We all have things sitting around the house that we should have gotten rid of a long time ago. You know, broken kitchen gadgets, random cords that don’t seem to belong to anything, and empty jars you’ve been saving for a project you still haven’t gotten around to.
Some of these things have probably been sitting in the same drawer or cabinet for years. You don’t use them, you don’t particularly need them, but somehow they keep surviving every attempt to declutter.
If you’re ready to clear out some space, here are 14 useless things you can finally stop hanging onto.
Old Spices That Have Lost Their Flavor
There’s probably a spice in your cabinet that you bought for one recipe several years ago and haven’t touched since. It gets pushed farther and farther back until you eventually forget it’s even there.
Dried spices don’t necessarily become unsafe just because they’re old, but they do lose their flavor over time. If you open a container and can barely smell anything, it probably won’t add much to your cooking either.
Toss spices that have lost their flavor or that you’ll never use again. And don’t feel obligated to replace every single one. If you’ve gone five years without needing a particular spice, you can probably live without it.
Old or Damaged Pots and Pans
That frying pan with peeling nonstick coating won’t magically fix itself. Neither is the warped pot that wobbles every time you put it on the stove. Yet somehow, these things continue taking up space in kitchen cabinets.
If your cookware is damaged beyond repair, missing essential parts, or no longer works properly, it’s time to get rid of it. There’s no reason to keep shuffling useless pots and pans every time you cook dinner.
Expired Medications
When did you last go through your medicine cabinet? Chances are, you have an old bottle of cough syrup, a forgotten prescription, or medications that expired years ago.
There’s little reason to keep expired medications around, especially when you can’t rely on them to work as intended. Go through everything, check the dates, and take what you no longer need to a pharmacy or medication take-back program for proper disposal.
Junk Mail
Why do we keep moving junk mail from one spot to another instead of just getting rid of it? It starts on the kitchen counter, gets moved to the dining table, and eventually ends up in a pile with other papers nobody wants to deal with.
If it’s an advertisement, an expired coupon, or a catalog you have no interest in, there’s no reason to keep it. Recycle it right away, and shred anything containing personal information. You’ll save yourself from sorting through the same useless papers again next month.
Related: Everyday Items You Should Never Put in the USPS Mail (Even If They Seem Completely Safe)
Books You’ll Never Read
There’s nothing wrong with keeping a good book collection, but what about the books you’ve had for years and still have absolutely no interest in reading?
Maybe you picked one up at a thrift store for a dollar, or someone gave you a book that wasn’t really your style. If you’ve passed it over every time you’ve looked for something to read, you’re unlikely to pick it up next week.
Donate the books you know you’ll never read and give someone else a chance to enjoy them.
Related: 12 Organization Habits That Can Lead to More Clutter
Obsolete Technology
Somewhere in your house, a drawer probably holds charging cords, old phones, outdated electronics, and accessories that haven’t been useful in years.
For some reason, we convince ourselves we might need them someday. But if you no longer own the device a charger belongs to, or that old tablet hasn’t worked in five years, what exactly are you saving it for?
Check whether you can sell or donate anything, remove personal information from old devices, and recycle the rest through an electronics recycling program.
Expired Toiletries
That lotion you didn’t like three years ago probably won’t become your favorite tomorrow. The same goes for dried-out mascara, old sunscreen, and half-empty shampoo bottles you’ve been keeping under the bathroom sink.
It’s easy to accumulate products, especially when you try something new and don’t finish what you already have. But if a product has expired, changed consistency, or sat untouched for years, it doesn’t need any more bathroom storage space.
Empty Bottles and Jars
I completely understand the temptation to save a good glass jar. They’re useful for storage, organizing small supplies, and all kinds of household projects.
But do you really need 10 empty pasta sauce jars?
If you’ve accumulated more jars than you could realistically use, it’s probably time to thin out the collection. Keep a few in sizes you actually use and recycle the rest. You can always save another jar later if you need one.
Expired Food
Something is always hiding in the back of the pantry that nobody remembers buying. Maybe it’s an old bag of flour, a half-used ingredient from a recipe you made once, or a snack that’s been pushed behind everything else.
Go through your pantry, refrigerator, and freezer and pull out anything that’s spoiled or no longer safe to eat. Remember, many printed food dates reflect quality rather than safety, so don’t automatically toss perfectly good food just because a best-by date has passed.
The point is to stop giving valuable shelf space to food that has gone bad or that nobody in your household will ever eat.
Related: Foods You Can Keep Long After the Expiration Date
Cardboard Boxes
I get keeping a few cardboard boxes around, especially if you sell things online or ship packages occasionally. But saving every Amazon box that comes through the door can get out of hand pretty quickly.
Before you know it, you’ve got boxes inside other boxes, a stack in the garage, and a few more hiding in the closet.
Unless you’re moving soon or regularly use them for shipping, you probably don’t need nearly as many as you’ve been saving. Break down the extras and recycle them.
Plastic Grocery Bags
Almost every household seems to have that one bag stuffed with dozens of other plastic bags. And no matter how many you use, the collection never seems to get any smaller.
Keeping a few for small trash cans or other household tasks makes sense. But if they’re spilling out of a drawer or taking over an entire cabinet, you’ve probably got more than you’ll ever need.
Save a reasonable amount and take the extras to a participating plastic bag recycling location.
Related: Are You Supposed to Bag Your Own Groceries at Trader Joe’s?
Old and Dead Batteries
Why do dead batteries always seem to end up back in the junk drawer? You take them out of something because they stopped working, set them aside, and somehow they end up mixed in with the good ones.
If you’ve got a collection of mystery batteries, test the ones you’re unsure about and separate the dead ones for proper disposal. Batteries can leak or corrode when left sitting around, so they’re not something worth keeping indefinitely.
Check your local recycling or hazardous waste program for the right way to dispose of them.
Knickknacks You Don’t Even Like
Not every decoration you’ve ever bought or received needs to stay in your home forever. That little figurine you picked up years ago, or the souvenir someone brought back from vacation, might not mean much to you anymore.
And yet, it sits there, collecting dust because you’ve never really thought about getting rid of it.
If you don’t particularly like something, it doesn’t hold sentimental value, and you wouldn’t buy it again today, why keep displaying it? Donate it and make room for something you actually enjoy looking at.
Takeout Extras
At some point, the kitchen drawer starts looking like a collection of everything restaurants have ever sent home with your food. Plastic forks, chopsticks, sauce packets, straws, and stacks of napkins somehow keep piling up.
You might use a few of these things occasionally, but do you really need 40 ketchup packets and enough plastic utensils to host a dinner party?
Keep what you’ll realistically use, toss questionable old condiments, and get rid of the excess. Next time you order takeout, skip the extra utensils if you already have plenty at home.
