Lockdown decluttering: 11 things you can safely throw out from your home today

If you haven't already started pulling out stuff from drawers and wardrobes, trying to organise the kitchen presses or randomly wandering around shoving things into bin liners, clearly you are not doing this quarantining right, my friends.

This is the time for organizing and decluttering our homes. I mean – what else are we meant to be doing? Also – these are anxious and stressed times for many – but guess what often leads us to feel even more stressed and anxious? Clutter. Mess. Chaos. So there you go – decluttering will not only be good for your home, it will be really good for your mental health right now too. It's spring. The world has gone completely crazy. When this is all over, we will all be wanting to push some kind of mental reset button on everything, I think. In the meantime: Let's get organised. And just because it can seem overwhelming to take on the entire house straight away, we have pulled together a kick-start list for you, consisting of 11 items you more than likely have in your home that can all go in the bin right this minute. And while tossing (or donating or recycling) these 11 things might not feel like they will make all that much difference, much like with other things, it is often those first few steps that are the hardest, and the idea is that by committing to ridding your home of these, you will feel inspired to keep going. Here's to a serene, clutter-free home post-apocalypse, mamas. You can do it! 1. Old, washed-out towels Look – they are gross. If you have had your towels for more than 5-6 years, let them go. Do yourself a favour and cut them up into little cleaning rags, and order some fresh, new ones – we love the ones H&M Home are gdoing – great design at great prices. Bonus? It will feel like your entire bathroom had an upgrade! 2. Receipts Pull out your bag(s) and wallet and go through all those receipts and tags lurking around in there. Divide into two piles: Receipts you actually need to hang on to for warranty purposes and proof of purchase (electrical goods, for instance, or very expensive purchases like a designer handbag or new stroller) and all those Starbucks and Tesco receipts you will never need to see again. File the ones from pile #1 into a folder, then mark it with what it contains, and bin everything else immediately. 3. Old nail varnish Say goodbye! 4. Old magazines I am so guilty here, hanging on to old copies of Vogue and a stack of Scandinavian interior magazines just because the pictures in them are far too inspiring to bin. But ladies, in this world of Pinterest, there really is no need for this. Take a long, hard look in the mirror and admit it to yourself: You are never going to re-read them. 5. Manuals Bin most manuals for items you buy – if you ever need to build them or figure out how they work again, you can find all the info online. 6. Invitations Once you become a parent of a school-age child, prepare for your fridge door to always be covered in a variety of party invites and cards. Today, give your kitchen an instant clear-out and make-over by tossing all of these in the recycling bin. 7. Old bath mats We bet a lot of you were not aware of this, but bath mats should be replaced once a year. 8. Old chargers There is ZERO point in having your drawers filled up with chargers for phones you no longer own. 9. Spare buttons Have you ever needed any of these? 10. Kitchen gadgets you never use Most of us would love more room in the kitchen, and one easy way to achieve this is to toss any clumpy and bulky kitchen equipment that you never use. Ice cream machine? Breadmaker? That really complicated juicer that takes years to clean once used? Off you go to the electric recycling plant. 11. Takeout menus Got a smartphone? Yeah? Then you don't need an actual paper menu to order from your local pizza- or Thai place. Are YOU doing a de-clutter for the new year, mamas? What are YOU binning? And have you got any good tips to share on how to know what you can safely get rid of and what you should hang on to? Let us know in the comments or tweet us at @Herfamilydotie (Feature image via Pinterest)