24 Things to Throw Out in 2024

1.  Clothes

If it doesn’t fit, get rid of it!  If you haven’t worn it in a year, get rid of it!  Can’t remember the last time you did wear it?  Check out this tip for cleaning out your closet and you’ll know if you’re actually wearing the clothes that are in there!

Also, under this category should be old socks, underwear/undergarments, etc.

2. Outdated Food

Yes, get in there and clean out the BACK of the pantry and spice cabinet.  Get all that stuff out!

3. Restaurant Sauce Packs

I know this sort of falls under “outdated food” but I feel like it needs to be mentioned.  Throw out those Taco Bell sauce packets, soy sauce from takeout, ketchup packets, etc.  I’ll make an exception for Chick-fil-A sauces.  Those things are worth their weight in gold.

4. Books

Now, I’m the last person in the world that should be putting books on the list of things to get rid of, BUT if you haven’t read it (and you’ve had it for a while….), won’t read it, read it once but don’t want to read it again or started but didn’t finish reading it, GET RID OF IT!   Check with your local libraries and see if they take book donations and let some good come of those books (just wipe the dust off of them first).

Want to make a little money off those books?  Head to your app store and look for the bookscouterapp and see which book buy back sites will give you the most for your books! Places like Ziffit, Sell Back Your Book and Textbook Rush will buy your books. BUT it is easiest to just use the BookScouter app because BookScouter will compare offers from over a dozen buy back sites so you can get the most for your books!

5.  Makeup

If it’s older than 12 months old, TOSS IT.  For mascara you might want to toss it after 6 months.

6. Purses/Bags

Ok, ladies, I have a purse/bag problem.  I think the perfect bag is just going to change my life and each day the perfect bag might be a different bag so I have 32 different purses/bags/backpacks so that I have the exact perfect one for each day.  I’m committed to tossing any purse/bag/tote/backpack I haven’t used in a year.  And then see how much use I get out of the ones I have left after that.

7. Broken/Tangled Christmas Lights/Decorations

I actually did this before Christmas this year.  Those broken lights are going to be just as broken next Christmas when you pull them out.  You are NOT going to fix them/untangle them/replace bulbs by next November.  Just throw them out and start fresh next year!

8. Old Cords/Chargers/Etc

I know you have “that box” because I have “that box”.  The one that has random cords, the charger to your 1999 Nokia phone, and a cordless phone that you haven’t used in 10 years or more. TOSS THE BOX.  Don’t even look in.  You don’t need anything that’s in it.  I promise.

9. Kitchen Gadgets

There has to be at least one gadget in your kitchen that you don’t use.  And why is it the potato masher?  All that thing does is get hung in the drawer every time I open it so it has gone.  I’ll figure out some other way to mash potatoes IF I ever need to mash potatoes.

10. Odd Dishes

Do you have a cup or two in your cabinets that don’t stack well with the rest?  That one plate that’s larger than all the others and makes it hard to close the cabinet?  Plastic containers that don’t nest?  Get rid of them.  They’re making your life harder.  Don’t bring any new dish into the house that doesn’t store well with what you already have.

11. Excessive Knick-Knacks

I’m in my “I’m over having things that just sit around” phase.  Candleholders and candles, vases, throw pillows, fake plants, candy dishes, picture frames, whatever.  I’m over it and have gotten rid of so many.  There are some I have kept for sentimental reasons (I have a lot of knick knacks that were my mother’s) but I’m trying to really whittle it down.

12. Linens

Dish rags that have almost no fabric left, sheets that don’t fit the beds, bath towels with rips, etc.  It’s time to take stock and get rid of linen items that don’t do their job well anymore.  Animal shelters take donations of towels and sheets!

13. Jewelry

Jewelry is one of those things that piles up over time. It’s small so you don’t think about getting one more piece here and there.  And then you blink and you have jewelry scattered every where.  I’m guilty of keeping an earring even though I lost it’s match or a broken necklace because I”m going to get it fixed.  It’s time to let all that go.

14. Pens, Pencils, Markers

I don’t know about your house, but at MY house, pens, pencils and markers end up EVERYWHERE.  I don’t even know where all these come from.  It’s time to toss out pens and markers that are out of ink and pencils that are sharpened down and/or have no eraser left.

15.  Empty Picture Frames

For real, if you haven’t put a picture in that frame you’ve had since last Christmas, you’re not going to.  Get rid of it.

16.  Shoes

Take stock of your shoes.  Be real with yourself.  How many pairs of shoes do you really need?  I have shoes under my bed that haven’t seen the light of day in years.  It’s time to say goodbye.

17. Candles

I can’t be the only one that keeps jar candles that have just a little bit of wax left in the bottom of the jar, telling myself that I want to get my money’s worth and burn it all.  And then I ended up with 2-3 candles just sitting on counters all through the house.  Not anymore!  I tossed 4 just before Christmas.

18.  Clippings

It’s time to go through all those things you’ve clipped out of magazines and newspapers – recipes, advice, tips – and record them in a notebook and toss all those little bitty pieces of paper!

19. Magazines

Throw them out.

20.  Kids Artwork/Papers

This is tough, I know!  But not everything needs to be kept.  If the thought pains you, get an expanding file folder and keep only what you fit in there.  I know that one day, I’ll want to look back on some things and reminisce about when G was little, but I don’t need every paper he made a mark on.

21.  Old Trophies

That spelling bee trophy from 7th grade?  Toss it.  Or better yet, look into recycling your old trophies.  They can be repurposed and donated to non-profit organizations for awards (think kids’ Special Olympics organizations and such that give out awards.)

22.  Plastic Bags and Empty Boxes

If you’re one of those people that keep every bag and box that comes into the house, it’s time to toss (most) of them.

23. Broken Items

I am a huge supporter of repairing something versus buying new.  But if it’s been sitting broken for a year, it’s time to let it go.  You’re not going to fix it.

24. Old Electronics

I know I have a drawer that contains an old, broken Blackberry, a Samsung LG phone that’s so old it’s not smart, and the first iPhone 4 that I owned.   These need to go.  Check out Staples Electronics Recycling Program to properly dispose of these items.  Amazon also has a device recycling program.