Stuff You Can Get Rid of Right Now and Never Miss

There's a growing movement among adults of all ages to live more simply. Some call it minimalism, some refer to it as living frugally. However you refer to it, you can join the movement and begin today. Here is a list of things you can get rid of - donate to charity, or have a yard sale, or even just trash, and you'll never miss them!

• Kitchen Gadgets and Utensils
  If you have drawers in your kitchen that are so full that you have trouble getting them open, you probably have duplicate items, and far more utensils than you really need. To determine what you use on a regular basis, and what's just taking up space, empty your drawers into a few boxes. As you pull things from the boxes you can place them back in the drawer - they're safe from the elimination round. After one month it's safe to declare anything left in the boxes as donatable. You can rummage through and take out items you might only use once in a while such as a turkey baster, but everything else should go.
• Coffee Mugs
  Here's another item that seems to multiply organically in your kitchen storage spaces. If you have 20 something mugs and it's only you and your partner who drink coffee, you can safely get rid of all but about 4 of them. Choose your favorites and get rid of the rest.
• Plastic Storage Containers
  There comes a time when you realize you have five lids for every one container. That's when it's time to phone a friend, or gather the kids and spend the afternoon matching them up. When you're all finished, pack up the odds and ends, and out the door they go.
• Kitchen Spices
  Even though kitchen spices don't appear to ever go bad, they lose their potency as they age. Go through your spices and give them a smell/taste test and toss them if they've gotten boring. When you begin to replace them remember to use a permanent marker to notate on the bottom or side of the container the date they were purchased.
• Magazines
  Stacks of magazines by the bed, by your favorite chair, on your desk! Magazines (especially if you subscribe to more than a couple) can accumulate much faster than you can read them. If two months have passed and you haven't read them, it's time for them to go. Retirement facilities, doctor's offices, etc. will often accept recent issues of magazines, and schools will sometimes accept donated magazines for students to use in art projects. If you have guilt over throwing away magazines without reading them, flip through and tear out the things you're most interested in, keep the pages organized in a folder or binder and take it with you when you have appointments where you know you'll spend time waiting.
• Flower Vases
  If you've got a collection of the generic vases that come with floral arrangements, you can safely get rid of them. Unless you're going into the floral business yourself, there's no reason why you should need 20 plain, clear glass vases in very similar sizes and shapes. Keep vases that are unique and interesting, but get rid of the rest.

So, there we have it. A relatively painless list of things you can trash, recycle, or give away to provide yourself with more space, and a more peaceful state of mind. Living a minimalist lifestyle becomes a habit. The more you practice getting rid of excess, the more you'll be compelled to do so.

This guest post is written by Laura Oldham and provided on behalf of Advance Me America's Leading business cash advance provider.