One thing I haven’t brought to your attention for a long time is the fact that some items left unused can perishe over time. Therefore, without you realising it, some items in your home may slowly be becoming useless while you wait for “someday” to arrive when you will have a use for them. I know I have encountered some incidences of this during my decluttering experience ~ Elastic that lost its stretch, electrical item than no longer worked, shoes that the fabric perished on, lipstick that smelled off… I always feel it is such a shame that these things end up going to waste.

Below is a list of items that can perish over time when not being used

• Elastic:- Found in webbing in sofas and chairs, clothing items particularly underwear, fitted Sheets, bandages, hair Bands…
• Electrical Appliances:- Especially anything with a heating element, a printed circuit board or drive belt.
• Foam linings or filters:- As in Ski Goggles, some Vacuum Cleaners…
• Plastics:- Some soft plastics go sticky and some hard plastics go brittle.
• Rubber:- Seals on washing machines etc – Rubber Bands – erasers.
• Leather Goods:- Leather items need cleaning and conditioning on a regular basis and can go stiff when not taken care of and also mouldy if not stored properly.
• Photographic Gear:- If not stored properly mould can grow and eat into camera lenses, leaving permanent scars. Films, colour slides and photos can loose their colour and clarity over time.
• First Aid Supplies & Medications:- Medications and ointments go out of date, bandages and the rubber in eye droppers can perish.
• Drive belts:- Both times my clothes drier has gone into storage the drive belt froze into a D shape and made an awful clonking noise and had to be replaced.
• Glue:- Items that are glued together such as shoes can separate, and tubes and bottles of glue can dry up.
• Pens:- The ink dries up and/or the ball gets stiff and scratchy.
• Batteries: Remember to remove batteries from toys and gadgets if they aren’t being used as the batteries can ooze acid and ruin the item.
• Food: This one is a no-brainer.
• Wine: some are meant to be stored some aren’t.
• Make-up: The oils in them can go rancid and smell bad. Also bacteria can build up putting you at risk of infection (in particular eye make-up)
• Textiles: Clothing and other items made from wool may become moth eaten if not stored properly. (Submitted by Willow @ willowscottage.blogspot.com )

This list of perishable items is always available here. However, I dare say it is by no means comprehensive. So if there is something that you feel needs adding please contact me and I will be pleased to include it on the page.

Today’s Mini Mission

There are certain items that nearly everyone owns, if you don’t have a use for such an item, why keep it. Declutter it now. In Australia most homes have a BBQ, a laundry basket and trolley, a deep fryer and a second television, we weren’t using ours so we saw no point in keeping them.

Eco Tip for the Day

Don’t stock up on perishable items unless you are certain you are going to use them before their used by date expires.

For a full list of my eco tips so far click here

It matters not how fast I go, I hurry faster when I’m slow