10 Un-Chic Things to Toss From Your Home
Clutter is so not chic. When your home is covered in piles of laundry, abandoned craft projects, and packages you meant to send yesterday, you can’t be fully present in your space. Clutter like this robs both your attention and your ability to enjoy your home. Where’s the joie de vivre in stubbing your toe on a broken printer? The thrill in waking up next to a pile of floorpants (you know, the pants you immediately fling onto the floor after wearing them). You want to be able to move through your home with the ease and elegance of a Parisian ballerina, which is what I’m aiming for on any given day (so far, I’ve got the ballet flats part down).
So what's the easiest way to instantly chic-ify your space? Declutter it. Simply subtracting items from your home will give it a makeover for free! And chances are, you’ll find a nice-smelling candle amidst the heap of knickknacks and gewgaws (SAT word from 2007, anyone?). Before we zhuzh the place up with coffee table books and candles, we must first tend to that clutter heap, since it won’t disappear on its own.
Here are ten items you can instantly declutter with zero twinge of guilt or indecision:
1. Extra vases. I swear these have a funny habit of multiplying underneath your nose. One minute you’ve got a few nice cylindrical ones, and the next you’re stuck with twenty funny shaped ones. The point is, extra vases you don’t use or like are only cluttering up your cabinets. Recycle your least favorites, and only keep the ones that are an absolute pleasure to look at and to use.
2. Empty boxes. Empty boxes in small doses can come in handy, especially if they’re chic empty boxes. Not chic: storing all manner of Walmart boxes, Amazon boxes, and every cardboard shipping box “just in case” you decide to move out of your house…tomorrow? Hold onto only a few of the most sturdy boxes, keep a few chic shoe boxes, and recycle the rest! Keeping too many empty boxes not only clutters up your space but forces your brain to think about hypothetical situations that don’t involve the present moment.
3. Extra reusable shopping bags. Unless you’re a family of thirty, you don’t need all thirty of those reusable shopping bags! If you store these under your kitchen sink (and most people do), you want that already-cramped space to be able to accommodate cleaning products and garbage bags. Keep an audit of how many you use on any given grocery shop. I’d wager you really only need six or seven max. Then get rid of the rest. (You can use the extras as vessels for other stuff you're donating.)
4. Old eyeglasses. If you have old eyewear that’s no longer your style or your prescription, give it the boot! These are cluttering up your drawers and cabinets. Donate your old eyeglasses to the Goodwill, Lenscrafters or even the vision center at Walmart! Getting rid of old eyewear helps you see through a fresh present day perspective.
5. Unused kitchen appliances/gadgets. These are often a point of contention in many a decluttering session. How to tell if it’s time to get rid of a kitchen appliance? When the sight of it fills you with dread or guilt. If you only used your vegetable juicer once and then immediately decided you dislike vegetable juice, consider getting rid of this one. Perhaps you can sell it on Craigslist or FB marketplace? Or give it to a friend? You’ve got options! More kitchen space equals more room to cook! And if you’ve got an extra broken toaster hiding in a cabinet, just recycle it! Those stray crumbs aren’t doing anyone any favors.
6. Old CDs and DVDs. It’s easy to let old technology collect dust when you’re baffled about how to properly dispose of such ancient artifacts! Provided they’re in good condition, you can donate these to the Goodwill or see if your local library would take them off your hands.
7. Outdated reference books/travel guides. That Lonely Planet book you bought for your trip to India in 2002 is an ancient artifact! Donate it, sell it, or see if your local library might accept it. Same goes for the Encyclopedia Britannica from 1998. All this info is now readily available online, and getting rid of these books will free up space for books you actually might want to read, or keep that space open!
8. Kids' old schoolwork. If it has special meaning to you or your kids, gives you a spark of joy when you see it, or showcases their unique personality, keep! If it’s a dry science report on the duck-billed platypus, give yourself permission to say ‘au revoir!’
9. Expired makeup. Most makeup lasts about 2 years. Go through your makeup collection and test out your foundations, lipsticks and all manner of eyeshadow palettes. If the foundation smells funky and is separating, toss! If that Chanel lipstick works fine but it’s a weird purply color that makes you look like an eggplant, see if your sister/friend/mom might like it. And if it’s unopened but you’re certain you’re not going to use that pastel colored eyeshadow palette, donate it to a women’s shelter or Dress For Success. It might sound ridiculous to know that people have TONS of unopened beauty products lying around, but if you’re in the beauty industry and inundated with all manner of beauty stuff (or just have a healthy shopping addiction!), this is a great way to offload the extras.
10. Old instruments. If that electronic piano keyboard is coated in some serious dust and just looking at it fills you with deep dread, get it out of your sight! Guilty clutter...not chic! Wipe the dust off and sell it on Craigslist. Make way for a new hobby, and give yourself permission to let go of old ones that no longer bring you excitement.