13 Things That Belong in a Junkyard, Not in Your Home

Throughout our lives, we acquire a huge number of things, and some, if not most, inevitably become irrelevant and useless, turning into piles of junk that lie around the house. Sometimes it’s useful to check what you have and get rid of the stuff you don’t need in order to make more room in your place. Decluttering helps to turn your space into a cozy home.

You could say that you don’t have any junk at home, like old furniture or plates. But Bright Side is going to tell you about some things you probably didn’t even think were junk.

1. Receipts

Keeping track of your expenses is a very good habit. But keeping piles of receipts is not the best way to do it. Receipts fade quite fast because the sunlight destroys the ink faster than it destroys vampires.

However, you can also use digital receipts. In fact, in a time where we almost don’t use cash at all and all the bank applications keep records of your expenses, you don’t need to keep receipts around. And if you’re making a big purchase using cash, take a photo of the receipt. The photo won’t go anywhere and you can easily show it at a store in case you need to return something.

2. Earrings without a mate

You’ve probably lost 1 earring from a pair before. What are you supposed to do with the other one? You can’t wear it unless you’re going to a pirate party. You can’t even sell it. And you can’t get rid of it by giving it to a pawnshop unless it’s made of a precious metal.

There are many reasons why people can’t get rid of old jewelry. For example, an earring may serve as a memory of someone or could have been given to you by someone you love. In this case, you can find a specialist that can melt it and make it into something new.

3. Things that have become obsolete

Technology has progressed quite a bit in the past 20-30 years — VHS tapes, floppy disks, CDs, and DVDs are all in the past now. Yes, these have become somewhat of a collection, and they’re not easy to get rid of. But think about it: they’re just sitting on your shelves collecting dust. How often do you watch your VHS tapes? The answer’s probably never. Instead, you go to a streaming service and watch your film in 4k.

Also, the magnetic tape often gets destroyed and can’t be used. So if you have something important on that tape, like your wedding or your son’s first steps, make sure you make the recording digital in order not to lose it.

4. Bed linens that look bad

Going to bed after a hard working day is one of the most enjoyable things you can do in life. And if you have beautiful bed linens, it’s even better. But if you have the same sheets you bought in the 2000s, maybe it’s time to get rid of them and treat yourself to some new ones.

Also, consider the option of recycling your old linens. Big stores often take old textiles for recycling. Try to find out if there are such places in your town.

5. Gifts you don’t need

All the magnets your colleagues gave you, a weird-looking vase someone gave you for your birthday, a perfume that makes you cough — these things don’t make us happy. But we feel guilty when we think about throwing them away since they were gifts, after all.

If you can’t just throw them away, try a different solution. Sell them or give them away. If you can’t find new owners, throw them away without regretting it.

6. Board games and puzzles with missing pieces

You can’t play chess, checkers, or Monopoly if some pieces are missing. If you lose a dice, a card, or a chess piece, the entire set becomes useless. The puzzles where some pieces were stolen by your cat won’t turn into something beautiful. Games are meant to be played, not to be kept, so throw away the sets that are missing something. Yes, even that Lego set you loved but lost several of its pieces under the couch.

7. Hobbies you dropped a long time ago

Let’s say you wanted to learn to embroider and bought all the necessary materials and prepared to create a masterpiece. But in a couple of days, you realized it wasn’t your thing: your fingers grew tired, your eyes began to hurt, and it didn’t calm you down— it actually annoyed you. You put all the stuff aside and see it only when you do the cleaning.

Admit it: you’re not going to try this again. You can give this stuff to a person who really does this or sell it to someone. The stuff that’s useless to you might be useful to someone else. And don’t worry, you’ll eventually find a hobby you love!

8. Notebooks you don’t use

Even people who haven’t used pens in years love beautiful notebooks. They come into stores and spend hours looking at all the bright covers adorned with cats. And then they’ll say something like, “This one’s for my plans, this is for my sketches, and this is for my diet.”

Yes, we might write something down for the first couple of days and then we put them onto the pile of other notebooks that were bought with the same good intentions years ago but haven’t been used since. This means these things are practically empty.

You can recycle all these notebooks or at least throw them away.

9. Wire hangers

Hangers made of thick wires are very impractical. First of all, they can become traps for your clothes, catching on hanging threads and tearing them.

Secondly, the clothes might become deformed if they hang on a thin hanger for a long time. The right hanger has to imitate our shoulders to make sure the clothes won’t change shape.

The best and the most long-lasting option is hangers made of thick wood. So throw away all those wire hangers!

10. Empty flower pots

Many things happen to flowers at home. You may change the pots or the flowers in them could die for some reason. You have empty flower pots that keep piling up on the balcony or in a cupboard. You might think you’re going to plant something one day but you never really get to it.

If it’s been years since you used your flower pots, throw them away and don’t give it a second thought. When you want a new flower, you’ll buy a new pot specifically for it instead of keeping old ones for decades, hoping you’ll need them.

11. Old chargers

You already have a smartphone with a USB Type-C but you still have dozens of cords for the phones you don’t even have anymore. What’s the point of keeping something totally obsolete that can never be used again?

12. Leftover building materials

After a renovation in an apartment or house, there are always some leftovers, including paint, some floor coverings, or wallpaper. And our thinking is always the same: “I’ll keep it in case I need to fix something.”

But just admit that this stuff is useless and a bucket of paint is only good for about 2 years after opening it.

13. Home appliances you don’t use

An old hairdryer that works so you can’t throw it away, even though you have a new one; a toaster you’ve only used once after you bought it; or a juicer that’s too hard to wash so you never use it. Any of this sound familiar?

Yes, it’s sad to throw away things that work. If they’re still new, you can try selling them online. And if they’re old, you can just give them away to people that need them.

Do you like decluttering your home and getting rid of old things? Maybe you have your own life hacks that helped you get rid of the things you don’t need. Tell us your thoughts!