Professional organizers swear by replacing these 11 things annually

Some of the messiest things in your house aren’t the ones sitting in plain sight, yet they’re the ones you should replace at least once a year.

The bathroom layer

Nobody looks at a shower curtain and thinks about how it’s aging. But it is. The curtain hangs there, collecting soap film and hard-water spots. It’s taking whatever your bathroom throws at it, until you realize how dirty it actually seems.

You’re best off replacing the liner every year or so. You might want to do it sooner than that if you start smelling mildew. Yes, you could try cleaning it. But after a year, most liners have lived a full enough life.

The silent sleeper

Pillows don’t always look dirty. That’s the problem. They’re picking up your sweat and face oils, night after night. Let’s not even think about the dust mites. You should try replacing them every one to two years to keep them fresh.

A flat or lumpy pillow is a cry for help. One year might already be more than enough in that case. Don’t you want to go to sleep in a bed that feels fresh and not musty?

The hidden sheet

That’s not all for the bedroom. Yes, most people remember to wash the sheets. Fewer remember to check what’s under them. Your mattress protector takes in more sweat than you might imagine, as well as your drool. Washing it isn’t always the best option.

Why? Because the elastic loosens and the waterproof layer starts thinning. It’s why checking them every year makes sense. You can’t put it through dozens of wash cycles and assume it’s fine. 

The damp square

It’s a hard life being a bath mat. After all, they sit in puddles and absorb a lot of humidity. They also get thrown in the wash and are expected to bounce back. That’s unlikely. Sure, washing it does help, but it’s not going to fix a bathmat that stinks.

It also won’t help a mat that doesn’t dry properly. In those cases, it makes way more sense to replace the mat entirely. You should swap them more often if they’re in a heavily used bathroom.

The kitchen workhorse

There’s always that one kitchen towel that comes out of the wash looking clean. Except, for some reason, it doesn’t feel clean. That’s because kitchen textiles hold a lot of nastiness, even after regular washing.

Their absorbency also declines over time. It’s even worse when you use fabric softener. It makes a lot more sense to replace your everyday towels once a year. That way, you’ll avoid these issues.

The sliced surface

Another important kitchen item is the cutting board. The plastic variety usually starts off looking clean and smooth, but after a year, it’s a different story. It’ll have hundreds of tiny cuts on it. However, these grooves are more than simply a cosmetic problem.

Heavily scarred boards are harder to clean. The germs get inside the cracks, and that could lead to cross-contamination. It’s a good idea to replace the board once a year. Why would you risk it?

The old stirrer

It’s weird how wooden spoons seem to hang around. But maybe they shouldn’t. Wood changes over time, and tiny cracks start showing up soon enough. The edges also get rough, and the handles loosen. That’s a real problem. 

It’s easy for moisture and food particles to get inside the damaged areas. Once they’re in, you’re going to struggle getting them out. Try doing a yearly kitchen drawer check instead. Keep the solid ones, but throw out any splintery ones that aren’t up to scratch.

The morning grab

A lot of people don’t even know that you can replace hairbrushes. You can. You should replace daily-use brushes every year or so to keep them in good condition. Old hairbrushes pull out your hair. They also collect all the gunk on your head around the bristles.

A hairbrush shouldn’t feel like it’s fighting your hair. When it does, then you already know the problem and the solution. Get rid of it.

The small battery

Yes, smoke detector batteries aren’t exactly something exciting. That’s kind of the point. You don’t want to assume they’re fine, only to wake up to that annoying chirp at 3 AM. No, you should replace the batteries every year.

It doesn’t have to be anything difficult. You could try changing it during the daylight saving time switchover so it’s easier to remember. It’s one battery. It’s one minute. But it’s also one less thing nagging at you later.

The stretched strip

The vacuum still makes noise. Its lights are still on. However, that doesn’t mean it’s working okay because the brush roll might be completely dead. It’s usually down to the belt. The rubber drive belt stretches the more you use it, so you should replace it once a year.

You can tell when it’s starting to get weak. It’ll stop sucking things up as well as it did before. But it might not completely go out on you just yet. All it takes is a ten-dollar bill to make an old vacuum feel like something completely new again.

The sweeping end

The vacuum’s only part of the story. Brooms tend to get worse without anyone noticing it. It’ll start by missing crumbs, and then it’ll push dirt sideways. You’ll be stuck wondering why you’re sweeping the same spot repeatedly. The answer? It’s the bristles.

These bend and split over time. Eventually, they’ll stop making contact with the floor. Don’t let that happen to you. You should store the brooms properly to avoid damage, although that won’t keep them safe forever. It’s more practical to swap the head each year.

Sources: Please see here for a complete listing of all sources that were consulted in the preparation of this article.