Household clutter is the bane of my existence. I love when my house feels tidy, so I routinely go through my things and throw unneeded objects away. It can be super useful to keep a list of things you should throw away. This list helps streamline your cleaning & organization!
12 Things You Should Throw Away Right Now
1. Old Shoes
If your shoes are ratty and smelly, it’s time to throw them away. The shoe collection at my house seems to grow exponentially overnight if I don’t do this.
2. Unworn Clothing
Let’s face it, sometimes we buy clothes that we think we love and then we never wear them. Well don’t hold onto your mistakes! If you haven’t worn it after six months, give it away.
3. Unidentifiable Food
I’ve found some scary things in my refrigerator. The best rule of thumb is to throw away anything you don’t recognize. Otherwise, UFO (unidentified food objects) will pile up!
4. Unmatched Socks
If you’ve done the laundry and still find that you’ve got dozens of mismatched socks, it’s time to face the facts and get rid of the unmatched ones. You’ll thank yourself later!
5. Wedding Invitations
These invitations can be so beautiful and expensive so you may feel the need to keep them. But unless they hold significant meaning, bite the bullet and throw them in the recycle bin.
6. Books
I love reading as much as anyone, but books can cause serious clutter issues. If you’ve got an emotional attachment to a book, by all means keep it. But for light reading, turn to the library.
7. Movies
Friday nights just wouldn’t be the same without movies. But that doesn’t mean you need to own every movie you’ve ever watched. If you’ve got movies that were okay but you wouldn’t see them again, get rid of them.
8. Expired Makeup
Believe it or not, makeup does actually have an expiration date. It might be time to get rid of that mascara you’ve been holding on to for months. Generally, mascara needs to be changed out every 2-3 months. Here is a full list of makeup expiration dates from Seventeen.
9. Your Toothbrush
Dentists recommend replacing these things every month or so. That may not be realistic by try to get in the habit of buying new ones every once in a while and disposing of old ones.
10. Expired Coupons
There’s really no point to clinging onto these things, but inevitably there’s a drawer at your house full of them. Take the time to throw away expired coupons so you don’t get confused.
11. Old Prom Dresses
Maybe prom was the best night of your life, but you still don’t need to keep the dress. Prom dresses take up lots of space, and they’ll seriously never come in handy again.
12. Old Calendars
Out with the old and in with the new. Once the year is over it’s time to throw the calendar away. Keeping it up will create lots of confusion. (Take it from someone who knows).
That’s it for my list of 12 things you should throw away. With the extra space you create, grab some houseplants to decorate with!
All great ideas. But the coupons. Military families stationed overseas can use expired coupons up to 6 months past the expiration date. And they could really use them. Especially anything baby related. Just call your local VA office. They will get them over to them. Veteran army wife here that had 2 little ones in diapers in Italy. Financially, coupons can be a lifesaver.
Thanks. And thanks for the tips.
I also send my out of dated coupons to help the troops.
The address is:
I send coupons that I won’t use as well as any out dated coupons to help the troops.
MCCS Personal Service Center (coupons)
Unit 35023
FPO AP 96373-5023
Should the coupons be cut out? I end up with sooooo many that I don’t use, although I do pass them on. I had to see them go to waste.
Cathy I see this post is from last year, can we still donate coupons ?
You can always send coupons. My American Legion Post collects coupons from the community and sends a package out ever 3 months.
This is an ongoing program. The coupons are used in the stores on Base.
Do you still have coupons to give I am willing to take them
How to know which coupons can be used/which items can be found in a different country?
I keep my calendars. They’re a record of the kids growing up, a great reference back to Dr appointments, help me remember birthdays and annuversaries. We’ve been married 35 years and it’s fun to go back and read them every once in a while
Great idea, I actually used to use a calendar as a journal back in High School. Short little descriptions, hearts and doodles and cute boys’ initials- Love it!
I do the same thing every year,I just got myself to throw Few a away some brought up memories that hurt.
I do that very thing .it’s so easy to look up what happened during the year if you need important dates .
I transfer from the old calendar to the new one, Very easy, fast and get rid of the old one.
