1. Mismatched Socks And Accessories
When I finally got around to buying a drawer divider much like this on Amazon I quickly realized just how many odd socks were lurking at the bottom of my dresser drawers – and who knows how long they have been without the matching garment.
Now I can finally see the bottom of my dresser, I have made it a policy to get rid of odd socks (and odd earrings too, for that matter) that I cannot find the matching sock for. Occasionally, I may bundle up odd pairs together for wearing inside boots or around the house, but this helps to keep my drawers clear.
2. Scratchy Bath Towels
As much as I try to learn how to soften towels and keep them soft, some of my oldest linens are just beyond saving.
3. Redundant Cables And Charging Wires
Now, this is one I know that we are all guilty of. Keeping surplus cables from phones we don't own anymore (my original IPhone 4, for example) or throwing cables we don't know the use of in a drawer together 'just in case' we figure out a way of using them in the future.
4. Batteries That Have Long-Since Died
Changing batteries is something that I rarely actually do, or at least not until I absolutely have to. Why would I bother to swap out my TV remote batteries when hitting them a few times seems to get them to work again anyway.
5. Instruction Manuals For Appliances I No Longer Own
I had lost count of the number of instruction manuals I had kept a hold of so I barely noticed that I was hoarding manuals for old appliances I had long since gotten rid of or donated, as well as instructions for furniture that I built years ago and have never taken apart since. Much like old take-out menus, recycling these old pamphlets was simple, especially considering I can find many of them as online PDFs nowadays anyway.
6. Expired Pantry Items
When organizing kitchen cabinets I often um and ah about food that is close to or past its best-before dates. Now, if an item is past its use-by date I would certainly throw it out, making sure to empty containers and recycle it if possible. For items that could still be okay for a while I ask myself whether or not I will feasibly use them in the next month, if not, I will remove them from my cabinet.
7. Old Grocery Bags
Although I usually use my reusable shopping totes whenever I do my weekly grocery shop I somehow have a build-up of plastic and paper grocery bags in my entryway closet. Holding onto them 'just in case' just doesn't make sense if I will never gravitate towards them when leaving the house especially now I own some heavy-duty reusable Grocery Shopping Bags like this Amazon set.
8. Broken Things I Have Not Repaired In Over Two Months
Now, I am always looking for more ways to be sustainable at home, and repairing broken things is one of the ways I like to go about it. I am far from perfect, however, and I often simply leave things on the edge of my kitchen counter to fix 'at some point'.
9. Bed Linens I Never Gravitate Towards
I love a comfortable bed and I am very particular about what linens I use on my bed to make my bedroom cozy and coherent. Because of this, there are old linens piled up that I simply do not use on my beds anymore.
10. Old Jewellery I Never Pick Out
Decluttering jewelry is much easier if you think of accessories the same as you do clothes, I have learned. Using some closet decluttering tips I stole from professionals helped me to purge my jewelry collection of pieces that I have either replaced recently with higher quality metals, have tarnished beyond repair, or are no longer quite my style.
11. Takeout Menus
Let's face it, all takeout menus are online nowadays – when was the last time you called a restaurant with a paper menu? I have been trying to tackle my kitchen 'junk drawer' for months and getting rid of these useless paper leaflets has made a huge dent in my hoarding problem.
12. Old Medications
I have a medicine cabinet in my house that is simply overflowing with medications that I either do not need anymore but has prescribed once or half-used packets of Advil that are overflowing from my attempts at organization.
13. Books That I Never Read In The End
I love the idea and look of books, however, I hardly get the time to read them anymore. What's more, I certainly used to be guilty of buying a new book just because the cover looked pretty rather than being interesting in its content.
14. Novelty Kitchen Tools I Shouldn't Have Bought In The First Place
It is all well and good to buy the newest or most novel kitchen gadgets if you are going to use them, but I was suckered in with the belief that the half-lemon saver pod would actually be useful only to never use it. If I am honest, I didn't even get it out of the packaging.
15. Old Containers That Have Seen Better Days
Old kitchen containers build up quicker than anything else in my kitchen. Old plastic take-out containers, lunch boxes, and organizers have caused a minor plastic mountain in my cabinets and made it a battle to get anything out at all.
16. Excessive Cleaning Supplies
I am a stickler for keeping a clean house, but it has meant that the cabinet under my sink has become stuffed full of cleaning products and supplies such as cloths and sponges that have either seen better days or have been so well hidden I forgot I owned them.
17. Moisturisers That Have Long Since Expired
Much like make-up, there are some unexpected things in my home that have expiry dates. Given that I do not moisturize half as much as I probably should, alternating between phases of strict routine and neglecting it altogether, I have more than enough half-used moisturizer bottles laying around, some of which have turned into thick pastes.
18. Old Paperwork And Mail
I do not have a shredder in my house, meaning that important letters and paperwork build up very quickly on my sideboard. While I gathered it all up and put it in a large envelope to take to my parent's house in the holidays to burn on their log fire, it is simple enough to use some scissors to cut up addresses and important details if needed – it might just take a little longer.
19. Pens That No Longer Work
It is almost shocking to admit that I hardly use pens anymore with everything being online and me always having my phone on hand to make notes. Despite this, they are always useful to have laying around – as long as they actually work, that is. I was tired of reaching for a pen quickly when I did need one and it failed to work, leaving me to try and scrape details down when on the phone to somebody, lying to say 'of course, I have a pen'.
20. Store Cards And Coupons For Places I Don't Shop At Anymore
I don't think there is anyone out there that doesn't love a good deal, which is why so many of us seem to have an absurd amount of store cards and coupons that we collected just to never actually use. Whether that is because we have only been in the store as a one-off or because we always forget to take them with us.