Decluttering doesn’t have to be an overwhelming weekend activity. Attacking just one item a day makes the process so much easier. Rarely does anyone need every single thing that’s collected in their home. Here are some of the things you should get rid of if you’re trying to organize your home.
• EXTRA COOKING UTENSILS: Toss any utensils that are chipped, warped, or have peeling plastic. Put the rest into a box on your kitchen counter.. As you cook, return the utensils you use to their original home in your drawer. After a week, rummage through what’s left and toss anything you can’t live without.
• FAST FOOD EXTRAS: All those extra plastic forks, condiment packets, and straws from fast food and takeout orders tend to pile up. Pick a number and cap saved items to that — like keeping 3 soy sauce packets or 6 plastic forks.
• SPECIALTY APPLIANCES: Those specialty appliances make it oh so easy to make cake pops, quesadillas, and ice cream, but they’re rarely worth the space. If you haven’t used a gadget in a year, get rid of it.
• FOOD STORAGE CONTAINERS: Butter tubs, takeout containers, and frozen meal containers can overwhelm your cabinet space in the blink of an eye. If you have a set of dishes and a few Tupperware or Rubbermaid containers, there’s no reason to clog your cabinets with plastic containers that were not intended for storing foods.
• SPICES AND HERBS: Most people have herbs and spices that have seen their better day. Take a bit of the spice or herb in your fingers and crush it a bit. If there’s no scent, there’s no flavor. Toss the ones that are no longer going to do their job.
• PLASTIC SHOPPING BAGS: Plastic grocery bags can come in handy, but that doesn’t mean you should keep an endless stockpile. Take a moment to calculate how many you actually use in a typical week. Keep around 5 of them and toss the rest.
• EXPIRED MEDICATIONS: Drugs lose potency over time, so scan your medicine cabinet for any expired bottles. Most pharmacies, like CVS, Walgreens and Rite-Aid, have stations that you can use to drop off your expired medications. In addition, some cities allow expired medication drop-offs at the local police station.
• UNREAD BOOKS: These days, books are just a click away. That means that you may have shelves of books that you’ve read but will probably never read again. Figure out which books you can’t live without and donate those you can.
