One a Day: Throw These 116 Things Away

I don't like to throw things away. There have been so many times when I've gone to use something, only to find I'd tossed it/given it away 6 months earlier. The problem is there is only a finite amount of space where you can keep "stuff." There's literally not enough room for all-the-things. 

I have gotten better over the years. I've sold a small mountain of clothing items via Facebook and give away a fair bit at the end of every season. I'm still working on de-cluttering my room, which is kind of fun because of all the random crap I find from a million years ago. For example - the guest pass to Pius X high school from my junior year...I shadowed a friend at Pius X for the day and apparently kept the guest pass. I also found a homemade "coupon" from my old Youth Group leader back in California...it was to go out for a birthday coffee.

Sentimental journeys aside,  it's good to clear things out from time to time. Not only is there more space in my room, but it feels a bit...lighter, for lack of a better word. 

I found a list on PopSugar of items they suggest you throw away, give away, recycle or sell and included it below. The items I agree with (and have either gotten rid of already or am planning to) are in bold, with my comments in italic and blue.

One a Day: Throw These 116 Things Away
Cleaning out clutter can be a tough task, especially if you have been letting it build up for a while. Instead of setting aside a huge block of time to take care of months' or years' worth of clutter, take baby steps by throwing away only one type of item a day. And by throwing away, I mean recycling, selling, donating, or — as the last resort — trashing. Here's a list of 116 types of items that will take you about four months to dispose of:

1. The other side of a pair of lost earrings
2. Scraps of wrapping paper - pfft, please. There are always small things that need wrapping.
3. Cards people have given you with no sentimental value
4. Receipts you don't need
5. Ticket stubs - aw hell no. Those are too much fun to go through or find years later. Helps enjoy/relive the experience.
6. Socks with holes - yes! I'm a bit OCD about this one.
7. Old t-shirts - unless they have sentimental value, like old soccer jerseys. 
8. Leftover change - why would I get rid of left over change? Better to convert a giant plastic jar into a "change catcher" and convert it into a more usable form down the road.
9. Dried flowers - it only took about 6 years for me to throw out my corsage from prom. :)
10. Magazines
11. CDs - I've invested way too much in CDs over the years to just toss them.
12. Hair elastics that have lost stretchiness - because they are literally good for nothing.
13. Hair accessories you don't use - this is on my to-do list.
14. Shoes that don't fit or that you don't wear - I'm getting better at thsi one. 
15. Extra photo prints
16. Little knickknacks (designate a bowl and fill it) - nope, sorry. Love my knickknacks.
17. Kitchen things you don't use - thankfully we don't have too many of these. 
18. Cooking utensils you have two of - I always need more than one wooden spoon when I'm cooking. So no.
19. Tired bras
20. Scarves you never wear 
21. Clothes that don't fit - but maybe I'll fit into those again someday! No? Ok, fine.
22. Gifts you don't like
23. Old towels
24. Old makeup
25. Old toiletries
26. Old or unused hangers
27. Expired or sample-sized toiletries - the sample sized ones are great for traveling.
28. Extra buttons
29. Expired sauces
30. Toys your pets don't play with
31. Expired medication - DON'T THROW THESE AWAY! TOXIC!!
32. Dried-up nail polish - another "literally good for nothing."
33. Bills you don't need to keep
34. Expired coupons
35. Old paperwork
36. DVDs you don't watch - I'm getting better at this one. I just reorganized my DVDs and thinned the herd a little.
37. Snacks your pets don't eat - considering Joey will eat anything from lettuce to parmesean cheese to glass, there really is nothing on the "snacks he won't eat" list. 
38. Damaged clothing you can't mend
39. Stained clothing you can't clean
40. Old prom dresses - still have mine! :)
41. Scratched nonstick cookware - sold mine post-college. I am now the proud owner of a lovely stainless steel set.
42. Old underwear or swimwear that's losing its stretch
43. Outdated electronics - but what would I play my VHS tapes on?
44. Rusty jewelry
45. Stockings with runs 
46. Pens that don't work
47. Clothing you've outgrown - though I'd encourage going the sell or donate route.
48. Necklaces and bracelets with broken clasps - those can be fix sometimes...right?
49. Cables and wires you don't use
50. Worn-out sheets and bedding - I do miss by starry bedsheets.
51. Empty or near-empty bottles of cleaning products
52. Old mending buttons for clothing you no longer have
53. Worn-out bath mats - I should get new ones one of these days.
54. Broken electronics
55. Purses you never use - you never know when the right occassion will present itself...and just because I've never used the awesome hand-me-down silver Gucci purse my aunt sent me, it doesn't mean I won't.
56. Flatware, plates, and glasses that don't match the rest of your collection, plus dingy children's plates you no longer use - I recently donated the plate set I used in college...they'd been sitting in the basement for the last 8 years.
57. Old pillows - it's so nice to get new ones! 
58. Worn-out shoes
59. Wedding invites
60. Save-the-dates - unless you are still waiting for the invites to arrive.
61. Wedding favors you don't use - I rarely take them for this very reason...unless they're flowers. I love flowers.
62. Old wallets that you don't use
63. Broken kitchen equipment
64. Spare furniture parts you don't need
65. Furniture manuals
66. Boxes - you can always use boxes.
67. Unused vases
68. Extra tupperware you don't need
69. Old mail
70. Junk mail
71. Travel brochures
72. Bobby pins - why would you throw out bobby pins? They have to many practical uses?!
73. Old crayons or art supplies, plus markers that have run out of ink
74. Random containers and jars - they made great random storage. No touchy.
75. Unused stationery, stickers, and sticky notes
76. Ripped denim
77. Old artwork or old children's artwork  
78. Used and ripped envelopes
79. Broken or old iPhone cases
80. Old unused batteries
81. Extra and unused coffee mugs

