With it being March already, the need for some serious “spring cleaning” has been floating on my mind. Whether it’s for spring or not, getting rid of clutter is an endless project that I do around my home.

Clutter around the house is one of those surefire things that makes me feel unsettled. You know…that feeling where you can’t relax because there’s unfinished business to be done in the home. Since I will be working on multiple home-related projects in the next couple of months, I thought I’d “return to the basics” first. Before I can feel comfortable bringing in new home items into my home, I must purge unused and unwanted items first. Fortunately, I’ve gotten pretty good at parting with things in the past couple of years.

In the spirit of keeping clutter at bay, I’d like to share 10 Things You Should Throw Out Right Now:

1) Coupons

Let’s face it, most of us do not have what it takes to become “extreme couponers.” While using coupons is a good way to save a buck or two, you need to have some sort of organizational system in order to justify saving that stash of coupons in your drawer or file folder. Do yourself and your home a favor by clipping only the products you use and to discard expired coupons regularly.

If you’d like to improve your “couponing” skills, you should check out these helpful tips from wikiHow here.

2) Junk Mail

Paper is probably the biggest contributor of clutter in our homes. Keeping up with your mail and throwing out all non-essential notices as soon as you receive them will keep unwanted paper from accumulating in your home. You shouldn’t have to touch the mail twice (decide what action is needed upon reading it the first time). Keeping a trash container or paper shredder near your foyer is a good idea.

3) Toys from Kids’ Meal

Even if you purge or donate your child’s toys consistently, you probably still feel as if a lot more needs to be removed. This is why it is critical to purge toys that you know will serve little than an hour’s entertainment for your young ones. You know those toys that come along with your child’s kids’ meal? Those are the first items to toss out!

4) Old Linens

Since most households have washers and dryers nowadays, there really is little need to have a large stockpile of linens like bed sheets and bath towels around. It doesn’t help that these items take up so much space in our closets! If you’d like to find ways to recycle your old sheets and towels, check out this helpful post from Apartment Therapy.

5) Old Magazines

As someone who loves magazines, it is very hard for me to toss out all those glossy print magazines. However, recognizing that I only refer to my old magazines once a year (if that), I have purged the last handful of magazines remaining in my bookshelf.

6) Unread books

I’m sure I’m not alone when I say that over 50% of the books I have on my bookshelf have not been touched in over 5 years. Aside from cookbooks, I rarely ever refer to the books on my bookshelf. In the past couple of years, our book collection has dwindled down considerably since I’ve made a habit of donating unused books on a yearly basis.

7) Old Seasonal Decor Items

If you switch up your decor according to the seasons like me, you likely have accumulated multiple bins of seasonal decor in your home. Before you start decorating for a specific season, you should always pull out the items you have stored away before purchasing new items. If you don’t plan to re-use a certain seasonal item this season, chances are you won’t want to re-use it the following season!

Toss or donate any seasonal items that you no longer love. Don’t just leave those items in your bin to store for yet another season.

8) Socks without a Match

It’s time you gave up on the idea that your missing favorite argyle sock will magically reappear one day. Socks are just one of those things that have a shelf life of only 1 year (basically until one of them turns up missing). Instead of having a drawer full of socks without a pair, you should discard or reuse them in other ways. For ideas you can do with your mismatched socks, check out this article from Business Insider: 62 Things You Could Do With Your Old Mismatched Socks.

9) Unused Toiletries

Like everything else, it is so easy for toiletries to clutter up storage space in our home. The biggest offenders are the freebies that we get from the dentist, pediatrician’s office, and hotels. If you are not careful curtailing your toiletry supply, you are likely looking at 30 plus items that sit under your vanity! Want to read up on tips to conquer your toiletry clutter? Visit From Overwhelmed to Organized Blog’s post here.

10) Take Out Containers

It’s bad enough that we have to keep Tupperware in our cabinets to store “leftovers.” Add another stash of those plastic take out containers and you’re just asking for your cabinets to not shut properly. I understand the need to keep a few containers around but having 8 takeout containers is excessive. Go ahead, throw those containers out. Your cabinets will thank you. 🙂

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(Photo courtesy of Pixabay)

De-cluttering is a process that I do on an ongoing basis in my home. While people comment that my home is neat, let there be no illusion that I live in a mess-free or clutter-free home.

I am human. I have 2 kids who love nothing more than to sprinkle toys in the air. I get junk mail. My kids bring home piles of classwork, notices, and artwork from school. What keeps me sane is identifying ways to keep our living space as clutter-free as possible. I hope today’s post can provide some inspiration to motivate you to manage some of the things that clutter up your home.

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Stay tuned for spring-related projects coming up on the blog! Thanks for reading and Happy March! Xoxo, Tee.

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