Toss It! Things You Should Throw Away During Spring Cleaning

We’ve all heard that one person’s trash is another person’s treasure, and most of the time that’s true. “Upcycling” has become downright trendy, with people turning their dumpster-diving finds into one-of-a-kind pieces of furniture for their homes. Likewise, repurposed, recycled and reclaimed items are a badge of honor among the younger crowd. The “waste not, want not” mindset behind giving items a second life as something new and unique is commendable and fantastic. Most of the time.

Then there are those things you should absolutely toss in the garbage without delay- things that are so gnarly that they can’t be repurposed by even the most optimistic dumpster-diver. Here are a few household items it’s almost never a good idea to hang on to when you’re organizing your home for spring.

Old cosmetics- If you are or ever have been female, or if you have lived with a female member of society at any point in your life, chances are you are familiar with the Mascara Conundrum. Though common wisdom dictates that a tube of mascara, an eyeliner, or any other cosmetic that touches your eyes should be thrown out once every three months to avoid contamination which leads to eye infections, few women have the heart to actually go through with it. For one thing, cosmetics can be quite pricey, with even the drugstore brands of mascara costing upwards of $6 per tube. Secondly, when you are faced with the possibility of conjunctivitis or the prospect of chucking your limited-edition plum eyeliner sample you received as a free gift with purchase, a good number of women will roll the dice and opt to keep the eyeliner. Hard as it may be, you really need to purge your eye makeup at regular intervals to keep your eyes healthy and infection-free.

Expired food- There are probably no people on earth who need to be told to get rid of their spoiled dairy, meat or produce- at least we hope not! However, dry goods and spices are another story. Since you don’t have to refrigerate these items, people can mistakenly think they never go bad, or that they should be able to keep just fine for indeterminate periods of time in your cupboards or pantry. This is not accurate- there’s a reason for the “use by” dates stamped on most dry goods and non-perishable items. It may seem like a waste to toss out unused food because of an arbitrary date on the box, but you’ll be glad you did.

Broken toys- As your kids get older, it’s natural to want to keep some of their toys as keepsakes or mementos, or even put them away in case they want to pass them onto their own children someday. Additionally, any toys that are still in good shape can be donated to charity so they can be enjoyed by other kids. But there is absolutely no rhyme or reason to keeping toys that are broken. Dolls without heads, trucks without wheels, or puzzles that are missing pieces all need to find their way out of your attic and into a garbage truck ASAP.

If you have any spring cleaning tips, including suggestions for where to toss unwanted items, let us know in the comments below.

Repurpose Household Items for an Organized Home

If you are constantly trying to break the clutter cycle in your home and wish to have a more organized space, the answer might be right in front of your eyes. Household items that you have and use every day can be repurposed in creative ways to make your house a more orderly, clutter-free place without spending a penny! Here are a few ideas for taking what you have and transforming it into what you need to get your home in shape.

Ladders- If you have a ladder taking up space in your storage shed or garage, why not put it to work in another capacity? A small, 4- to 5-rung stepladder makes an ideal drying rack for your laundry room. If you have the type of ladder that can be hung from the ceiling, you can mount it sideways to use as a great place to hang freshly-laundered shirts, blouses and pants by their hangers.

Binder clips- If your home office is overrun with binder clips, you might find yourself wondering what on earth to do with them. Before you pitch them, consider the possibilities- binder clips can be extremely useful cord bundlers to organize your entertainment center or computer area’s mishmash of cords and keep them from becoming tangled and unsightly. Binder clips can also be useful in the kitchen as chip and pretzel bag clips, keeping your bagged items as fresh as the day you bought them!

Dish rack- Does your little one love to color but hate to clean up? A standard dish-drying rack can be repurposed as an ideal art supply caddy for children. The recessed area for holding silverware is a great place to store crayons or markers, and the grated areas for holding glassware are a nice place to set coloring books or extra drawing paper.

Picture frames- If you have a beautiful picture frame that is missing its glass or backing, don’t toss it- transform it! By simply screwing hooks into the top of the frame, you can create a picture-perfect place to hang and display your jewelry without worrying about your necklaces or bracelets tangling around each other.

Have any fun repurposing tips from your own household? Share them with us in the comments section!

Organize Your Laundry Room! Quick and Easy Tips

It’s a room that people don’t often think about, but can be absolutely essential to the well-being of your entire home and family. We’re talking, of course, about your laundry room. Though it may seem like just a tiny room which houses your washer/dryer combo, a laundry room can be so much more. With a little organization and a few creative ideas, you can transform your laundry room into an organized, efficient little powerhouse of a room that you’ll be excited to show off to guests. Read on for some great laundry room hacks!

·         Create a cute lint depository. You know those little boxes that real estate agents put flyers in next to a house’s “for sale” sign? Well, they actually make great little places to save your dryer lint- they can hang right on the wall next to your dryer, and you can let your creativity run wild and decorate them any way you like! Since dryer lint is actually an excellent fire starter for a campfire or charcoal grill, it’s worth hanging onto, and now you’ll have a nice-looking place to do that!

·         Wall-mount hooks for your ironing board. You never know when you’re going to need to iron something, but where do you stash that ironing board until you need it again? With a couple of well-placed designer hooks from the hardware store or online, you can create a cute out-of-the-way space to hang up your board.

·         Put together a “stain station.” It’s all well and good to read handy laundry tips on blogs like this one, but most of us promptly forget how to get a certain type of stain out of clothing when the need actually arises. By putting together an attractive little kit featuring all the things you may need to get a stain out, as well as a little cheat sheet for which kinds of products remove which kinds of stains, you can have the knowledge and tools you need at hand.

·         Use designated hampers to sort clothes ahead of time. Three attractive bins marked “whites,” “colors” and “darks” can help you to pre-sort your laundry so you don’t have any red sock/white towel mishaps in your future.

What are your favorite ways to keep your laundry room looking organized? Be sure to let us know in the comments section.