150 Things to Throw Away

I’m on a bender. I sent my husband, Kerry, to the local dump with a car filled with black garbage bags. I am not sure that he was street safe. He could not see through any window other than the windshield. Even the passenger seat had a bag to keep him company. As he drove away, I comforted myself with the fact that in the case of a collision he’d be well insulated.

My “throw it all away” mojo is on fire. Even the teddy bear that I had when I was a new born baby is headed to the dump.

Oh no. Don’t start that. I can practically hear y’alls collective gasps from where I am sitting. I am not being cold and heartless. I am being practical. That teddy bear has been up in the attic for YEARS. Unseen and untouched. I don’t secretly climb into our attic at night and snuggle with it. That’d be weird. I asked myself why I was keeping it and I couldn’t think of an answer. It reminded me of the 12 rules of decluttering:

1. Don’t keep items out of guilt (super important for me).
2. Get rid of duplicates.
3. Get rid of things that you haven’t used or worn in a year.
4. Digitize nostalgic items like photos, letters, etc.
5. Put things back where they belong.
6. Sell, donate, up-cycle or giveaway.
7. Don’t keep items that you wouldn’t buy now (this is a good one).
8. Take advantage of storage under the beds in your home.
9. Clean out your kitchen pantry at least twice a year and dispose of expired food goods.
10. Say goodbye to clothing that you wear daily, like underwear, undershirts and socks. If they are more than a year old you should treat yourself to new ones. Old underwear is so sad.
11. When your kiddos are in school, go through their toys and throw away (or donate) the ones that they haven’t played with or have outgrown.
12. When you kiddos are home, sit with them and go through their school paperwork and decide what to keep and what to toss.

It’s not even close to being spring, but I have spring fever. After the Christmas decorations were put away, I set my sights on a lot of other things. There comes a point in time when you must part with items in your home. Parting with things is something that I have always struggled with and because I know it is an issue for me, I need to address it.

150 Things to Throw Away

I find myself feeling torn between keeping something of value that I do not use and living in a highly organized, clutter-free home. My kitchen is a perfect example. I have two glass lemon juicers. One is clear glass and one is yellow glass. I don’t even remember why I have two, but I do. And one has to go. There are a lot of obvious things that I can easily part with, but I want to go further and found a checklist for things that wouldn’t have occurred to me:

I found this document really helpful and I want to share it with you in case you are looking for some inspiration to start filling those garbage bags! Just click on the link below and it will open into a pdf document that you will be able to print. Take the list with you to each room and simply check off each item as you throw is away. Happy decluttering!

150-Things-To-Throw-Away-1

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