I was reading a blog the other day, and there was a list...56 Things You Can Throw Away Now! Some of them weren't worth mentioning, but these were my favourite inspirations (re-numbered).
1. Your wedding dress
You can say you’ve been saving it for your daughter, but here are two signs that your daughter doesn’t want to wear it: a] she’s already married and wore her own dress, or b] you don’t have a daughter
I disagee with this one, although it is a valid point...I am personally just too sentimental to give it to a thrift store or whatever. I know my daughter will likely not wear it (they get so discoloured and style doesn't really come back the same way), but I suppose if I knew someone now who would wear it, I would give it to them...But, would be fun to pull out in 25 years just to gawk/laugh at.
2. The jacket you spent way too much money on and never wore.
C’mon. Keeping it around just to punish yourself for your bad choices is like going to parochial school all over again.
3. Every little zippy bag that came with a Clinique purchase.
I did it! I kept two, which I actually do use when travelling.
4. Every unopened perfume that came with a Clinique purchase
Done! I have had some stinky perfumes for more than 7 years! Who knows why I was keeping it, I guess it's something you don't think about often.
5. Your last four cell phones and all their chargers and blue teeth.
See the note on stereo wires...
6. Single socks.
Face it. Their partners have moved on.
I did it! It was a little scary though, I kept having that sinking feeling that I might actually find the other half...:-)
7. Old stereo wires.
Husbands refuse to let go of any of these mysterious wires. Try this: Put them in a bin and label it “Random Cables and Wires.” After two years, bring it out of storage and kindly note that no one has thought about it in two years. Ask if it would be okay to let go of half of them. Repeat process until all mysterious cables and wires are gone.
I have a box of wires, cables, old phones and palm pilots etc. None of them work. When we need a wire, we do look in the box, but never have just the right type or length and buy new ones anyway. I am "not allowed" to throw them out though, but I told Brian about this 2 year plan, and he laughed saying it would take 10 years to get rid of them all. Lol. Well at least we'd be making headway!
8. The nails, screws, anchors, and cup hooks rusting in the bottom of your tool chest.
Again, not allowed to throw any of these away. My association with them though is usually because they were in pockets about to go through the wash. Some small bits etc are expensive, so I know I shouldn't throw them out, but I was also tired of having them everywhere. So this was my solution. Now when a spare part, screw or drill bit is required, we know right where the stash is (on the shelf in the kitchen), but now it's at least a little pretty!
9. Remote controls that don’t remotely control anything you still own.
We had 3!
10. Old blankets and linens you keep in case you suddenly have 27 sleepover guests.
I had already started getting rid of old pillows and very old or uncomfortable blankets. I am down to the perfect amount I think.
11. College text books
This one I still need to tackle. We have lots of old textbooks etc from school and I am sure they will be getting zero use in the future. A lot of them are computer books, which are so outdated it's not even funny.
12. Any boring decorative item that does little more than fill space.
13. Vases you don’t love or use.
14. Candle holders you don’t love or use.
15. Old keys that open some door somewhere in the past.
I have a collection of "??" keys on the back of of the key rack. I need to go through them, just to make sure, but I think they are all from 5+ years ago. My old house key, various apartment keys, Brian's old Lexus key (the one I wrecked), we don't need to keep them!
16. Old computers.
We have (yes, still have) 2 towers and 1 monitor...which still works but the computers are fried...Will have to apply the 2 year plan to this as well I think:-)
17. Old stereos.
We had 3 stereos and an old (huge) fax machine.
18. Half-full cans of paint
We have a few, but I disagree on this one...I like to keep them for touch-ups etc.
19. Extra baby items/Old baby items
Old and extra I can see, but baby items and clothes, although space consuming, are expensive! Until I am sure there are no babies on the way ever again I will hold onto those. I suppose the exception would be large gaps between kids, as the saved stuff might be too old...so if 5 years go by with no kids, I will get rid of the clothing bins.
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