Boomers often hang on to things that millennials would throw out without thinking twice, although it has nothing to do with being messy or not caring—it’s just a different approach to stuff. Boomers grew up during a time when you fixed things instead of replacing them & reused packaging. They’re so used to keeping things around, even when those things stop working or stop being relevant, while millennials are happy to throw away things that don’t serve a purpose right now. Here are fifteen items that boomers would never toss, yet millennials are all too happy to do so.
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Plastic Margarine Tubs
Boomers almost never throw out empty margarine containers as they’ll clean them, stack them in the cupboard & then reuse them to store leftovers or any other small items. Some households have dozens collected over the years because these containers are lightweight and free—it’s rare to see actual name-brand Tupperware in some boomer kitchens. Millennials usually throw these tubs into the recycling without thinking twice about it.
Greeting Cards
You’ll find lots of greeting cards in boomer homes, whether they’re ones they received on birthdays, anniversaries, or even minor holidays—they’ll pack these cards away into shoeboxes & sometimes keep them out on display for weeks. Many of them are from people who may not even be around anymore, which is why boomers are so keen to hold onto them. Millennials generally read the card once and then recycle it unless it’s something extremely meaningful.
Manuals For Every Appliance
Most boomers don’t toss instruction manuals, regardless of whether they actually use the products, and some keep entire folders of these booklets, just in case they buy something similar later. It’s not unusual for boomers to hang onto a manual for a coffee maker that was replaced two kitchens ago. However, millennials usually don’t keep physical manuals at all and prefer to find information online since they’re big believers in reducing paper waste.
Unused Checks
Old checkbooks from closed accounts don’t always get shredded or tossed in a boomer household, as they’ll store them in file cabinets instead. They’ll save them in case they need to reference a past check or remember an account number—some of them have carbon copy duplicates that work as a backup log of purchases. But most millennials have never used a check and they’ll usually get digital bank statements, or stick to mobile banking.
Old Wall Calendars
Boomers don’t always toss calendars once the year ends but rather, they keep them because of the pictures, or because they marked special dates. They might still have the calendar from 1994, folded in a drawer somewhere because someone wrote in a birthday or anniversary. It doesn’t matter if it’s no longer useful for keeping track of time because it still feels worth saving for many boomers. Yet most millennials usually throw them out right after New Year’s and keep everything on a phone or app.
Random Spare Buttons
The older generation doesn’t throw away those plastic packets with extra buttons—they hang onto them for years because you never know when you might need them. The majority of millennials usually don’t even notice the buttons came with the clothes and if they do, they’ll toss them during a closet cleanout. They’ll never use these buttons because they just don’t know how to.
Free Promotional Pens
Boomers are swimming in pens with business names on them, whether they’re from insurance agencies, pest control companies, or real estate agents, and half of them barely work. But they’re still sitting in every cup & drawer and boomers are willing to give them a few extra chances before they let one go. Millennials usually pick one or two pens they like and stick with those, as they prefer to keep everything written digitally instead.
Instructional VHS Tapes
Even without a VCR in sight, a lot of Boomers still have workout tapes stashed away, with stuff like “Buns of Steel” or 30-minute yoga routines from the ’90s that they haven’t watched in years. They might not even own a TV that could play one anymore but tossing them feels weird, so they’ll keep them lined up neatly in a box somewhere. Millennials refuse to hold onto what they see as junk and they’d rather stream their workouts or use an app to stay fit.
Old Cookbooks
You’ll see cookbooks in a Boomer’s kitchen that are missing covers & covered in grease stains, while some are stuffed with random recipe clippings and have pages held together with rubber bands. Some of the recipes have notes like “Don’t use so much garlic!” or “Greg hates this one,” making them more like family records than tools. Millennials tend to use their phones when cooking and don’t keep physical cookbooks unless they’re new or a gift.
Paper Address Books
Boomers love their handwritten address books as there are names in there they haven’t called in years, which makes these address books more like a document of their life. People who’ve passed away are still listed and it’s kind of a living document for boomers that they’ll treasure forever. But millennials type everything into their phones and will simply update or delete the contact information when necessary.
Twist Ties and Bread Bag Clips
There’s always one drawer in a boomer’s kitchen that’s packed with twist ties and little plastic clips from bread bags, which boomers will use for everything—sealing snack bags, holding cords, fixing random stuff. They never seem to run out, even though millennials don’t hang on to these and will send them straight to the trash. When the younger generation needs them, they’ll just get clips from IKEA or sealed containers that do the job without all the clutter.
Old Keys
Nobody knows what half the keys in that little bowl do, yet boomers tend to keep them—they could be for an old shed, a forgotten padlock, or a door that doesn’t exist anymore. Whatever the reason, it’s too risky to throw and boomers will keep them, along with the tags from hardware stores or key-cutting kiosks. Millennials usually toss keys once they’re not useful and can’t understand why boomers would want to keep them.
Hotel Toiletries and Sewing Kits
Boomers can’t leave a hotel without taking the mini shampoo bottle & the bar soap, as well as those tiny sewing kits, which will end up in a drawer at home with others from years of vacations. Most of it never gets used and some kits are so old the thread’s turned stiff, while the soap’s dried out—but they stay “just in case.”
10-Year-Old Phone Books
There’s always at least one old phone book somewhere in a Boomer’s house, or maybe two, with sticky notes marking certain pages, even though they’re hardly current. But boomers are big believers in keeping these records, although millennials barely touch physical phone books and will toss them out right away—if they even get delivered anymore. They think it’s entirely a waste of paper.
Old Wrapping Paper Scraps
Speaking of paper, the majority of boomers don’t toss wrapping paper unless it’s completely shredded and, instead, they’ll fold it, stack it & reuse it. They might have bits that are too small to wrap anything, yet these end up in the “keep” pile, along with the ribbon and tags. Millennials usually just buy new paper or bags when they need them and they don’t bother keeping what’s left over.
Disclaimer: This list is solely the author’s opinion based on research and publicly available information.
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