteries
- Greeting cards
- Old and outdated software
- DVDs of TV shows & movies. Get a Netflix account!
- CDs – transfer the songs you like to iTunes
- CDs, DVDs, Games, Books
- Old cell phones
- Freebie or promotional hats + t-shirts you never wear
- Cookie cutters
- Expired sunscreen
- Key chains you don’t use
- Random keys you have no idea what they unlock
- Recipe books – It’s all on Pinterest!
- Markers without lids and lids without markers
- Extra shoe laces
- Single-use chopsticks
- Old prescription glasses
- Old sunglasses – Keep 2 pairs you love and donate the rest
- Worn out flip-flops
- Art & posters you don’t totally love
- Decks of cards
- Bread ties & twist ties
- Maternity clothes, unless you’re planning to have another baby
- Hats you don’t wear
- Unused vases – How often do people really give you flowers?
- Paper organizers & day planners
- Paper files and documents – go digital and host it online
- Catalogs + instruction manuals – most are online
- Completed or unused puzzle books
- Completed or unused coloring books
- Instruments you don’t play
- Training manuals and documents from a previous employer
- Remotes that have no purpose
- Lawn and garden pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers you won’t use
- Plastic children’s plates/cups that they’ve outgrown
- Place mats, napkins, tablecloths that never get displayed
- Broken watches
- Halloween costumes you won’t wear again
OMG, when were you in my house- how did you know that I have accumulated pretty much 99% of these items?!!
Thank you for posting this list and making me feel somewhat better knowing I’m not the only person accumulating single use chopsticks!
Hahah! Your comment made me LOL Thanks Jayeeta!!
Great lists. I have a collections of old remotes.. Shame faced!
Hahaha old remotes?? That’s funny! Potential art installation perhaps?
Great list! I especially loved you calling out the whisk and other items that we just don’t use. Made me think of all the things hanging out in my house that haven’t seen the light of day in ages.
You just reminded me, I made ‘hanging tea light candle holders’ out of some spare whisks once, and they actually looked cute!
Old make up, magazines, and expired meds! That’s what I’m working on. It’s so liberating freeing yourself of things you just don’t need. There’s so much less clutter and chaos, so much more clarity and simplicity. Great post! Love your ideas.
Yes, why do we hang onto old makeup?? Maybe because its so darn expensive! lol
I have a similar sentimental “bra” story. I have a blouse which i wore on my first date with my then bf and now husband when i was 18. I’m 34 now with 2 kids, and i still have that blouse. ? I pretty much decluttered 3/4 of my closet, and now have a tiny wardrobe that could fit in one medium travel luggage. So i think i’ll keep the blouse. ?
That’s sweet! And congrats on getting your wardrobe down to one suitcase! Thats impressive!!
Wow great list I could throw alway most of this but I should maybe wait until after bin day haha.
Don’t wait! Waiting to declutter has a side effect…and that is that its harder to get around to doing it later, when you’re less inspired! 😀
Awesome list! So many things that you really don’t need, while some I keep, I am definitely pinning this when I start clearing out our house soon. My family is the worst about random cords, like where do they even come from!?
Hahaa totally! I’ve found too many mystery cords around the house to count! Its so strange, where do they come from, why aren’t they plugged into anything?! Thank you for pinning this!
Fantastic list for spring cleaning. Our garage is about to be half as full!
Awesome!!! Yes get that stuff out and don’t look back!
I was actually just digging out old clothes on Friday. I’m in a big decluttering mood lately. Stuff everywhere is making me anxious. I want to live in a nice, clean, free space
Hi Carli, thats good that you are feeling inspired to declutter! I feel anxious if theres too much junk around too. I have a few other posts that might interest you on the subject, check this out if you like: https://beautyiscrueltyfree.com/inspiration-help-declutter-life/
This is a great list! I tried to tackle the children’s wardrobes and mine recently, but can’t face the Junk Drawer just yet!
Hi Kate, decluttering the kids stuff can be the hardest, they have SO MUCH STUFF! My little guy is just a baby but already has filled a whole closet with clothes and things, if I don’t keep ontop of it, it could get out of control – so I try to do a mini purge of his out-grown clothes monthly. And junk drawers seem to always be a black hole of crap unless you keep tabs on them from time to time too! Good luck, you can do it!
this is a GREAT list!! I find that I hold on to a lot of this stuff for no reason. Spring is the perfect time to purge it all.
Thanks Ashley! That’s so true! Happy Spring purging!
This is a very comprehensive list! I will say that I have a drawer that I haven’t even looked at in prob a year and I’m tempted to just dump into a garbage bag without looking. But, being a stationery designer, I would never throw greeting cards away. They’re the perfect memories in my mind. 😉
Agreed, if you haven’t looked in that drawer in that long, you most likely won’t miss the contents when they’re gone! I love keeping greeting cards too, when they are sentimental, but I found that I was keeping greeting cards that had no special meaning too, so those ones had to go!
#19 & #24 are my guilty pleasure. I love books and shoes. After reading a book I like oh I’ll use it as a reference book ? Shoes I have no excuse I have plenty that don’t fit or will never be worn again but it so hard to find pretty shoes. I will at least reexam these two areas. Thanks for the post. RETURN OF EROS | My Spiritual Journey
https://returnoferos.com/
Hi Tiffanie! I totally feel you, I had over 200 pairs of shoes at one point, even though I only wore the same 3 or 4 pairs! Getting rid of them was hard at first, but once they were gone, I didn’t miss them at all. You can do it! Try donating just a few pairs to your local thrift shop at a time, if you aren’t ready for a big purge 🙂
Wow…what a great list! I’m going to print this out right now and start throwing things out. I’ll cross off as I go. Spring cleaning!!!! Thank you!
Thanks for the note, Christine! I’m glad you found it helpful! Happy spring cleaning!