Things to Throw Away When Decluttering

Our house collects “piles.” These are little areas of clutter that accumulate things I plan to put away eventually. There are piles of mail, piles of kids’ toys that need to be put away in their bedrooms, piles of receipts that either need to be saved or tossed, and don’t forget the piles of miscellaneous papers that come from who knows where.

If you’ve decided you want to know how to declutter your home, you need to start with purging the piles. Maybe your piles aren’t on your counters. Maybe they are in your cabinets. Maybe they are lurking in the drawers of your home. Wherever your piles may be, you can start with them. 

Since we downsized, I am finding our “piles” accumulate way faster than they used to. My mission to simplify our lives continues. Haha! With five kids, simplifying is certainly an ongoing process, and quite frankly, if I don’t stay on top of the piles, they grow at a rate much faster than I can tackle in one day.

It can be difficult to decide which things to throw away when decluttering. Some things just plain get overlooked. 

I have created a big giant list of things to throw away when you are decluttering. These items are divided by zones. My whole home decluttering checklist is also divided by zones. It is much easier to break your house into sections and work on one section at a time when you are decluttering, rather than just one spot in your bedroom and one spot in the living room. 

What to throw away when decluttering?

Are you wondering what you need to get rid of when decluttering? Check out this list.

Things You Can Throw Away Now

Office

1. Old Receipts
2. Pens Out of Ink
3. Cords that don’t go to anything you use anymore
4. Old business cards 
5. Stubby pencils
6. Old phones/tablets/laptops (can be sold or recycled)
7. Bills that have been paid
8. Your old schoolwork
9. Incoming invitations/papers (write down important info in your planner)
10. Travel brochures
11. Old calendars
12. Resources you will never use (old manuals, textbooks, etc)
13. Anything broken
14. Bits of scrap paper
15. Bits of scrap wrapping paper
16. Piles of junk mail

Entertainment

1. Broken CDs
2. DVDs you don’t watch
3. Books you don’t read
4. Books that are ripped
5. Old magazines
6. CDs that can be put on your iPod
7. Old newspapers
8. Board games that no one plays
9. Puzzles that are missing pieces

Wardrobe

1. Broken Jewelry
2. Clothes that don’t fit
3. Outdated clothing
4. Clothing made with cheap, uncomfortable fabrics
5. T-shirts you never wear
6. Accessories you don’t use
7. Old bridesmaid dresses
8. Old prom dresses
9. Broken/wornout shoes
10. Socks without a match
11. Old, holey underwear
12. Bras that don’t fit
13. Hair accessories you don’t use

Kids’ Stuff

1. Broken toys
2. Toys that never get played with
3. Clothes that don’t fit
4. Clothes that are out of season and won’t fit next year
5. Cheap toys
6. Technology toys that are outgrown
7. Games with missing pieces
8. Toys with missing pieces
9. Wornout clothing
10. Dress up clothes that are ripped
11. Anything given to you for a baby shower that you won’t use (lotions, oils)

Kitchen

1. Empty boxes/spices that are left in the cabinets
2. Outdated spices
3. Expired pantry items
4. Doubles of utensils
5. Broken utensils
6. Rusty pots and pans
7. Multiple serving dishes
8. Mismatched storage containers
9. Chipped plates
10. Excess coffee cups
11. Anything you don’t use

Bathroom

1. Expired/Old toiletries and make-up
2. Sample bottles from hotels
3. Cracked, yucky make-up
4. Nasty hairbrushes
5. Stretched out hair ties
6. Dried out nail polish
7. Hair curlers you don’t use
8. Shower caps with loose elastic
9. Moldy kids’ bath toys
10. Dusty candles
11. Old, novelty gifts you won’t use (face masks, bath gels, etc.)

Linens

1. Table cloths you don’t use
2. Anything holey or stained
3. Place mats you’ll never use again
4. Old sheets that no longer fit your bed
5. Ripped up comforters you aren’t going to fix
6. Anything not your style anymore
7. Stretched out fitted sheets
8. Towels that no longer absorb
9. Yucky, old pillows

Garage

1. Properly dispose of old paint
2. Rusty tools
3. Empty spray cans
4. Tools that no longer work
5. Broken tools
6. Outdoor toys that are outgrown
7. Christmas lights that don’t work
8. Anything you can’t tell what it is by looking at
9. Dried out super glue
10. Old camping gear you never use
11. Flotation devices that are no longer safe

Well, that’s a big list! I hope you now have some more inspiration to go forth and take care of the clutter in your home!