I put the old ones with my scrapbook supplies, so if I need to check event details or verify when something I’m scrapping about took place I can look. Also my children’s baby scrapbooks have a calendar page for each month of their first year so, I keep them until I’m done with their books.
Whose fridge looks like this??
Not mine!! 🙂
Donate all of these except the old toothbrush which can be used to clean around the toilet
My dentist always sends me home with a free toothbrush, so I don’t need to “buy” a new one.
Good for you!
You would need to buy a new one of you are your dentist once a year. You are revommemded to change your toothbrush every 2 to 3 months. Therefore you should be buying them at least 3 -4 times a year.
You too cheap to buy a new toothbrush? The sample toothbrush that you get from the dentist is surpose be a temporary gift. Go buy yourself a good toothbrush, CHEAP.
There are programs that accept prom dresses and they are then made available for girls who can’t afford one. What a great way to recycle.
Also your local high school and/or community theater group would probably accept donations of prom dresses or vintage looking clothing.
Don’t toss the old calendars donate them to your local nursing home with a dementia program. They are used in many programs such as discussion groups, memory binder or cut apart and used as simple puzzles.
What a great idea! I had no idea that old calendars would be good for anything, besides paper mache’ 🙂 And of course, ALWAYS recycle!!
Our church gathers old prom dresses (shoes,purses,jewelry) and once a year we give them away for girls who may not be able to afford them. Look local to see who you may be able to help. Love the coupon idea Cathy!
Do not toss old clothes, shoes or prom dresses. All these things can and should be donated to those in need. Check your local area for charities that accept clothing donations and find a prom dress donation specific group that rents out (for free) prom dresses to High schoolers who can’t afford them.
Expired coupons can still be used by military families.
Many near expiration foods can be frozen to extend usability.
Paper items like calendars and invitations should be recycled not thrown in the trash.
And last, books and DVDs can be donated to your local library. If they can’t use them, they will sell them to raise funds.
I completely agree! I think maybe “get rid of” would be a more appropriate title:) I never actually throw anything “away.” I always try to find a good use for old things and pass them along to someone that can use them. Thank you! 🙂
What we started at r church is bring books appropriate and leave them for someone else and if you see something you would like you just take it no fuss and a great way to get rid of books!
I wouldn’t throw away the books, movies, extra kitchen supplies and prom/ evening dresses or any clothing. I rather donate them for a good cause.
I agree, I think maybe “get rid of” would be a more appropriate title:) I never actually throw anything “away.” Thank you, Joanne!
Yes please do not throw away books and movies . Donate them . Some books are worth a lot of money and are no longer published . You really need to change your title to donate or recycle
I would also donate most of the stuff to charities and also the library on books and movies! Where I’m from we have a very good charity that is great helps alot of people in our town
I never throw away unmatched socks, good thing too, when looking for my daughters phone under her bed we found at least 10 single dirty socks!
If after a while I never see a match I use them to dust with.
Me, too, along with with past prime t-shirts and such for cleaning rags.
T-Shirts are great for cleaning mirrors. I just cut some unwanted ones we had into paper towel sized squares and put them in a basket under the bathroom counters. They can be washed and reused and no more “I can’t /couldn’t clean that up because we ran out of paper towels” excuse. (4 kiddos can blow through $ paper towels quick.)
Me, too, along with with past prime t-shirts and such for cleaning rags.
I agree! I never throw out any unmatched socks! I use them for my work socks( nurse). No one cares if my socks don’t match!
If the patients notice they may be interested in seeing what your “combination of the day” is.
I also use a partnerless sick to put over my eyes when trying to sleep. I keep a couple of them on my Ightstsnd so If I get up during the night and can’t find the one, another is right there.
Odd socks can also be used for dusting (I just stick my hand in them) and other small odd jobs.
My boys always wore mismatched sox under boots. Their youngest brother cried when I told him to wear matched sox with shoes. He said “You let the big boys wear pretty sox (mismatched) and make me wear these ugly ones!”
