4 min readWhatever the size of your house, many of us manage to fill nearly every nook and cranny with stuff. Sure, it’s a part of life—but how much of that stuff are you actually using daily? And are there household items that you could let go of that are simply taking up
space? Kimberly Cheeseman, owner of Orderly At The Shore, believes that there are, nothing that there are a multitude of reasons why we’re
“Sometimes it’s fear, sometimes sentimental attachment, and many times just sheer overconsumption,” she says. “Some people see things in bulk and think, ‘Wow, I need all of that.’ Others have a very hard time letting the smallest thing go because of ‘what if.’”
Barb Mickits, founder of Edit & Organize, points out that many of us can’t say no to freebies, and they add up. But, as Ebony Deloatch, founder of Humble Enhancement Holistic Home Organizer, puts it, there’s an “invisible cost” to stocking up too much.
“People lose square footage within the home, they experience financial regret due to expired products, and sometimes people's health can start declining due to poor air quality or the accumulation of dust,” she adds.
While you can certainly get to work and start donating, another part of this “invisible cost” is the items you can’t donate that need to be tossed instead, adding more to an already overwhelmed landfill.
Deloatch advises being mindful and intentional about the items you bring into your home and to routinely “check your inventory.” But in the meantime, you might be wondering: what is the one household item that people are needlessly hoarding and frequently having to declutter? We asked the organizing pros and, as it turns out, they all said the same thing.
Why We Need to Pair Down Reusable Bags
Professional organizers say that one of their top offenders in a cluttered home is usually reusable bags. Although they’re great for the environment instead of plastic shopping bags—and they’re handy to keep in the car for an Aldi run—there is such a thing as having too many when they start to overwhelm closets and car trunks.
Mickits says that tote bags became a popular corporate giveaway because they feel useful, but now people have dozens of them. “They can be very hard to part with because they’re often well-made,” she says.
In addition to reusable bags, Deloatch mentions gift bags, grocery bags, backpacks, and gym bags as items we have too many of. The bags also tie into Diane Greenhalgh’s biggest culprit. As a professional organizer and owner of Tiny to the Max, LLC, she says that accessories can be a major contributor to “too much stuff,” along with clothing and shoes.
Although it might be difficult to part with an item that seems “handy,” if you feel like you have too many, it might be time to donate some of those bags, or pass them to a friend if they’re being given away for free.
Honorable Mentions
Expired Products
“When I organize a person’s home, I will inevitably come across a stash of expired items in their bathroom or linen closet, such as expired prescriptions, cold and flu remedies, sunscreen, skincare products, nail polish, and makeup,” Greenhalgh observes.
Decluttering these items is as simple as keeping up with the
expiration dates. Otherwise, Greenhalgh says that if a product has changed its consistency, such as goopy nail polish, or if you can’t remember when you purchased it, toss it.
“You can take old medications to drop boxes at CVS or Walgreens the next time you’re there,” she says. “And to prevent this from happening in the future, keep what you purchase of these items to a minimum for what you need.”
Mugs
Coffee mugs abound in people’s kitchens. “Some people have an unbelievable amount of coffee mugs, which are usually bulky and take up so much cabinet space,” Cheeseman says. “The mugs are typically all mismatched and different sizes, and half the time only a few are ever used.”
While many of those mugs might be sentimental (hello,
vacation souvenirs!), you may not have noticed that they were beginning to accumulate.
Cheeseman recommends decluttering your mugs down to the ones
that you actually use. Donate your old mugs, and they can find new homes. “There is no need to purchase a mug for every state you
visit or every event you attend—you have the memory,” she says.
If you simply can’t part with some of your mugs (like ones that have been passed down in your family), Cheeseman suggests displaying them in a China cabinet or other space where they can be conversation
pieces.
Pens
Even in this age of digital everything, we still hoard a fair amount of pens in our homes. “People collect pens unconsciously because the ballpoint pens write well or are designed well,” Deloatch says. “When they have misplaced one, they just buy another pack or grab another one from a random spot.”
Stick to just a few trusty pens and check before purchasing more. Working pens can be donated, but to avoid throwing away plastic pens, instead opt for biodegradable versions, which are pretty prevalent these days.
Disposable Food Storage Containers
“It’s tempting to keep the plastic storage containers that your takeout comes in because it feels like a bonus with your meal, but these flimsy containers quickly become a mismatched collection and take up valuable cabinet space,” Mickits says.
Clear containers and clamshell styles can be recycled, but black plastic containers and Styrofoam boxes unfortunately can’t be. If you want to skip the urge to keep these containers and still be
environmentally conscious, eat at the restaurant instead or request non-plastic takeout packaging whenever possible.
