15 Things to Toss, Donate, or Recycle This Week
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I hate clutter. I dislike the feeling when opening a drawer or closet and a mountain of mess comes flying out at me. Every six weeks, I deep clean a room and go through what is there. If it doesn’t make me happy or has a superb purpose, it is more than likely tossed or donated. When we bring something new into the home, something old goes out. You can start decluttering this week with 15 things to toss, donate, or recycle this week.
Magazines – remove the label and donate to a woman’s shelter or a personal care home.
Newspapers – recycle or use them to line a pet cage or donate to an animal shelter.
Take-Out Menus – those restaurants that are closed, you don’t visit anymore, or if there is an updated menu, throw the old ones away.
Bills, Taxes, Paperwork older than 7 years – shred those papers before tossing. Do you need to keep the paperwork on your first car from 30 years ago?
Old Holiday/Greeting Cards – no need to keep boxes of Christmas cards from the 70’s. Pick a few to keep and either dump or recycle those babies.
Phone books – really, is there a need to keep phone books from 10 years ago? Keep the most updated and check to see if you can recycle the books or throw them away.
Promotional Goods – are those tacky magnets from an unelected official or a business you don’t use necessary? Keep the notepads and the pens if they write.
Pens and Pencils – after a length of time, ink dries up; there’s no need to fight a pen just because of sentimental reasons. If the pencil erasers have a thick waxy coating causing you to not to be able to use it without smearing, toss away.
Old Calendars – no reason to keep old calendars even if they are full of historical events in your life from your high school years.
Hotel Soap, Shampoo, Mouthwash, and Conditioner – the only good thing about these if they are unopened is donating them. In fact, you can create a gift bag for people in a nursing or personal care home.
Old Technology – if you don’t have the device to play those 8 tracks or VHS tapes don't keep them. Music and movies are all on discs or downloads today.
Dried or Gummy Nail Polish Bottles – nail polish is inexpensive, buy new colors during the spring and fall. When it starts to gum up or dry out, skip the act of adding a little polish remover because it doesn’t work.
Unused Plastic Containers Without Lids – when there is no lid toss those containers. If you can’t find the bowl for the lid, toss the lid. If any of your containers do not have the numbers 1,2, or 5 on them get rid of them because they may contain BPA.
Clothes – if you didn’t wear it within the last season ( ex. winter), get rid of it because you are probably not going to wear it the next season.
Mail – go through your mail and send that junk packing. Go a step further, the moment you bring it in the house, go through it and toss the junk.
While these are only 15 things to get rid of in helping keep the clutter down, be proactive and look around to see what else you can part with.
What would you add to this list?
15 Things to Toss, Donate, or Recycle This Week
Magazines – remove the label and donate to a woman’s shelter or a personal care home.
Newspapers – recycle or use them to line a pet cage or donate to an animal shelter.
Take-Out Menus – those restaurants that are closed, you don’t visit anymore, or if there is an updated menu, throw the old ones away.
Bills, Taxes, Paperwork older than 7 years – shred those papers before tossing. Do you need to keep the paperwork on your first car from 30 years ago?
Old Holiday/Greeting Cards – no need to keep boxes of Christmas cards from the 70’s. Pick a few to keep and either dump or recycle those babies.
Phone books – really, is there a need to keep phone books from 10 years ago? Keep the most updated and check to see if you can recycle the books or throw them away.
Promotional Goods – are those tacky magnets from an unelected official or a business you don’t use necessary? Keep the notepads and the pens if they write.
Pens and Pencils – after a length of time, ink dries up; there’s no need to fight a pen just because of sentimental reasons. If the pencil erasers have a thick waxy coating causing you to not to be able to use it without smearing, toss away.
Old Calendars – no reason to keep old calendars even if they are full of historical events in your life from your high school years.
Hotel Soap, Shampoo, Mouthwash, and Conditioner – the only good thing about these if they are unopened is donating them. In fact, you can create a gift bag for people in a nursing or personal care home.
Old Technology – if you don’t have the device to play those 8 tracks or VHS tapes don't keep them. Music and movies are all on discs or downloads today.
Dried or Gummy Nail Polish Bottles – nail polish is inexpensive, buy new colors during the spring and fall. When it starts to gum up or dry out, skip the act of adding a little polish remover because it doesn’t work.
Unused Plastic Containers Without Lids – when there is no lid toss those containers. If you can’t find the bowl for the lid, toss the lid. If any of your containers do not have the numbers 1,2, or 5 on them get rid of them because they may contain BPA.
Clothes – if you didn’t wear it within the last season ( ex. winter), get rid of it because you are probably not going to wear it the next season.
Mail – go through your mail and send that junk packing. Go a step further, the moment you bring it in the house, go through it and toss the junk.
While these are only 15 things to get rid of in helping keep the clutter down, be proactive and look around to see what else you can part with.
What would you add to this list?
