• Home
  • Get Started!
  • Speaking
  • Blog
    • Cleaning
    • decluttering
    • organization
    • All posts
  • Podcast
  • Books
    • Jesus Doesn't Care About Your Messy House
      • Get a Discussion Guide
    • Organizing for the Rest of Us
    • Decluttering at the Speed of Life
    • How to Manage Your Home Without Losing Your Mind
  • Video
  • Shortcut Solutions
    • 14 Days to Opening Your Front Door to Guests e-book
    • Make Dinner Happen
    • The 5 Day Clutter Shakedown Video Course
    • Printable Checklists E-Book from A Slob Comes Clean
    • Teaching Kids to Clean e-book
    • Giving God the Worst of Me - free e-book
    • My Book Publishing Journey
    • Take Your House Back
  • Decluttering Coaches

Dana K. White

A SLOB COMES CLEAN

Reality-Based Cleaning, Decluttering, & Organizing

 

  • About
  • Contact
  • TV & Media

  • Home
  • Get Started!
  • Speaking
  • Blog
    • Cleaning
    • decluttering
    • organization
    • All posts
  • Podcast
  • Books
    • Jesus Doesn't Care About Your Messy House
      • Get a Discussion Guide
    • Organizing for the Rest of Us
    • Decluttering at the Speed of Life
    • How to Manage Your Home Without Losing Your Mind
  • Video
  • Shortcut Solutions
    • 14 Days to Opening Your Front Door to Guests e-book
    • Make Dinner Happen
    • The 5 Day Clutter Shakedown Video Course
    • Printable Checklists E-Book from A Slob Comes Clean
    • Teaching Kids to Clean e-book
    • Giving God the Worst of Me - free e-book
    • My Book Publishing Journey
    • Take Your House Back
  • Decluttering Coaches
Videos
Blog
Podcast
Products & Courses
Books
About
Decluttering Coaches

Dated Clutter

May 6, 2013 By Dana White | 23 Comments

  • 257shares
  • 254
  • 0
  • 3

April was busy.

I know, because I never had a chance to share this decluttering post from the week of April 6th (my daughter’s birthday party clean-up week), and now it’s May 6th.

And it’s one of those decluttering projects that didn’t let me pretend the mess had happened overnight. Those piles were full of clutter with DATES on it.

Blech.

Sometimes I’d prefer to live within my delusions . . .

Anyway, in less-than-27 minutes, I went from this:

Cluttered Kitchen Counter

To this:

decluttered breakfast area

I know. Not exactly a great after picture.

Anyway, the point of this post is what I found at the bottom of the probably-used-to-be-a-few-piles-but-now-it’s-one-big-pile.

Big Red Box of Valentine's Candy

Can’t really pretend that’s from last week when it’s already April.

Coupons that expired last year

And I know coupons. So I know coupons that expired in December must have been sitting there for at least a month before that.

Mom's a Hero for this one!

I was a hero for this one! My 9yo had just been looking for it just the week before.  At least it didn’t have an expiration date . . .

What “dated clutter” have you found that keeps you from pretending it hasn’t been that long?

dated clutter keeps you from pretending it hasn't been that long at ASlobComesClean.com

Save

Related Posts:

Read Newer Post The Fun Part is Easy
Read Older Post 3 Tips to Avoid Overbuying at Thrift Stores

Filed Under: decluttering | 23 Comments

Comments

  1. AnastaciaManess says

    May 6, 2013 at 11:31 pm

    The expiration dates on the salad dressings I just threw away today while cleaning out the refrigerator. The oldest was 2009!

    Reply
  2. Teresa says

    May 7, 2013 at 1:47 am

    The wrapped Christmas presents that still need to be delivered!

    Reply
    • Esther Smith says

      May 3, 2023 at 3:15 pm

      Bills and insurance EOBs. Yuck.

      Reply
  3. Kim says

    May 7, 2013 at 6:18 am

    I cleaned up my sewing room in March and found a towel at the bottom of a pile. I used to use it to change my youngest’s diapers, but I haven’t changed a diaper since November!

    Reply
  4. Annie says

    May 7, 2013 at 8:12 am

    What do you do with old greeting cards? I’ve got a huge box full from over the years. I’ve thought of ditching the ones that didn’t have notes in them but what about the ones from my kids or my husband? My sentimentality starts to take over. Him, on the other hand, tosses them after the holiday has occurred so I’m sure he doesn’t have the ones I’ve given him for anniversaries and Valentine’s. That kind of irks me because I associate it with “He must not love me that much if he won’t keep my expressions of love to him.” Ugh! Stuck between a rock and a card place.

    Reply
    • Nony says

      May 7, 2013 at 11:52 am

      That’s so tough, but I’ve become more and more ruthless over time.

      Reply
    • Jackie says

      May 7, 2013 at 2:31 pm

      Annie,

      I scan cards with sentimental value into the computer and place them in a sentimental folder. That way I can throw them away but always have a way to go back and remember the special days.

      Jackie

      Reply
      • Nony says

        May 8, 2013 at 9:10 am

        That’s a great idea, Jackie!

        Reply
      • Martha says

        January 21, 2015 at 10:39 pm

        this is a great idea!!!