    

    Matt wrote this on our ginger years ago. :)

82. Old spices - as long as someone writes "with real bits of Ron Howard" on the Ginger container again. :) 
83. Address labels for your old house
84. Wrinkled ribbon and bows for gift wrap - pfft, we reuse that kind of stuff all the time! It's not a real birthday unless we had to take a used bow on a box! :)
85. Cards or gifts from exes - the house if officially ex-gifts free! 
86. Frequent shopper cards you never use
87. Matchbooks - pfft, no way. That seems like a waste.
88. Old shopping bags - we frequently reuse them 
89. Old calendars
90. Old folders
91. Magnets - we have some handy ones in the kitchen, with important contact info
92. Clothes that are outdated or from college
93. Broken Christmas decorations
94. Christmas lights that don't work
95. Frayed towels
96. Expired food
97. Computer cords, firewire cord, etc. that you don't use - we just cleared oout a small mountain of old computer equiment, cords, etc.
98. Old and outdated software - we should, but...
99. CDs for old computer programs - good bye, Zoo Tycoon!
100. Old cell phones
101. Hand-me-downs that you're guilt-tripped into keeping 
102. Freebie or promotional t-shirts you never wear
103. Old fortune cookie fortunes - nope. I've kept 4 over the years.
104. Old bank statements - I've been shredding my way through a small mountain of them
105. Old planners
106. Delete email subscriptions from sites
107. Delete emails you don't need - I'm something of an email horder. I move things into folders like "Coupons" or "Cooking," but I rarely delete anything other than time sensitive promotions or solicitation emails.
108. Delete unwanted music from your iTunes - why? You never know when it's just a Nickleback kind of day. :D 
109. Extra buttons that come with newly purchased clothes
110. Games that are missing pieces
111. Old schoolbooks you'll never use again
112. Papers you have backed up on the computer
113. Books you've already read and don't want to display - I didn't know there was such a thing. 
114. Cell phone covers you're over - if by "over" you mean broken, then yeah, sure.
115. Old manuals to electronics
116. Cell phone accessories you don't use anymore

What would you add to the list? Or remove from it? 



~ Katie

Song of the day: 
I'm in an Ed Sheeran kind of mood, so I decided to go with "Thinking Out Loud." I love the dancing in the music video, but since the female dancer is wearing what I'd consider (lovely wedding night) lingerie, I decided to post a lyric video instead. :)