8 Things You Can Toss Right Now, Completely Guilt-Free

Sometimes the hardest part is knowing where to start. One of the biggest things we encounter with clients is a feeling of overwhelm because things have piled up for so long, they don't know where to start. If you are paralyzed by the mess, go find a trash bag and choose a few things from this list to purge. These are the things you can toss right now, completely guilt-free. I give you full permission to let them go. No stress. No guilt. Reclaim your home and your peace.

1) Tupperware

Go to your Tupperware cabinet. Find every container that is missing a lid, has spaghetti stains from 2018, or is warped from the dishwasher. Match every bottom to a top. If there is a loner? Toss it. You do not need a reservoir of unmatched plastic "just in case" you host a potluck for 50 people. You also have my permission to toss all the takeout plastics! Keep the good sets, or invest in one, and recycle the rest.

 2) Water Bottles

Next, tackle the water bottle cabinet. Match bottles, straws and lids. Toss anything missing its pieces, bottles that leak, ones with promotional logos on them, cups that don't keep your coffee hot or fit in your car cup holder. Ditch duplicates your kids might miss. I promise the extra space in your cabinet is worth the brief melt down before they're on to something else! Use water bottle holders to designate space. My rule of thumb is one row per family member and once they're filled up we need to toss something.

 2) Expired Toiletries & Mystery Makeup

Open your bathroom vanity. Find that half-used bottle of sunscreen from three summers ago, the crusty mascara, and the samples you got at a department store but never used.

These products have a shelf life! Most beauty products have a number on the packaging. Look for a 3, 6,12, 18 or 24 that tells you the months from when it was opened until it goes bad. If it smells funny, separates, or you simply didn't like how it made your hair look—let it go. Think of it this way: the longer it's opened, the more bacteria has a chance to grow and potentially cause an infection, and no one wants that! You can also take this opportunity to clean your brushes and refresh your sponges. Take stock of how you're storing things too. Makeup bags are usually where cosmetics go to die. I suggest a turntable, drawer organizers, or clear makeup organizer to hold your daily products efficiently. Your morning routine should be filled with products that make you feel beautiful, not clutter that slows you down when you're looking for the eye cream you actually love.

3) Fantasy-Self Hobby Gear

We all do it. We buy the knitting needles, the specialized baking molds, or the expensive juicer because we imagine a version of ourselves who knits, bakes, and juices daily. I personally bought a bunch of Pilates props recently, only to come to terms with the fact that I hate working out at home and would rather pay for a Pilates membership, which is what I ultimately ended up doing! If that gear has been gathering dust for over a year, and making you feel bad every time you look at it, it is clutter. Donate it. Let someone else enjoy the hobby, and reclaim that shelf space for the life you are actually living.

4) The Cord Collection 

You know the drawer. The one filled with USB cables for devices you haven't owned since 2012, mysterious chargers, and tangled earbuds. And I see you, empty Apple product boxes! Here is the rule: If you don't know what it charges, you don't need it. Gather them all up. If you haven't reached for it in the last year, it’s not a resource; it’s just e-waste. Take them to a local recycling center (like Best Buy or Staples) and reclaim that drawer space. Use drawer inserts and cord wraps to make sure the ones you use stay organized. I use washi tape or my label maker to designate which charger and brick belong to which family member or in which room. I keep a kitchen charger clearly and obnoxiously labeled so that if it happens to disappear I can easily identify and reclaim it. Oh, and recycle those empty Apple boxes too!

5) Instruction Manuals for Things You Know How to Use

Do you really need the manual for the toaster? Or the vacuum you’ve been using for three years? Nearly every manual is available as a PDF online. Recently we had an error code pop up on our washer. A quick Google search found it and told me how to fix it. Unless it’s a complex appliance, like your furnace, or something with a warranty attached to the physical paper, recycle it. That bulky file folder of paper is just collecting dust. If there are manuals you need to keep, file them in one spot labeled 'manuals' so that if you do need that warranty someday, it's easy to locate.

6) Almost Empty Cleaning Products

Check under the kitchen sink or in the laundry room. We often buy a new bottle of cleaner or detergent before the old one is fully gone, and then start using the new one. Combine the duplicates if you can. If you have three bottles of specialized cleaner for a floor type you don't even have anymore, or a product you stopped using because you hated the smell, ditch it. Use containment with labels under the sink, or wherever you store cleaning products, to keep things organized.

7) Wire Dry Cleaner Hangers 

These are the enemies of any closet. Not only do they look messy, but they actually damage the shape of your clothes over time. They tangle easily and make it harder to slide items back and forth. Return them to your dry cleaner (many will recycle them!) and swap them out for uniform velvet or wood hangers. It is the single fastest way to make a closet look organized and high-end. The only time we do not recommend doing this is if a client will absolutely not, under any circumstances, change out hangers for dry cleaning. This is usually guys who have a heavy rotation of dress shirts being dry cleaned each week. We want our clients to have systems that make their lives easier, not more complicated!

8) Kids' Art Projects

This is a tough one for moms, but hear me out. I'm not saying throw away the masterpiece portrait of the family or the hand print turkey they made for Thanksgiving. I am saying you don't need to keep every single worksheet where they practiced writing the letter A, or every scrap of paper with a single sticker on it, or that thing they made out of a toilet paper roll and some feathers. Trust me, this is coming from a former teacher and mom of three. Keep the sentimental, special pieces in a memory bin, and guilt-free recycle the daily scribbles. There are tons of these types of memory bins available on Etsy, or you can grab a plastic file box and some folders and make one yourself. For the really special art projects, companies like Artkive will create a gorgeous full color photo book of each piece, or you can create a book using Shutterfly with your own pictures of the art. Just promise me you'll throw out the art after the book is made! Your kids won't remember the worksheet, but you will remember the clutter.

The Bottom Line: Less Stuff, More Sanity

Decluttering doesn’t have to mean spending an entire weekend buried in boxes or aiming for a Pinterest-perfect home overnight. It starts with these small, guilt-free wins. By clearing out the just in case items and clutter, you aren't just making space in your drawers—you're making space in your brain. So, take a deep breath, grab a trash bag, and reclaim your territory. And remember: if you get through this list and realize you want to keep going but don’t know how? We’re just a phone call away to help you tackle the rest.

XO,

Trish

Trish Johnson is a professional organizer and systems expert. She is a wife, mom of 3 kids, and a former elementary school teacher. Trish understands the stresses of daily life in a busy family and she truly enjoys helping people get set up with effective, organized systems that are functional as well as beautiful. Her company, This Organized Chaos, is located in New Jersey and services the surrounding areas organizing homes and small businesses.