[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/moneydoneright.com\/personal-finance\/saving-and-budgeting\/things-to-get-rid-of\/#Article","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/moneydoneright.com\/personal-finance\/saving-and-budgeting\/things-to-get-rid-of\/","headline":"14 Things to Get Rid of in Your Home Immediately","name":"14 Things to Get Rid of in Your Home Immediately","description":"Over the years, I\u2019ve noticed that I tend to persuade myself that I should...","datePublished":"2021-10-16","dateModified":"2022-08-06","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/moneydoneright.com\/author\/logan-allec\/#Person","name":"Logan Allec, CPA","url":"https:\/\/moneydoneright.com\/author\/logan-allec\/","identifier":4,"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/6e74dd0453a5871d1dcfde6d40d9494765ca8bfdb01927cefee4564d4bee9075?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/6e74dd0453a5871d1dcfde6d40d9494765ca8bfdb01927cefee4564d4bee9075?s=96&d=mm&r=g","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Money Done Right","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/moneydoneright.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Money-Done-Right-Personal-Finance-and-Investing-Blog.png","url":"https:\/\/moneydoneright.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Money-Done-Right-Personal-Finance-and-Investing-Blog.png","width":488,"height":60}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/moneydoneright.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/things-to-get-rid-of.jpg","url":"https:\/\/moneydoneright.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/things-to-get-rid-of.jpg","height":460,"width":1900},"url":"https:\/\/moneydoneright.com\/personal-finance\/saving-and-budgeting\/things-to-get-rid-of\/","about":["Saving Money"],"wordCount":1774,"keywords":["schema"],"articleBody":"Over the years, I\u2019ve noticed that I tend to persuade myself that I should keep something I haven\u2019t used in years because I might need to use it in the future.And somehow, that thing always ends up forgotten and stuffed in the dark corner of the closet or the very back of a drawer.On reflection, many of the things I didn\u2019t want to get rid of weren\u2019t important at the time, wouldn\u2019t have been important in the future, and should have been thrown away in the first place.Today, then, in a bid to prevent you from making my mistakes, I\u2019m discussing 14 items that you should get rid of immediately even if you think you might use them in the future.Table of ContentsToggle1. Old Cables and Cords2. Sauce Packets3. Leftovers4. Anything You Haven’t Worn In the Past Year5. Old Buttons6. Old Accessories7. Books You’ll Never Read or Re-Read8. Restaurant Menus9. Mismatched Containers10. Old Cameras11. Greeting Cards12. Pens and Pencils13. Cookbooks14. Anything Cluttering Your Drawers and Cabinets1. Old Cables and CordsMy cord collection is probably a lot like yours- a box of about 50 different cords that match obsolete items- such as Blu-Ray players, DVD players, and old phones- that you threw away several years previously.And every time you find a cord lying around, you don\u2019t want to throw it away, so you add it to the collection of 25 other cords that you couldn\u2019t match to anything in your home.In reality, though, unless a cord is non-device-specific or you know exactly what it goes to, there\u2019s usually no reason to keep said cord around; if it\u2019s not important now and\/or you don\u2019t know what it\u2019s for, you\u2019re better off just throwing it away instead of adding it to the collection.2. Sauce PacketsIf you get a few sauce packets with your fast food order and don\u2019t use all of them, your natural tendency is probably to save the rest for future use.And while this makes sense if the packets are going to be used in the next few days, it\u2019s a waste of space to let them accumulate to the point where you have a dedicated \u201csauce drawer\u201d.Unless you routinely make use of a particular sauce, it\u2019s probably best to just throw away your sauce packets.3. LeftoversWhile it\u2019s good to save leftovers to avoid wasting food, many people put leftovers in the fridge, repeatedly decide not to eat them, and then eventually forget about them.If this is a habit you have, I recommend going through your fridge on a weekly basis, being sure to throw away the food that you\u2019re not really going to eat in the next few days.Otherwise, you\u2019ll end up with a fridge full of old, moldy leftovers.4. Anything You Haven’t Worn In the Past YearSome people like to have a lot of clothes to pick from, but I\u2019ve personally found that if I haven\u2019t worn something in the past year, I probably won\u2019t wear it in the next year, meaning it\u2019s probably time to donate it or throw it away.There are a few exceptions to this, but generally, it\u2019s pretty safe to get rid of something you haven\u2019t worn in the last year.5. Old ButtonsAlong the same lines, many people choose to keep the extra buttons their clothes come with.And although there\u2019s a chance you\u2019ll need that button, you\u2019re eventually going to get rid of the clothing item the button came with, so in most cases, you won\u2019t end up needing it after all.Generally, unless there\u2019s a good chance you\u2019re going to need a button at some point, there\u2019s no reason to keep it.6. Old AccessoriesEven if you don\u2019t have any old cables lying around, the odds are that you have a huge collection of old and unused electronic accessories — remotes, mice, keyboards, controllers, etc.Like with other items, though, if you have a tendency to let these build up, I recommend that you go through your house periodically to rid yourself of any unnecessary and space-occupying accessories.7. Books You’ll Never Read or Re-ReadSome people like to have large book collections, and if you have the space, there\u2019s nothing wrong with that.However, if you don\u2019t have that much space and haven\u2019t ever read (or reread) a physical copy of a book that you\u2019ve owned for a while, you may want to consider whether there\u2019s a realistic chance you\u2019ll ever actually open that book.Why? If the answer is no, there\u2019s probably someone out there who does want to read that book, which means it may be a good idea to sell it to a used bookstore or give it to someone you know.On the other hand, if you don\u2019t have time for a book now but may want to read it in the future, you can give it to my friends or family and then ask to borrow it later, when you do have time for it. Either way, the book is getting a lot more use than it would sitting on your shelf- and you\u2019re saving space.This principle also applies to movies, games, or any other medium that you could give or sell to someone else.8. Restaurant MenusIf you live in a city, you\u2019ve probably received numerous physical menus from restaurants, either in the mail or in the bag with your order, in the hope that when you want to order food again, you\u2019ll see that menu lying around and decide to go to that restaurant.This may have been helpful back when you ordered food over the phone and didn\u2019t have another way to access the menu, but now that you can find the menu online or order through Ubereats or Postmates, there\u2019s no reason to keep a physical menu — you don\u2019t need it to see the menu, and you don\u2019t need it to remember the restaurant\u2019s name.Rather than putting physical menus away, then, just recycle them immediately and save that space for something else.9. Mismatched ContainersJust as you don\u2019t want to keep cords that don\u2019t have matches, you don\u2019t want to keep containers that don\u2019t have matches.If you lose a Tupperware lid, for example, there\u2019s no reason to keep the container around, and vice versa.\\You might be able to repurpose the container, but if you don\u2019t have a clear idea of how you\u2019ll do so, you\u2019re better off just disposing of it.This also applies to other items such as pots and pans- if you lose the pot, the lid probably won\u2019t be very useful.10. Old CamerasGenerally, I don\u2019t have anything against cameras; if you have a high-quality camera that you actually use, you should keep it.However, if you take 99% of your photos on your phone, you probably don\u2019t need to keep a camera around, especially given the quality of cell phone cameras.And because good cameras can be extremely valuable, instead of keeping an unused camera, you\u2019re probably better served by cleaning it up, checking its working order, and then listing it on eBay or Decluttr.11. Greeting CardsSome people have very strong feelings concerning greeting cards and similar keepsakes, so I don\u2019t want to say that you should never keep them; if something has significant sentimental value, there\u2019s no need to discard it.On the other hand, you probably don\u2019t need to keep every card you get.In my opinion, they pile up quickly, leaving you with a big stack of Hallmark cards that serve no practical purpose.Unless there\u2019s a specific reason you want to keep a card, it\u2019s probably safe to throw it away after a few weeks, taking a picture of it to keep on your phone if it\u2019s that important to you.12. Pens and PencilsWe all know someone who has a thousand pens scattered around their home.This may seem like a good way to always have a pen on hand, but it, too, is another form of needless clutter, given that most people use electronic keyboards more than pens or pencils.If you are this person, I recommend that you do a little math to determine how many pens you go through a year and then throw the remainder away; you\u2019ll feel a lot more organized when you only have a few pens in very specific places.And if a pen no longer functions, throw it away!13. CookbooksLike many items on this list, cookbooks can feel nice to have around; they can be good decor, and there may be some recipes you want to try.In the past, too, because of limited access to recipes, cookbooks were the best way to try out something new with confidence that it would turn out well.Today, though, it\u2019s so easy to find recipes online that you don\u2019t need to keep a physical book on hand.And in my experience, most people who have cookbooks actually look for recipes online almost every time they want to cook. Even if you want to keep a few recipes on hand, you can easily do so by simply taking a picture of them on your phone.Therefore, while some people love to use physical cookbooks, most people are probably better off passing those on and simply bookmarking their favorite online recipes on their phone.14. Anything Cluttering Your Drawers and CabinetsI\u2019ve covered many common items that tend to build up, but ultimately, we all have our own unique clutter.In my experience, most people usually have an overflow drawer or cabinet where they place items that they don\u2019t need immediately but don\u2019t want to throw away.Eventually, though, this \u201coverflow\u201d will become more of a contained mess, holding all the odds and ends you didn\u2019t know what to do with.Therefore, I recommend that you go through your junk drawer every few months, keeping it organized so that you can access the miscellaneous items that you actually need.Similarly, you should make sure to keep all your drawers and cabinets organized, dedicating each one for a specific purpose so that it doesn\u2019t just contain a bunch of random items that you didn\u2019t want to throw away."},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Personal Finance","item":"https:\/\/moneydoneright.com\/personal-finance\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Saving And Budgeting","item":"https:\/\/moneydoneright.com\/personal-finance\/\/saving-and-budgeting\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"14 Things to Get Rid of in Your Home Immediately","item":"https:\/\/moneydoneright.com\/personal-finance\/saving-and-budgeting\/things-to-get-rid-of\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]