Before you throw away unmatched socks, check with your local elementary school. They can be used to erase children’s white boards.
New fashion trend…..unmatched socks
I cook a lot, and I find it useful to have extra measuring cups and cooking utensils. One cup for wet ingredients, one for dry, etc. It also makes it easier for others to join me cooking so we aren’t trying to share tools.
Well, the author is helping us to organize and declutter our surroundings. If you think your old items can be donated, you can, you don’t need to literally take this article word for word, use some common sense. I think the author is kind enough to share ideas in helping us organize and declutter our surroundings. So I would like to add decluttering negativities in life – mentally. Magnify the good things instead.
Thank you for commenting on the people taking the article word for word and talking about charities. Yes it’s great to donate unused items but the disgusting old shoes just get thrown out of certain charity stores, if it can be donated then do so but if you refuse to use or wear the items you are donating because they are not cleanly or unsuitable for use, think again because a lot of charity organisations will just throw them away anyways.
Souls for soles will take just about anything, they provide to people who are barefoot, unless the shoe is sole-less they will beat bare feet.
Around Seattle they’re wanting any and all clothing even stained, ripped etc. (send it clean) because they sell it to industries that make it into carpet pad, etc. So give away!
Most charities will take unsaleable items for this use now – they don’t get a lot of money per bag, but every little helps. Do them a favour, though – pack these things in a separate bag and stick a large label on the outside saying something like “Rags – not for resale” so they don’t have to waste time and manpower sorting through them.
Well said Gwen!
Amen. I have started on my shoe collection n am setting up different containers for donations, may trash a few but not many. Separate small drawer for odd socks for dusting. Recycle t-shirts also, when I get too many take a bag full to my church for cleaning. My church has a children’s clothing exchange 2 times yr. U can donate, get a ticket n go back to shop on designated date. Thank u for ur suggestions. These help get n keep me motivated as I have a monumental task ahead of me!
Just look at all the great ideas and discussions she started! I bet she didn’t think of that unexpected benefit of her posting! Thank you!
I have an idea for all of that wasnt mentioned on the old calendars……..i plan on making mailing envelopes with mine, they have some beautiful scenic pictures of different places around the country, plus makes an interesting envelope when the person gets it in the mail. And yes you can mail handmade envelopes, at least i was told that.
make the envelopes from former envelopes make a pattern then glue them shut to mail.
wonderful way to use your calendars.
That is such a great idea. One Christmas, we used the colored funnies to wrap presents in because we didn’t know where the wrapping paper was hiding!
I also have duplicate kitchen utensils, if I had to stop and wash out everytime I used one, cooking would take forever. Great idea if you never really cook tho.
THROW THEM ALL AWAY!? You can re-use half or more then half of that stuff.
Throw out books, movies, kitchen utensils and prom dresses?? What on earth are you thinking? All of these items, if not needed, should be donated to someone who can use them. After my daughter graduated from HS I took a bunch of her old formal dresses to the theater dept so that they could use them in future productions. A neighbor of mine runs a daycare and when my kids outgrew the little kid movies I gave them to her to use on rainy days for her programs. And books! Your local library or hospital would be happy to accept them. And those unused kitchen utensils…I bet some local college kids would love them to use in their first new place. Recycle and resuse!
Great ideas! I probably should have said “get rid of” instead of throw away. Of course we want to re-use items and pass them along to people that can benefit from them. This is just a guide to cleaning out your unused items and making more room, which allows for a more organized life. I would be a borderline hoarder if I let myself be! I have to set a few guidelines for myself to flush things out and move on. You would be surprised how long I will hang on to a pesky loner sock, expecting to find it’s mate one day! Have a great day!
I completely agree with Gwen! I believe she said to donate or get rid of most these items in the descriptions besides the toothbrushes, calendars an invites an maybe the shoes. And even the paper items she said to recycle. I think it’s a great post! I’ve thrown out unmatched socks for the most part unless I found a craft for them 🙂 they come in handy for diy leg Warmers for little girls and depending on how bad the old shoes are I’d either throw them away or donate too 🙂 and that is a great idea for calendars Emma Hill
Another use for orphaned socks is to use them to apply wood stain. Slide the sock on your hand and stain away. Hint: wear rubber or vinyl gloves under the sock or you will have stained hands for weeks. Trust me…I learned this from experience.
