While it might be a little hard to pry these items out of your hands and into the bin, trust us you’ll feel all the better for it. You just don’t need useless things in your life. It’s time to purge.
Piggy banks
We love taking a nostalgic trip down memory lane just as much as the next person. Who doesn’t have that one box or cupboard filled with items from your younger years? Sadly, most of the items housed here can only be described as dust collectors.
Cute as they may be, physical piggy banks are passé – and so are calculators! Picture: iStock
If you’ve been holding onto a piggy bank from when you were younger, it’s time to get rid of it!
These are definitely passé – and as we head towards a cashless world coupled with all of the digital banking tech out there, you won’t even have a use for it to pass these on to generations to come.
‘Speciality’ (read trend-driven) appliances
Have you ever fallen victim to buying that I-have-to-have-it-whizz-bang-appliance-that-I’ll-never-use item for the home?
We’re talking about popcorn makers, an appliance to make cake-pops, bread machines, ice-cream makers, a device that keeps count of your eggs, goodness at one point there was even a fork that reminded you to eat more slowly.
An egg poacher is a nifty idea but a pot will also do the trick. Picture: Breville
While these trend-drive purchases might have seemed like a great idea at the time, you can easily make all of these things without a bulky appliance that takes up valuable real estate in your kitchen storage space or countertop. (For example, all you need to make popcorn is a simple pan on the stove.)
Old-school dictionary
If you’re looking to free up space on your shelves to make way for a new vignette or piece of décor, we guarantee if you’re holding onto a dictionary, it’s a waste of space and needs to go pronto.
With digital dictionaries now easily accessible online, if you need to look something up, free up time and space by moving to only using a digital dictionary.
When’s the last time you opened an old hard-copy dictionary? Picture: actionvance/Unsplash
Orphaned Tupperware
If you’ve been holding onto orphaned containers or sad lonely lids in the hopes you will one day reunite your stray Tupperware, it’s time to have a clean out.
If the partners to your mismatching Tupperware items don’t turn up after a couple of months, you can call off the search party. This is the point in which you need to render these useless and purge – into the recycling bin, of course.
The upside? You’ll be surprised at all the space you create but having a good clean out of the Tupperware drawer or shelf.
Paperweights
In the age of laptops, smart phones and tablets, does anyone keep big piles of paper at home anymore?
It’s time to purge the paperweights because no, they don’t make a cute office desk decoration. Clear that clutter.
In the digital age, who keeps piles of paper at home anymore? Picture: Ergonofis
Butter knives
Now, question for you: Who actually rummages around for a specific butter knife when you’re at the cutlery drawer? Exactly. When it comes to butter, any old knife will do.
When it comes to buttering, any old knife will do. Picture: Toa Heftiba/Unsplash
It’s time to clean out these useless items taking up space. And while you’re at it, purge any other inconspicuous things in the cutlery drawer that you haven’t used in the last six months. We’re looking at you, surplus of plastic takeaway cutlery and chopsticks.