5 Easy Things to Toss While Spring Cleaning
Scenario: you’re bombarded with “spring has sprung” reminders to spring clean and declutter your house to perfection (courtesy of moi, perhaps). You *know* you should tend to those bursting cabinets and closets, and yet you simply cannot bring yourself to toss so much as an old 30-foot-long CVS receipt. If you’re overwhelmed with STUFF, here’s a list of 5 easy things you can eliminate from the domicile today:
1. Extra Reusable Totes. Hello, hi, it’s me talking about reusable totes allll over again. In order for totes to be reusable, they must be used again. When you have a petrified mound of Trader Joe’s bags clumped together, they no longer qualify as reusable. My advice: do an audit of how many reusable totes you generally use on any given grocery shop. Then tack on one or two extra for good measure, and say goodbye to the rest (I have about six total in my household). For the ones you are tossing, you can fill them with donation items headed to the Goodwill or Salvation Army, or just donate them on their own! Your kitchen sink cabinet will breathe a sigh of relief.
2. Flimsy wire hangers. Sad wire hangers are a real sorry sight, and can actually warp your clothes over time (unless you like pointy shoulder horns). You and your clothes deserve better in 2022! I always say that if you only do one thing for your closet, buy a set of uniform hangers! Fun fact: most Dry Cleaners will accept old wire hangers, so let’s get to it!
3. Books you read 3 pages of in 2004. If that book on the history of potting soil made you fall asleep the first time around, chances are it will have the same effect today. The good news is that you don’t have to hold onto those “meh” books forever! You can donate them to the Goodwill, your local library or even trade them in for a few shekels at your local used bookstore (Ziffit is a great online option, too). The goal is to look at your bookshelf and smile, not to feel subconscious pressure to read books you simply don’t enjoy.
4. Spaghetti alla cables and cords. Can we please talk about the mystery bag of cables and cords? They’re more of a nuisance than a necessity, and end up becoming a total wasteland of Apple chargers and TV cables from ten years ago. Here’s some more good news: you can recycle yours at Best Buy. And to avoid any future cable and cord confusion, make sure to label each one in the future.This will save you so much unnecessary head scratching and confusion!
5. Pillows the thickness of a Kleenex tissue. It’s all well and good to keep a few extra pillows on hand if you have a guest coming to town, but let’s say goodbye to the other flimsy five. Extra pillows are a real space hog, so only keep the ones you’d actually be happy to sleep on. Pro tipsy: if your pillow doesn’t bounce back after folding it half, it’s time to get rid of it. Donate your worn-out ones to animal shelters (including any ratty tatty linens), local charities, or just drape a blanket on it and voila, a pet bed!