Get rid of my books? I’ll get rid of everything else before I get rid of them
I had the same thought. I intend to have a floor to ceiling book wall/library one day! When I was younger my room was usually a mess buy none of it was book clutter because my books and books shelf were always pristine! It was the one area of my room that was always tidy. Plus I’m a re-reader. I might pick up a book I haven’t read in a couple years and read it when I’m looking for something to read.
Buy I guess for those who do not cover their books, they can donate them so I can buy them 😉
Let me tell you that eventually you’ll need to part with books or at least stop buying new ones. I have the floor to ceiling bookcases you mention with ladder in several rooms and there’s not a spot in my home for one more book. I’ve reluctantly switched to ebooks, usually kindle which I read on my PC. It does cause some distress, however, every time I’m in a book store and know I just can’t buy one more book.
I know what you mean. I lover my Kindle and I wouldn’t be without it, but I will never be able to give up on ‘real’ books. There are some which can’t be usefully put on e-readers anyway……my collections of gardening and recipe books for a start, and then my collection of art and craft books.
My jaw dropped at the very thought of getting rid of my precious books! I have a lot of craft books, and frequently look up up techniques, measurement conversions, and inspiration.And I re-read many of my fiction books. They are like old friends.
Those old prom dresses can be donated to small community theaters or high school drama classes. Our theatre sometimes, if they do not use the dress, use the fabric to make other costumes. I need to look into my book collection! Too many!
I disagree with 2: wedding invites (come on, they don’t take up that much space. Attack Christmas and birthday cards before the invites) and the prom dress. Bear with me, some are worth getting rid of but I had 2, one was a nicer ballgown that didn’t get as dated as my other one and IT DID COME IN HANDY! My husband, then fiance, invited me to the Submariner’s ball 2 weeks before the ball. I didn’t have the money to buy a new dress. Called my mom, she brought me my old prom dress and I wore it to the ball.
I was thinking the wedding invitations could be scanned or pictures of them. Plus those great drawings and school projects. Then you have them still just not the actual object
My daughter is always after me to rid myself of extras in the kitchen — until she was cooking one day and realized one of the one cup measuring cups I have had already been used for Crisco (don’t ask, I didn’t eat it, LOL). When she needed to add sugar and flour, she was so grateful for the second cup . . . and the same with liquid measuring cups. You can NEVER, EVER have too many wooden spoons. Ever.
As for the fridge, I clean mine out every trash day. This does NOT mean I wash the shelves, it means I get rid of food I won’t be using because it is expired or whatever. I have a box in my pantry for canned goods that ARE NOT EXPIRED that goes to the food pantry down the street. I emphasize that are not expired — if you wouldn’t eat something that is expired, why would you expect someone down on their luck to do so?
I have found the absolute minute I throw away a sock, the mate shows up. So, I keep old socks, just in case. If the mate never shows up, I cut them up and use them to stuff pillows, or things for my granddaughters.
I agree to get rid of old formals but don’t throw them away-recycle. Either give them to good will or do what I did…. I altered them to fit my daughter for dress up clothes and costumes.
I only throw a sock that is truly done. But if the mate is still good, I keep it. I wear a uniform for work and it really doesn’t matter if my socks match. That way I have socks for work, but I also have socks for dress-up. My dress up socks I buy all the same color, same style. So I always have something that will match.
I keep orphan socks for dusting.
I like to freeze water bottles for the hot summer days. But they sweat so much and make everything a mess. My solution? Single socks with no mate. Put it on the water bottle, and it collects all the sweat mess.
Seriously? Read these comments. Throw stuff OUT. hoarders in denial. People in nursing homes, third world countries etc don’t want your garbage.
Ah yes, good point, about deciding what can be recyled and what should be discarded.
I don’t know about anyone else but I’ve often needed more than one measuring cup of the same size when baking, especially around the holidays. Duplicate baking and cooking utensils come in handy a lot.
