De-Junking: How to Decide What to Throw Away

De-Junking: How to Decide What to Throw Away

If you feel like you’re being pushed out of your house by all the stuff you have, it may be time to get rid of a few things. Renting or purchasing a My Storage unit can be a great way to house some stuff you don’t currently use but don’t want to throw out just yet. Storage units are also a great way to organize everything over a period of time for a garage sale. You can move what you want to sell into storage, sort and tag it as you get the time, then take it all out and make some money. The question is, how do you decide what to keep, sell or toss?

Clothing

Take all of your clothes in your closet and turn them around so that the hanger is hooked around the back of the rod (hook facing you). As you wear an item, hang it back up the correct way (hanger hook facing away from you). At the end of a month, go through the clothes that are still hung backwards and get rid of them. If they’re seasonal, take them out and store them in air-tight containers in the top of the closet or under the bed. Leaving them hung in the closet means they’ll just be dusty when you’re ready to wear them again. Take everything else, you know, the stuff you’ll never wear, and toss it if it’s stained, ripped or outdated. Donate it if it’s in good condition, but just not right for you.

Home Decor

You know that closet in your house where you send un-hung artwork and shelf-less tchotchkies to die? We all have one. Unless you rotate your décor every other month, this closet isn’t necessary. Clear up that space by going through it all. Keep what you want to hang or just can’t bring yourself to get rid of, and move the rest to your garage sale storage. A tip: if you don’t remember buying the item, that’s a good indication it needs to go. If you think something may be valuable, take it to an art appraiser. You might end up with a good chunk of change and the artwork will be with a collector who will display it.

Junk Drawer

Every kitchen has one. What would we do without our junk drawer? Need something? It’s probably in the junk drawer. A dedicated catch-all in the kitchen isn’t a bad idea, but set some rules for yourself. You don’t need that phone charger that came with the phone you don’t have anymore. It won’t work for anything you have, so get rid of it. Include it in your garage sale or donate it to charity. There are several charities that donate phones to single parents in need. Perhaps that charger will work with something they have?

Everything in your junk drawer should have a purpose, and should be easy to find, invest in some drawer dividers and start organizing!

Utensils

While you’re in the kitchen cleaning out the junk drawer, take a look at the others you have. Do you need a chipped rubber spatula? No. No one does. Toss it and take a gander at your other tools. You can apply the same logic you used on your closet. Place a canister next to your stove, or if you already have one, take everything out of it and put it in the drawer. For the next couple of months, put each tool you use in the canister after you wash it. The items that are still in the drawer are items you will probably not use. Go through them and decide what’s good enough to sell and what you should donate.

There you have it. You’re one step closer to a more organized home. Have any de-junking tips? Let us know in the