Peace of Mind Organizing

10 things you can throw away right now

26 April 2021

I led an organizing team in a basement last week and enjoyed watching the clients experience the freedom of letting go of three carloads of unneeded belongings. It made it so easy to organize what they decided to keep.

Is there stuff in your home you could part with? I see the same sorts of items in people’s homes, so I created a quick list of items that tend to clutter up basements (and other parts of the house). Sometimes these can be easy to let go of.

Are any of these items cluttering up your home?

1. Empty boxes for items you’ve had over three months (possible exception: the box your giant TV came in)
2. Packing peanuts and air pillows if you haven’t used any in six months or more
3. Paid bills (non-tax-related) that are more than a year or two old (if that)
4. Supporting paperwork for taxes filed more than seven years ago
5. Clothing that doesn’t fit you or you don’t feel fabulous in
6. Supplies for pets you no longer live with
7. Outgrown games and toys
8. DVDs or VHS tapes
9. Supplies for hobbies or crafts you no longer do (or never actually did)
10. Expired over-the-counter medications or beauty/personal hygiene products
11. Leftover holiday cards you never used from years gone by—especially dated ones
12. Holiday cards you received from others

I suggest you do a quick sweep of your house this week. If you spot any of the above items, consider letting them go!

Here are some ideas for disposing of these items:

• Take the old paperwork to a commercial shredding service (the big-box office supplies stores offer this service as well)
• Donate clothing, toys and craft supplies.
• Sell DVDs or CDs to a used-record store
• Give your unneeded pet supplies to a local animal shelter
• Take the unwanted packing material to a UPS Store (or similar establishment) for reuse

The longer I do this work, the more I believe that less stuff = more happiness. A good place to start is with these no-brainers!

Photo by alan.stoddard via flickr.

Tagged with: basements, clutter, clutter clearing, declutter, donations

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