Sometimes people can’t let go of clutter because of sentimental reasons, pure habit, or that “what if I need it” feeling. After chatting with a few people about the stuff that just won’t leave their homes, here are 13 everyday items most of us keep long past their usefulness.
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Travel toiletries
Little travel bottles of shampoo and soap from hotel rooms can feel too useful to throw away. Yet the collection just stacks up in bathroom drawers, waiting for that vacation that never happens. By the time anyone thinks to use them, most are expired or dried out.
Plastic bags
Look in the kitchen of nearly any house, and you’ll find that “bag of bags.” A couple of these bags might turn out to be useful. But most end up having many bags that will never be used. Bags beget bags, and it never stops.
Old keys
Pretty much everyone has a set of mystery keys in a drawer somewhere. No one knows what they unlock, but it’s too nerve-wracking to just throw them out in case it’s something important. Chances are that the locks are long gone anyway.
Old phone chargers
Most people have a drawer full of tangled phone chargers they’ll never use again. It’s too easy to think, “What if I ever need this?” But the truth is, you almost never will.
Broken electronics
DVD players, printers, and broken headphones are prime clutter that hide away in closets. Most people think that they can take them to the electronics repair shop and “get them working good as new again!” Years pass, technology moves on, and they’re still collecting dust.
Clothes that don’t fit
Closets are full of jeans that used to fit or shirts that might be worn “when I lose a little weight.” People hang onto them out of hope or guilt. Most of the time, they’re never worn again.
Expired makeup
That old lipstick or half-empty mascara tube hangs around long after it’s safe to use. Makeup has an expiration date, but throwing it away feels wasteful. Most people end up keeping it until it looks or smells questionable.
Old magazines
Stacks of magazines hang around because people think they’ll flip through them again. The reality? They rarely do. By the time anyone remembers them, the stories are outdated and the pages are yellowing.
Takeout menus
Restaurant menus are everywhere, and even with so many online, most people still keep the takeout ones around for months. They sit in drawers for months, untouched, but never thrown away. It’s clutter disguised as “just in case.”
Old towels
Old towels that have lost their softness seem to take an eternity to make it to the trash. Most people keep them around, “in case I need something to clean with.” Though in reality, nobody actually cleans with them, they just take up space.
Dead batteries
Every junk drawer is bound to have a collection of batteries that could work or are completely dead. Most people don’t even test them and just leave them there in case they work. They stay in that drawer for years, until someone finally empties the whole thing out.
Expired medicine
Expired painkillers, cough syrup, and allergy pills are some things that may spend years in a medicine cabinet. People either don’t realize they’ve expired, or they foolishly think they’ll still be fine. Most of these medicines most certainly will not.
Socks without matches
After doing laundry, there is always that ONE sock that is destined to never be found again. Inevitably, the poor orphaned sock ends up in a drawer with the other single socks from previous laundry days. And it stays there forever.
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