OTHERS

10 Things You Can Clean Out Immediately

Throw that junk away!

1: Cutlery drawer

Do you actually need five bottle openers and three can openers?

If something is in good condition, you can also give it away, e.g. with a box at the roadside in front of your house, otherwise throw it away.

Bent old forks, old wooden spoons, things you never use anyway: get rid of them!

2: Junk drawers

Drawers with stuff like broken bags or kitchen rubbers, pens that don’t write anymore, and empty batteries, can be cleaned out — as the name already suggests: it’s junk!

For the batteries, please dispose of them properly!

3: Tupperware & other boxes

Many Tupperware and other unused storage boxes can be sorted out.

Let me guess: You have a big box that contains many other small ones, some of which have been in there for years? Who knows if you’ll need them soon?

If you haven’t needed them yet and don’t plan on using them, throw them away!

They take up unnecessary space, and probably next year they will still be lying unused in the cupboard.

Tupperware boxes without lids, which you don’t use anyway, as well as single lids or discolored, ancient cans, can go in the trash.

4: Clothes

For example socks, underwear, and other clothes, but also sheets and bed linen: are they old, worn, stained, or have holes?

Do you always move certain clothes to the back instead of wearing them?

There’s an easy solution for that: Get rid of them!

Do the clothes have no holes and are still wearable but unloved? Then throw them in the old clothes collection or sell them.

Otherwise, they will remain unused in the closet for years and take up storage space.

I have a simple rule for still intact clothes that just do not fit or please me anymore: If I have not worn the clothes for a year, they will be sold.

5: Pantry / Fridge / Freezer

The pantry will contain expired canned goods, especially spices that are old and unusable, or that you don’t actually use anyway.

The refrigerator will also contain expired or opened food that you can no longer eat.

While we’re at it: When was the last time you completely cleaned out and cleaned your fridge? How about today?

You’re probably going to find unlabeled boxes in your freezer, most likely in the back.

Are you sure you still want to eat that? Do you know how old it is and what’s in there?

Throw it out!

With expired food, however, you can check if it’s still edible before throwing it away. When the best-before date is reached, it doesn’t mean the food is bad.

6: Old and expired medications

This is easy: throw expired ones in the household trash!

Medications should not be used past their expiration date. It’s best to check what will expire in the next few months, and get a supply in time if needed.

7: Old towels

If you’re going camping, keep one.

Otherwise, depending on their condition, the old towels can either go into the household garbage, or into the used clothing collection, or ask the local animal shelter if they need them.

Here, the animal shelters are always grateful for old towels and blankets for the animals.

If you are already cleaning out your house, then dispose also of old and broken dishtowels, cleaning rags, and sponges,…

8: Makeup

Old and unused makeup, as well as sunscreen and other creams, dried nail polish, old or broken hair ties, and other stuff lying around in the bathroom: get rid of it!

9: Electronics

You can get rid of all old laptop or cell phone cables to devices you no longer have, old cell phones, the third spare mouse or the fifth LAN cable, as well as the old hair epilator that’s in the back of the closet — just in case the new one does break.

10: Old paper

Old newspapers, magazines, brochures from the delivery service (you probably order online anyway), notes you don’t need anymore, and other paper that’s lying around somewhere: get rid of it!

The same goes for the digital world:

• Unsubscribe from newsletters you don’t read anyway
• Delete emails you don’t need anymore
• Delete contacts you never contact anyway
• Delete the ten versions of the file you probably don’t need at all
• Clean out the fifteenth blurry photo of the same landscape from your last vacation photos. If you save only the best ones, you can enjoy them.

Final Word

I usually sort out on an ongoing basis, plus twice a year when I do the big clean out, more thoroughly and in all places and closets in the house.

My simple rule: if you don’t use it (and no use is planned in the near future), dispose of it.

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