Thanks for your great idea, but i rather donate them to charity. Especially old prom dress, for the calender i will scan them and keep gor reference
You can re-use calendars once you have a full set of 14. You need one (each) with January 1st starting on each day of the week, with and without leap year. Easy Peasy.
Good grief! This was an excellent list for decluttering! Let’s not be so literal! Do whatever you want with the stuff, just get rid of it! With the exception of the idea for sending coupons to military families (great suggestion!!) the other ideas and suggestions are exactly what makes me hang onto stuff and clog my home with clutter! I’ve kept tons of stuff with the “good intentions” of donating to fifty different places and it never happens!
I assure you from experience, the down and out right here in the USA are extremely grateful for warm coats, warm blankets, and so on. One man’s trash is another’s treasure.
Sort every item into three piles: The items that are in keeping with your vision of the room; the items destined for “donation,” and the stuff for the “trash” pile.
I took duplicate kitchen tools and put them in a tub to get rid of them then found I was using duplicates often. I suggest you do a test run before purging if you feel you are really using something. While this list might not solve everyone’s clutter issues, the point is to paste down to what you are really using.
Nike collects used sneakers and grinds the rubber to make running tracks and playgrounds where they are needed.
Donate old calendars with good pictures to school art teachers. They can be used in art projects.
I find I may use a more than 1 whisk while making a meal, same goes with measuring cups, if you are measuring both wet and dry ingredients it is really hard to go back and forth between wet and dry ingredients. I will use 2 or 3 spoons when serving as well. When it comes to the kitchen everyone is different in what they prepare.
I use unmated socks when mowing or weedeating ,then I can throw them out instead of washing them. I also store old socks, underware,and pajamas in my suitcase. When I travel I can use them and throw away. Less dirty clothes to bring home and makes space for the souvenir you know you will buy.
No way am i getting rid of my mis matched socks lol. I can’t remember the last time i actually matched my socks up. Its been decades. The only time they are a pair is before they are washed. Trust me no one will even notice your socks don’t match. Only once in the decades have i been called out. I was walking on the University of SC campus and a guy yells out i like your socks. I didn’t remember what 2 random socks i put on that morning. I started laughing when i looked because they were purple and orange Clemson colors our schools rival lol. I do have a few rules. 1. No white socks with dark pants. TACKY. 2 The socks have to be close to the same thickness. 3. If i wear shorts [i rarely wear shorts and even rater wear shorts with socks) the socks have to be the same color
I’m laughing over here – who would have thought a post like this could be so controversial? In my house, “throw away” means trash, recycle, or donate. We can use our own brain sense to figure out which is appropriate. Donations are great but one’s trash isn’t always another’s treasure. Aaaaanyway, my only negative thought about this was…. Toss my library?! Nonsense! 😉
Old shoes though…. I’m getting on that immediately. And prom dresses take up way too much space to be keeping!
Also if you’re concerned about throwing your calendars away instead of donating, grade school art programs may be able to use them for collage studies (as long as they’re not of the sexy fireman variety) along with old magazines… but call to be sure before dropping them off or they may just end up in their trash instead of yours.
I DO throw away stuff like this. It goes to a landfill and idgaf. I dont have time to take individual items all over town! In a trash bag it goes!!
Excellent article! We are linking to this particularly great content on our site.
Keep up the good writing.
Many of these comments miss the point. We can have 1001 good intentions with all of these items, but if we aren’t the type to follow through with said good intentions (and let’s face it, many of us will never follow through) hanging on to these items is ridiculous. They leave the house cluttered. Throw them out. Get rid of them. Whatever. I’m
Please don’t throw away your books!! Other things by all means but books.. please!
I do most of this but I disagree with the duplicate utensils.
I love to cook and often cook for a crowd. I would be lost if I didn’t have multiple sets of measuring spoons, wooden spoons etc. There isn’t always time to wash things when you are in the middle of cooking three things at once.