        Reply
    • Elaine says

      May 4, 2022 at 8:15 pm

      A girlfriend of mine and her husband exchanged the same valentines card for over 30 years, each time just adding a little note.

      Reply
  5. susan says

    May 7, 2013 at 12:29 pm

    I was just cleaning out a bathroom cabinet. I found stuff that EXPIRED in 2009.

    I might have also just thrown away some Christmas stuff. From last year – as in December 2011.

    Reply
  6. Kathy says

    May 7, 2013 at 1:11 pm

    coupons for FREE stuff that you missed out on! Boo!

    Reply
  7. Stephbo93 says

    May 7, 2013 at 1:50 pm

    I just cleaned the fridge the other day and threw out stuff which expired in 2011. The cabinets are next. And I also just cleaned the receipts out of my wallet. From January. Ugh.

    Reply
  8. Mary says

    May 7, 2013 at 8:39 pm

    My husband’s uncle passed away in January, and as we’ve been cleaning the house, we’ve found a lot of dated clutter – all neatly organized. The best so far was the bottle of vinegar that was 11 years expired…as in, expired in 2002 – and it was never even opened! And I can’t imagine that vinegar expires too quickly, since it’s used to preserve other food, so I imagine it probably had been sitting in that cupboard for 14 or 15 years. Makes me a little worried about all the other stuff in there that didn’t have expiration dates…

    Reply
  9. The Unlikely Homemaker says

    May 8, 2013 at 11:27 am

    Well, had I read this when it was posted, and handled my “dated clutter” I would not have had to pay an extra $50 on my water/garbage bill…to get it turned back on! I had the bill right on the kitchen table. For…well, obviously at least 2 billing cycles. My kitchen table has turned into my computer table/sewing table. And apparently mail table.

    I guess I should probably get it cleaned off and under control. Like, NOW. Before I lose track of another bill…again.

    BTW…I was following 28 days to hope for your home…I’m thinking I need to start with the Drowning in Clutter first?

    Reply
  10. Jennifer says

    January 22, 2015 at 7:02 am

    the pile of “to be paid” bills on my desk.since we usually pay them online, the paper bills often Don’t get tossed once they’ve been paid. i’ve found bills as old as two years in that pile. And it’s one of those recurring piles that i often need to declutter

    Reply
    • Sonja Carroll says

      May 3, 2023 at 3:32 pm

      I would get with all the companies and go paperless. Most banks charge to send statements now. And some utilities offer a discount for paperless.

      Reply
  11. Val says

    January 22, 2015 at 8:11 am

    Receipts, receipts, receipts. Because of course I’m going to check them against my credit card statement every month….someday. Or I might return that bottle of ketchup or six pack of crew socks. I just tossed all miscellaneous receipts last night and it went back as far as 2012 and amounted to 5 kitchen size bags of crumpled-up paper!

    Reply
  12. Jennifer says

    January 22, 2015 at 9:52 am

    A pile “to be filed” that no longer needs to be filed because the things in it are so obsolete.

    Reply
    • Shawn Vargas says

      March 23, 2024 at 9:04 pm

      I have 2 boxes from when we moved 2.5 years ago. One is quite large, I had been out of town while my husband made the push to get all the big stuff out using the moving van, while me & kids did a trip for a few weeks.
      He labeled it “the infamous table” it was my processing spot at the old house. Covering our gorgeous glass table top that displays our “wedding log” a tree section from the tree I & many others played in as children. Complete with signed names of guests from our wedding.

      I keep chipping away at my current bills pile & other filing, so I can make the push to get to those boxes. Because I know it will be a big win, as most of the stuff will be trash!!

      Reply
  13. Andrea says

    January 22, 2015 at 10:27 am

    An idea for you. I love your built in at the end of your table the shelves are gorgeous. Instead of mixing the pretties with the practical, why not just keep the practical there. It keeps wandering that way anyway? Just a thought

    Reply
  14. Andrea says

    April 9, 2016 at 12:29 pm

    In 2016 i found a receipt i did not need to keep from 2008.

    Reply
  15. Saz says

    December 30, 2020 at 6:33 am

    Just found this blog a couple weeks ago, catching up. a week before Christmas, decluttering the office, found a previous stash of hidden papers “to be filed later” which were pretty much all from circa 2011.. It is now 2020. My poor shredder!!

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Want solutions to your biggest decluttering problems?

Get my newsletter and we'll start by teaching you how to declutter without making a bigger mess.
* = required field

Popular Posts

Why-I-Have-To-Run-My-Dishwasher-Every-Single-Night-at-ASlobComesClean.com sidebar
Five Truths about a Clean Kitchen even without a dishwasher at ASlobComesClean.com sidebar
How to Clean a Messy House at ASlobComesClean.com sidebar

Topics:

blogcast Cleaning daily checklist decluttering failures figuring myself out kitchen laundry Menu Plan Monday organization parenting podcasts progress random stories reader stories recipes sponsored posts Uncategorized

  • PR/Advertising
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact
  • Website Terms and Conditions
Search

  • About
  • Contact
  • TV & Media

© Dana K. White | Site by Little Leaf Design