5 Things You Should Throw Out (Right Now!)

It’s spring cleaning time when we all should be looking for items to keep, donate or throw away. Can you name 5 things you should throw out in your home right now?

To keep or to throw away? That is the question I ask myself whenever I am deep cleaning my home. Now that it’s the time for spring cleaning, I’m going through every room in my house in detail. Unfortunately, I have a lot of stuff.

Spring cleaning is always the best time to throw out unwanted or unneeded items. I’m a sentimental person, wanting to hold on to any item that may represent a special time in my life. Since we have been home so much over the last year during the pandemic, I learned I have way too much “stuff.”  Today I’m sharing 5 Things You Should Throw Out in your home right now.

5 Things You Should Throw Out

From the bedroom to the kitchen, from the bathroom to the hall closet, there are 5 items you should always throw away or donate. 

1. Unworn clothes – There is a new rule in my house for clothes. If you haven’t worn it in a year, then it needs to go live in someone else’s closet.
2. Old Electronics – Unused gadgets and tangled cords take up too much space. How many times have you found a random charger with no electronic partner? Donate (or trash) your old electronics.
3. Expired Kitchen Items – Did you know herbs and spices have an expiration date? Check your kitchen cabinets, pantry, and fridge for expired items once a month! Don’t forget to throw away condiment packets – it’s never easy to tell how long they’ve been around.
4. Kids’ Stuff – Somehow my children accumulate more toys and random items than I can ever remember buying. My daughters and I will go through the playroom with two bags – one for donations and one for trash – every few months looking for broken or unwanted toys.
5. Junk Drawer Items – What do you keep in your junk drawer? We have a little bit of everything – and most of it is useless. Extra buttons, old receipts, coupons, broken pencils, nails and product manuals are just a few things you may find in our junk drawer. I try to sift through the miscellaneous items we’ve collected every few months and throw away the stuff we really don’t need. 

Want more spring cleaning tips for the kitchen? Check out this post!

Things You Should Always Throw Out While Spring Cleaning

MAKEUP – Did you know some makeup products only last 6 months? Check out this post “When to Throw Away Makeup” for more details on each item.

Expired medication (ask your pharmacy for disposal options), carry out menus (they’re online!), last year’s sunblock, and mismatched socks should be thrown away. We all know how difficult it is to keep a pair of socks together – so throw away any socks who have been without a partner for months.

If you’re looking for a place to donate unused items, drop them at your local Goodwill or schedule a pickup by the Vietnam Veterans of America at https://pickupplease.org/donation-pickup/.