We did this just before Christmas.. It felt so good to clear the clutter. I didn’t get rid of any books, apart from a few that I had doubles of, or cooking utensils (I have separate for cooking and baking). If it could be reused, we put it into the charity bin opposite our flat, anything else went into our recycling bin. There was lots of stuff that we had originally decided to keep to reuse but hadn’t touched in about 18 months.
Most would agree with the prom however I bought a beautiful mermaid white dress for my prom and reused it for my wedding 16 years later! It was my dream dress then and now even with the same guy:) Great for the frugal and looked just as great thanks heavens I’m the same size!
I disagree with the duplicate utensils. If I’m cooking multiple things, I’m not going to use the same spatula for each.
Don’t throw or give away old prom dresses. Your granddaughters will love to play in them
You can make something else out of the old prom dresses you can also then you can use parts of it for other crafts don’t throw them away if you’re crafty person that is
my daughter wore her prom and homecoming dresses for years after she graduated for formal nights on cruises and for charity balls, etc.
Throw away books?! What sort of devilry is this??
Get rid of books????? Are you kidding me??? That’s messed up!
I use old calendars for making gorgeous Japanese paper flowers they look gorgeous! Kudusama flowers http://www.elizabethannedesigns.com/blog/2009/05/05/diy-wedding-details-kusudama-paper-flowers/ they’re really easy and great for presents
Old toothbrushes can be used to clean small items, like around the bathroom faucet etc… And maybe donate some of the stuff that can be reused rather than “throw them out”!
Some good ideas, some not so good. Do the ones that are appropriate for YOU.
# 6. Books? Get rid off — if you don’t read them (like some textbooks) you can used them for storage.
# 9. Kitchen utensils? Depending on what I am making or doing, I might need several — at the same time.
#13. Old Calendars? If you use something like a wall one for keeping track of things like events or appointments,
KEEP IT.
We always need more than one of some cooking utensils. Like when baking, you don’t use a 1/2 cuos measuring cup for a wet ingredient and then use it for dry ones. Or when one is dirty, you need a clean one. However, i am the one that coukd use fewer wooden spoons and spatulas.
I agree…but #8….. it’s always a good idea to have a pair of kitchen utensils specially when you have kids and bake together 🙂
An outstanding share! I have just forwarded this onto a colleague
who has been doing a little homework on this. And he
actually bought me dinner due to the fact that I found it for him…
lol. So let me reword this…. Thanks for the meal!!
But yeah, thanx for spending time to talk about this
topic here on your internet site.
6 months?? REALLY? I don’t usually wear my winter coat from March to October….but I sure will need it in December.
#4 – who really has to tell someone to throw away unidentifiable food objects?
#6 – does anyone actually keep wedding invitations after the wedding itself unless you are immediate family (and then only maybe!)
#7&8 – books & movies aren’t the problem…it’s buying books/movies that aren’t books that you will read or refer to over and over. Upfront discipline is what’s needed here.
#9 – when baking, sometimes one needs to dry measure using 1 tsp and then liquid using the same….I find it most handy to have at least 3 sets of measuring spoons and cups, but then again, I rarely eat processed foods.
I cringed at the thought of throwing books away. Please donate them or perhaps take them to a consignment shop so someone else can enjoy them. I saw the list and couldn’t imagine throwing books away, so stopped reading the post. Perhaps the author had a better idea further into the post.
If you have ratty old VANS (esp men’s sizes) sell them on eBay. You’d be surprised at how well they sell!
I love my Kissing calendars. Apparently, these aren’t made any longer. I own half dozen. My son gave me one of NYC classic photography for a gift because the Brooklyn Bridge (where I was born) is featured the month of my birth. And, he knows how much I LOVE NYC and Brooklyn. If you keep 7 to 10 favorite calendars they recycle. Imagine the one’s created for gifts of loved one’s or things we adore? Problem solved. Meaning simply match the first day of the following year with the first day of the current year. The leap years might mean switching calendars at the end of Feb/beginning of March, but who cares? I love my calendars and this is a recycling easy breezy trick. And, the old one’s take up very little room in my office tucked away. Plus, if you track simple memories on them, it’s a great way to revisit special precious moments. Mine are empty. My philosophy is some memories are best kept in the past. So, stock appearance leaves room for new moments with each use. Done this for about twenty years. Works awesome for me. Now, maybe you, too 🙂
There are a heck of a lot of hoarders in the comments here ‘you can never have too many wooden spoons’ ‘upcycle this junk’ etc etc. You can absolutely have too much of something. And I bake and cook ALL the time and don’t have duplicates of anything, and somehow I’m fine. (I clean up as I go because I’m not a slob and it makes it so much easier) People need to learn to get by with less crap, how do you think people lived 100 years ago ?
