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10 things you probably have too many of

Do you ever feel overwhelmed by your stuff? Do you wish you could eliminate the excess and stress less over the things that you own?

Many people struggle with letting go of things. It may because of sentimental reasons or it may just be because you haven’t got around to de-cluttering your home yet. Either way, it’s good to get rid of things that you no longer use and love.

10 things you probably have too many of

You Have Too Many

1. Pens

How many pens does one person need? The last time I cleaned out my stash of pens, I had about 40. 40 pens! They were all crammed into one little cup that I have sitting on my desk. Most of them no longer worked.

I spent a few minutes going through them and in the end, I was left with 11 pens. That’s it!

2. Shirts

T-shirts are the biggest culprit. Try to go through your shirts every season and get rid of the ones that you no longer wear.

If it doesn’t fit properly or is ripped or stained, let it go.

3. Toys

If you have kids, you probably have toys – and you probably have a lot of them.

Grandparents and other relatives love to spoil the little ones and this can create an abundance of toys in your home. Toy overload is not fun. Get rid of the toys your child(ren) no longer play with and try to only keep those that are educational in some way.

4. Books

If you are never going to read a book again, why keep it? There are many websites and stores that allow you to sell your used books through them or you could always donate your books.

Books are meant to be read and enjoyed. Don’t just read a book once, put it on a shelf and leave it there forever. Remember to open it up from time to time. Otherwise, give it to someone who will.

5. Plates

I recently took a big box of unused dishes to the thrift store. Included were bowls and mugs, but the item I had the most of plated.

A good rule of thumb is to have 2 plates for every person in your home. It’s also good to keep an extra 4-8 plates for a company (if you entertain). As long as you’re washing your dishes at least once a day, this is more than enough plates for one household.

6. Mugs

Coffee mugs, tea mugs.. whatever you want to call them – I bet you have too many hiding away in your cupboards. Just like plates, I like to keep 2 mugs per person and then an extra 4-8 for the company.

7. Photos

If you keep all of your photos online, you can read my article on how to organize your digital photos. If you choose to print your photos, only print the really good ones.

If they are going to take up space in your home, they need to be important, so only print the shots that you truly love and plan to display (or keep in albums that you will actually look at).

8. Socks

Most people have too many socks and many of them need to be thrown out because they have holes in them and are completely worn out. Socks get worn out easily and it’s one of those items that we will constantly have to replace. Go through your sock drawer every 6 months or so, and ditch all of the socks that have seen their last… foot.

9. Movies

You may keep all of your movies on the computer or you may store them in their cases in your home, but whatever you do, odds are that you have an overwhelming amount of them. I always find it hard to get rid of movies (I’m a huge movie buff!), but you have to be strict in order to keep the clutter at bay.

Just like books, you should only keep the movies that you know you will watch again. There’s no sense holding on to a movie if it’s only going to be enjoyed once.

10. Holiday decorations

Are you one of those people that has been on top of a bin, filled with holiday decorations? It’s time to keep it simple.

Go through your decor after the holiday and only keep the items that you really love. Don’t hold on to decorations just because you got them for a good price or they were a gift. You should only keep the things that you plan to display year after year.

In order to streamline your life and keep things simple, you really need to limit the amount of stuff you allow in your home.

Make a rule that whenever anything new comes into the house, something else must leave. This is a great way to prevent clutter and keep things organized.

Are you guilty of having too many of the above items?

Comments

  1. Justine

    makeup lol, but I don’t want to give that away or throw it out, cause I love it.

  2. Alex

    This is such a common problem! In fact, it’s what keeps me in business!

  3. Carrie

    kids cloths – i belive they are multipling like bunnies.

  4. m

    Shoes! Paperwork. Old towels/sheets that we hang on to just in case, but really they’re so gross you’d never want to use them.

  5. Lori

    I am jealous of the amount of pens you found, I can never find one (; The moment we stop using something for more than thirty days and if it has been sitting in our laundry room going un-used, it goes for sale on Kijiji. We keep the kid-junk at bay this way.

  6. Cassie Howard

    Lori – Good idea! We do the same thing. 🙂
    m – ahh yes, paperwork is a biggie at our house too!
    Carrie – gosh i am obsessed with kids clothes. elliott has more than we do – combined!
    Alex – that’s great for you then 😛
    Jusine – ahh yeah, you girlies and your makeup! 😉

  7. Barbara

    We have way too many plastic containers for food, plates, cups and pens. My boyfriend hates getting rid of anything and often comes home with more. I’ve given up on trying to get rid of stuff!

  8. teachermum

    I found the cure for too many pens (seems dh was always bringing them home from vendors at work),have your child get a job as some sort of cashier…my son works at the movie theatre and who knew you had to bring your own pens? I could never shut the drawer before-now I can never find one!!! He scoops them and never brings them home.

    I’m drowning in stuff here…just have to find the method that will work for me-haven’t yet 🙁

  9. Cassie Howard

    teachermum – haha now there’s a good idea!
    Barbara – oh no, that sucks that your boyfriend doesnt like to get rid of things. time to sneak stuff out the door when he’s not looking! 😉

  10. Jen

    Kids…does that count? We also have too many lovely crafts (always nice to receive but after awhile they do pile up), crayons, markers, construction paper, cds, brushes and some stuff from the stockpile is getting out of control (shaving cream, deodorant, toothpaste etc – I need to make a donation soon).

  11. Stephanie G

    I don’t agree with all the list, bu tI certainly agree with the pen one!!!

  12. Laura Lynn

    http://www.bookcrossing.com is a fun way to set your books free.

  13. Mesenga

    Luckily, we moved 2 months ago and moved EVeRYThINg with us. So as we unpacked, we would store garage sale items in the empty boxes left over. We now have 10 full boxes and conveniently a street sale is coming up this Saturday. I’m so excited to get rid of the extra stuff in our life. Also planning for another garage sale at the end of the summer for more stuff we find around the house that we don’t use or need

  14. Cary

    As for those old socks, please don’t throw them out!
    Take them to your local animal shelter…they make cat toys from the old socks 🙂

  15. Jessica

    nailpolish! I never seem to throw them out & I love to treat myself to a new shade every once in a while.

  16. Tracey

    I was a bit skeptical before I read this article, but every single one (except toys since my kids are grown) was so true! I think I might scoop up some pens and take them to the cashiers at the grocery stores today.

    • Terri

      And they will thank you!! Being a ful time cashier, if there’s one thing we never have enough of, it’s pens!!! I bring all my extras to work with me. (My husband brings home at least one a day from work!)

  17. Christa

    I’m guilty of keeping books. I think last count (between ereader and print, read and unread) it was 3000. As for keeper some read ones, yes I do reread or in some cases trying to collect whole booklist from a certain author. plus the read ones I keep are usually signed.

  18. yuet

    Love diffent scents of soap, body washes. Have 30 soaps, 28 body washes! That would last 6 to 7 years 😛

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