Sarah Price

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131+ Items I Recently Decluttered This Year

Photo by Imani Clovis on Unsplash

Like most people, I was inspired this year to declutter by watching Marie Kondo. But I didn’t actually start cleaning everything until I started to entertain the idea of moving this year. I realized I had a lot of extra stuff I could live without and I didn’t want to move it all with me. Not only that, but it helps that I’m the kind of person who if she doesn’t see something right in front of her, she’ll probably forget it existed.

Part of this was learning more about living a sustainable lifestyle and trying to go low waste. Along with low-waste, I ran into minimalism. Although I like the idea of living a minimalist lifestyle, I’m not sure I could ever call myself a minimalist

Although maybe in the kitchen I could because I hate kitchen clutter, extra cooking devices that cost hundreds of dollars only to be used a couple of times, and I don’t make a lot of fancy recipes.

But, I was inspired by all the nice photos on Pinterest to clean out some extra stuff I don’t need. And realized some things I thought I needed, but I really don’t. The only thing I regret getting rid of right now is some of my National Geographic History magazines because I recently wanted to get back into making collages. But I can always get magazines from other people. So I’ll live.

So anyways, I started on a mission to clean out at least half of my bedroom. I wanted to make extra space. Especially in my closet where I ended up donating three trash bags of clothes and accessories. When I move eventually, I’ll have to get a moving van because I have a lot of furniture than when I moved in.

I’ve written out a list of all the items I could remember donating or throwing away. Hopefully this will inspire you to think of items you could donate or give away if you are looking to clean out areas of your house.

  1. Old clothes

  2. Hats

  3. Mismatched socks 

  4. Bras that no longer fit 

  5. Ruined undergarments

  6. Ruined pantyhose

  7. Most of my college shirts

  8. Teddy bears 

  9. Necklaces I rarely wore

  10. Worn out shoes

  11. Shoes that no longer fit or were comfortable 

  12. Pjs that didn’t fit

  13. Pants that didn’t fit 

  14. Clothes from middle school or really dated 

  15. Extra winter scarves, hats, and thin gloves

  16. Earrings missing their buddy 

  17. Old and broken bracelets

  18. Bangles

  19. Broken bags or wallets 

  20. Magazines (I never read them again but I kinda regret this since I want to make collages again but I guess I will have to get some from other people)

  21. Extra make up (I love buying make up but I had a bunch of products I tried and didn’t like laying around)

  22. Mascara (I dislike the feeling of it so I won’t be buying any again)

  23. Foundation (my skin is nice enough I feel I don't need to cake it on anymore)

  24. Nail polish (got rid of old ones I didn’t wear and some I weren’t sure what chemicals were in them)

  25. Old and expired eye shadows

  26. Eye shadows Without color payoff 

  27. Lipstick I didn’t like 

  28. Extra makeup brushes

  29. Body lotions (hate them)

  30. Old razors

  31. Hair bands (used to wear them all the time in college but now I never do with my glasses)

  32. Cheap hair ties (I use scrunchies now. I love the look and feel).

  33. Broken or hair accessories that didn't fit my hair type

  34. My hair dryer (I’ve been air drying my hair for years now)

  35. My curling iron (my roommate showed me show to curl with my straightener)

  36. Manicure sets

  37. Nail stickers  

  38. Disposable pads (I use reusable)

  39. Disposable face wipes/cotton rounds (I use reusable)

  40. Skin care products that didn't work for me

  41. Free cups

  42. Extra mugs

  43. Flimsy plastic bowls

  44. Extra water bottles 

  45. Plastic measuring cups (I got metal ones with the measurements engraved)

  46. Tupperware without lids 

  47. Gross Tupperware 

  48. Takeout menus

  49. Old cookbooks 

  50. Ruined cooking utensils (melted things mostly)

  51. Broken coffee maker (I was supposed to be sent a replacement by the company but it never arrived)

  52. Fake flowers and plants

  53. Dead plants 

  54. Purged my rock collection 

  55. Old swimsuits 

  56. Old electronics I didn’t want 

  57. A tablet that no longer worked on my computer

  58. A go-pro

  59. Broken earphones

  60. Portfolio pieces I didn’t want to include any more (graphic design major)

  61. Old textbooks 

  62. Expired or unused medicine (dropped off at my local police station drop box)

  63. Fiction books I never read again 

  64. College catalogs (for grad school I will probably never go to)

  65. Throw pillows 

  66. Wire hangers (returned to local dry cleaner)

  67. Wall art I no longer liked 

  68. Extra business cards I never needed or looked at

  69. Extra unused notebooks and journals 

  70. Used up pens 

  71. Pens I hated 

  72. Stickers

  73. Extra astrological tools

  74. Old planners 

  75. Extra Bibles (I honestly only need two. My mini travel version and my confirmation version)

  76. Decorative crosses

  77. Knicknacks I no longer felt attached to

  78. Extra old phone cases

  79. Extra eye glass cases

  80. Old pairs of glasses

  81. DvDs (I can always watch things online)

  82. Greeting and holiday cards 

  83. Catalogs 

  84. Junk mail 

  85. Coupons 

  86. Old Paperwork

  87. Bills that were taken care of

  88. Folders I no longer needed

  89. Extra file boxes

  90. Broken pencils that never sharpened correctly

  91. Receipts from last year 

  92. Papers from college 

  93. Unused membership cards 

  94. Games with too many missing pieces 

  95. Wax melts I didn’t like or use 

  96. Candles I never liked 

  97. Thin wire baskets that only held big items

  98. Rubber bands 

  99. Extra envelopes Missing their cards

  100. Manuals I never looked at 

  101. Extra buttons 

  102. Extra boxes from shipping 

  103. Unfinished craft projects

  104. Dried up glue bottles 

  105. Broken or matted paintbrushes 

  106. Screen printing materials 

  107. Fancy scissors and paper things

  108. Extra sets of color pencils

  109. Oil crayons 

  110. Extra sketchbooks

  111. Used sketchbooks

  112. Paint I never used 

  113. Paper scraps 

  114. Washi tape 

  115. Perfume I was never going to finish 

  116. Promotional products 

  117. Broken purses 

  118. Holiday decor 

  119. Gift wrap 

  120. Gift bags

  121. Old Christmas lights

  122. Tiny vases 

  123. Old towels

  124. Dead batteries

  125. Bookmarks

  126. Bouncy balls

  127. Extra lanyards

  128. Stale food

  129. Expired food

  130. Condiment packets

  131. Plastic silverware

  132. Food we never finished

  133. My recipe book (digitized)

What are some items you’ve recently gotten rid of?

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