One of the best article of decluttering! Every thing even as the smallest item as coupons, receipts once kept will just pile. Start throwing things that you knew you would never use again!
Great topic! LMAO about some of the comments. My suggestion is contact LUPUS.org or AMVETS.org and they will pick up what you leave out. I also drop off at the Salvation Army.
To all the book lovers and Eco-friendly peeps – {{HUGS}}
Years ago I got sick of moving my books from place-to-place, so I got rid of them. I was a lit and history major in undergrad and then got a masters in lit, so…lots of books. They went to a non-profit that donates to prison libraries, so I can feel goo about that. However, nearly eight years later, having bought my first house, I kick myself almost daily for giving them away. I love houses with walls of books that the occupants have read, and here I am with a wall but very few of the books I’ve read. Of course I ended up keeping a good deal of what I’ve read since I gave those books away, but looking back, even the books I read that I didn’t love (especially if they were for college or grad school) are things I wish I still had. Those were some good years of my life, and there really aren’t any physical objects that connect me to those days – those books would have been wonderful to have for the shelves in my home as well as for the physical connection to the past. Just something to think about next time someone (or some web site) tells you to get rid of your books.
on my calendar I have a detailed account of things that I want to remember or important daily details so I do not discard them.
Love my old calendars and Christmas card. I’m a preschool teacher of 25 years. I recently made a beauriful bird sanctuary from cutting 12 birds from an old calendar. I placed ir in my science center. The kids live it. They spend lots of time sitting and starring at the scene and discussing the birds. They even look for them when we go out for recess. Lol. We are in the middle of downtown Fort Worth, Tx. What a blast!!!
Dentists actually recommend changing your toothbrush every three months.
I would like to donate my wedding dress to a worthy cause that can use the fabric. Realistically, my daughters are not going to wear it and it’s taking up space in a closet. Any good ideas?
Mismatched socks make great sock creatures, dusting rags, and stuffing for plush crafts. I’m upcycling my old socks to stuff a ottoman. Old toothbrushes get the nooks and crannies clean . I only buy books and movies I really enjoyed . so I don’t have many . I use the library to watch movies and read books so I don’t have to many. I donate my clothes to women’s shelters so my clothes help the less fortunate ,I do that with books I don’t like anymore to. I agree donate formal wear to a girls charity closet . Less is more .I find it utterly ridiculous my Father In-law has like 20 pairs of tongs. No one needs that many!
I certainly don’t agree with the idea of throwing books out…….I keep nearly ALL my books. (Maybe I would give some of the chick-lit to charity……)
In the UK we don’t have Prom dresses. ‘Proms’ for us is a music festival that takes place every summer at the Albert Hall in London. Full title Promenade Concerts.
Old prom dresses and such… donate to the local schools for the kids that do not have money to buy a prom dress.. even wedding dresses.. alot of kids make them into prom dresses.. we did that with my daughters.. it was awesome <3
Thank You for your article and I’m so sorry people are so negative
Cathy,
Thank you so much for reading!
you should’ve kept your first generation iPod. people are paying thousands of dollars for them now
I don’t really understand the reasoning behind encouraging people to throw away books…I personally think our lives would be a little bit better if more people read regularly. Can they cause clutter? Sure. But so do electronic devices and a million other staples of the American household.
I definately need to declutter! I love this blog thanx for sharing…… maybe its time to ‘get rid’ ? of the laundry bag of ‘ in desperate need of a brother/sister sock’ lol