10 MORE Things To Toss Today! (Part 2)

A while back, we created an article called 10 Things To Toss Today that was designed to help you get started on what can be a difficult decluttering journey. You guys ate that content up like it was a tasty bag of chips, so we decided to give you 10 MORE things you can toss today!

Now before we start, I want to cover one important issue that bubbled to the surface, and that is the use of the actual word toss. We are not advocating for you to just crumple something up willy-nilly and throw it in the garbage. Putting some things in the garbage is inevitable, but the garbage bin should really be your last resort! Ideally, find an alternative use for things–whether it be giving it to someone who could benefit from them, like a friend or family member, or donating them.

1. Plastic Bags

Several years ago Toronto stores started charging for plastic shopping bags and that meant every company—literally, every company—started making their own reusable bag. At first, that was great because you’re like, “Awesome, I get to save 5 cents”. But then, your house starts filling up with all of these things. And you know what? After a while, it becomes difficult to store them. The truth is these bags are designed for you to bring with you when shopping, whether for groceries or clothing, you’re meant to reuse them. If you’re collecting all of those bags, you’re not doing yourself any favors; keep about 12 bags on hand and get rid of everything else!

2. CD Collection

I’ll tell you something that’s getting tossed from our house today and that is Chad’s enormous CD collection! To be honest, we don’t even own a CD player in this house anymore, so I don’t know why these things are still taking up valuable space in our basement! There are so many music streaming services online; music is available to us at a touch of a button, so having CD’s is literally nothing more than taking up space in your home. These can be given away, sold or recycled.

3. Makeup

I highly recommend decluttering some of the old makeup and hair products that you have in your home. Mascara for example, should really be thrown out after three months, but if you’re anything like me, you have at least three in your makeup drawer. So, go through your makeup, pick out all the stuff that’s old, and only keep the products you use.

4. Candles

News flash! Once your candle gets down to a pathetic little wick, you’re not going to use it anymore—it’s practically impossible to get this thing to burn! So, if you have a bunch of candles that look like this, it’s time to get rid of them. Now, the nice thing about candles is that they typically come in cool jars or containers and there’s a neat little DIY trick (put it in the freezer!) to get rid of the wax and a number of clever ways to repurpose these jars!

5. Game Consoles

One of the more clunky things you may have in your house are game consoles. I’m not talking new ones, I’m talking old versions that you’re probably not using anymore. The good news about getting rid of these is, first of all, it’s going to clear up a lot of space in whatever area you’ve been storing them. These things are super bulky. The next thing is that you can actually sell these things! They tend to have a somewhat reasonable resale value. I’m not talking about a diamond ring for your girlfriend, but definitely a few extra bucks to put in your pocket.

6. Declutter the Medicine Cabinet

Sometimes we buy medicine because we need it for a particular ailment, and 2 years later it’s still sitting in the medicine cabinet and has probably expired. So, go to your medicine cabinet, check all of the dates and get rid of anything that is no longer usable. Remember, when getting rid of old medicine, you can’t simply throw it out. Your best bet is to put it into a zippered bag and take it to your pharmacist. They’ll help you dispose of it safely, and if they can’t do it for whatever reason, they’ll let you know where to take it. 

7. Textbooks

When you go to college or university you generally have to buy your own textbooks. This stays exciting for about 45 seconds because you realize they’re heavy, and you’ve got to pay for them—and they’re not cheap! Because they’re expensive, you feel this responsibility to hang on to them even after you graduate. I had gotten rid of all but three, convincing myself that I would reference them again, but the truth is, I haven’t looked at these since I graduated in 2005. I don’t need them anymore! If you have a post-secondary degree, you’ve learned what you’ve needed to learn and now you’re out in the workforce. You’re probably never going to reference your textbooks again, and if you do need any information, you can always Google it. So do yourself a favor and pitch the old textbooks.

8. Purses

Purses have a reason and a season and if we go by that logic, you should have a maximum of four purses. Hear me out on this one: you can obviously have one for every season or you can have a small clutch, a large work bag, a super cute fashionable bag and then your everyday. Whatever way you slice and dice it, there are four purses that you may need. If you have a bunch of purses sitting at home that you haven’t quite used in a while and you’re probably not going to use in the near future, you can safely part ways with them. Unlike many things we buy, purses actually do retain their value, so if you’re interested, you can sell them online as well.

9. Decluttering Apps

When you’re flipping through your phone, if you have to go through multiple screens to find the app you need, it’s probably a good indication that you have too many apps on your phone. So here’s what I suggest. Go through each app. If you haven’t used it in 6 months, delete it. If at some point you do need it, you can always re-download it. I actually find this exercise helpful because it helps me realize I really don’t play that game anymore or I never shop at that store anymore. The truth is, just like there’s physical clutter, there’s digital clutter too. If you declutter your phone, you save memory, your phone works faster, and it’s a lot easier to find what you actually need.

10. T-shirts

If you have a t-shirt drawer that’s just teeming with t-shirts, old and new, it’s time to sort through them. Pick through each shirt. If you haven’t worn it in the past 6 months, it’s probably time to get rid of it. If it’s a holey shirt—and I don’t mean like a religious shirt, I mean a shirt was several holes in it—you can chop it up and use it for cleaning purposes. Otherwise, if the t-shirt’s good but you’re just not interested in it anymore, it’s time to donate it.

When you start with 10 tangible things you can address, it feels so much easier and more manageable to get started on your decluttering journey. I hope that this further inspires you to get rid of some more stuff and free up space in your home that you can enjoy.