Eighteen Things You Should Throw Away In Your Home Right Now

Not everyone can afford to hire a professional organizer to clean up their home. However, you can learn what a professional organizer would throw away! An organizing expert revealed the items that they generally throw away when they organize different homes. If you missed the boat on spring cleaning, it isn't too late. Take a day to go through each room in your home and get rid of some old, broken items or ones you never use anymore. Here is a list of things in your home that you should probably just throw away without thinking twice. 1. Cheap kitchen utensils Kitchen Utensils / Wikimedia Commons If you regularly buy flimsy or cheap kitchen utensils that barely work, it is time to toss them out! Invest in a few that you use regularly that work really well and will last for years. A good rule of thumb, if your utensils bend under the weight of food, it is time for them to go. 2. Pens, pencils, and markers Pens and pencils / Flickr If you have a lot of writing tools that don't work, just throw them away! You might be like me and love to purchase journals, books, and writing tools. Go through and only keep what you use and love. Give the rest away or throw out things that don't work. 3. Phone books Phone books / Wikimedia Commons With the Internet, phone books are pretty much obsolete these days. Same goes for dictionaries, thesauruses, and encyclopedia sets. Unless they are vintage and very special to you... it is time for them to go. 4. Travel guides Travel guides / Pixabay Just like phone books, travel guides, maps, and brochures are generally not used as often these days. If you kept old ones just for memorabilia, either put them in a scrapbook that you'll look at or throw them out! 5. Expired items Medications / Health.mil Of course, you'll want to go through your fridge, freezer, and pantry, but don't forget to check the medicine cabinet and bathroom. Check vitamins, medications, supplements, lotions, and other bath products for expiration dates. If they are expired, throw them out. 6. Old hobby supplies Fishing gear / Flickr If you bought supplies for a hobby that you no longer like to do, donate them to someone who will use them! Read onto the NEXT page for even more items to get rid of! 7. Old technology VHS player / Flickr If you still have a VHS player but never watch VHS tapes, get rid of it. Same goes for all outdated technology items. Google how to get rid of these properly. Your city should have a hazardous waste drop-off system in place. 8. Items that you've been procrastinating getting fixed Broken items / Pixabay Now is the time. Either fix them, get them fixed by a professional, or get rid of them. You should get rid of anything in your home that you've been procrastinating doing something with. 9. Old clothes or items to donate Clothes to donate / Flickr If you have bags of clothes or other items ready to donate, get it over with! Take it to your local Salvation Army or another drop off place. 10. Knickknacks Knickknacks / Flickr Unless they hold a great nostalgic value or special meaning, get rid of them. If it is just something collecting dust and you don't even like it that much, give it to someone who will love it. 11. Freebies Swag bag / Flickr If you save every freebie or swag bag item you've ever received, it is time to go through them and throw things away. You probably don't need expired coupons, old frisbees, or promotional water bottles. Only keep what you'll use and donate or throw away the rest. 12. Unmatched items Unmatched socks / Flickr If you searched through your whole house and can't find that other sock anywhere, just toss it! Read onto the LAST page for items to find and get rid of today! 13. Junk mail and random papers Junk mail / Flickr If junk mail and papers seem to pile up on your kitchen counter or another place in your home, it is time to go through them and throw away certain items. 14. Cookbooks Cookbooks / Flickr If you have become a Pinterest junkie or look up recipes online, you might want to get rid of some of your old cookbooks. If they are just collecting dust in your kitchen, it may be time to donate them. 15. Hangers Hangers / Wikimedia Commons If you have more hangers than clothes, get rid of the clutter in your closet. 16. Vases Flower vases / PxHere You only need a few vases to hold flowers. If you have a ton, you can take old ones to your local florist to give them away. 17. Magnets Fridge magnets / Wikimedia Commons If you have a ton of magnets on your refrigerator that don't stick, throw them away! Only keep the magnets that you really love and work well. 18. Gift wrap items Wrapping paper / Wikimedia Commons Lastly, throw away torn gift bags, scraps of wrapping paper, ripped bows and other items that you will never use. As always, you should donate or recycle if you can! If you're unsure of how to get rid of something properly, look it up quickly. Let's not fill up our landfills when we clean up our homes! Now that you've read about 18 items to get rid of, learn about 18 items you can buy from the dollar store to organize and clean up your home!