The most common old items you just can't let go of
Daniel Coughlin
28 February 2018
Things people hold on to forever
If your home is packed to the rafters with excess possessions, you're not alone. The typical US household has a staggering 300,000 items, according to professional organizer Regina Lark, and while many of these things are easy to get rid of, there are some items people just won't part with, whether for sentimental or other reasons. From unwanted gifts to greeting cards, we reveal the most common things Americans can't bring themselves to give away, throw out, recycle or sell.
Personal gifts
A 2016 survey of 1,000 American adults by storage company SpareFoot found that gifts are the top items people feel bad about throwing out, and end up holding onto. According to the poll, most people in the US find it hard to get rid of things gifted to them.
Unwanted gifts
Breaking it down, another survey, this time by price comparison site Finder.com, has spilled the beans on the most common unwanted gifts. An estimated 130 million people, around half the population of the country, receive at least one unwanted gift each year.
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Fashion rejects
This amounts to $16 billion-worth of unwanted gifts. The most unpopular presents are clothing and accessories, with 45% of the 2,000 Americans surveyed complaining that they've received apparel they loathe.
Unwelcome threads
Clothing is highly personal, so no wonder it makes for a gifting minefield. Many of us, for instance, have a hideous sweater a relative knitted lurking in our wardrobes that we would feel awful about throwing in the garbage or donating to a Goodwill store.
Household junk
Household items are another unpopular pick. According to the Finder.com survey, 18% of Americans polled admitted they've received kitchen appliances, bedding sets and other things for the home they really didn't want.
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Pamper products
Cosmetics, toiletries and fragrances are next. A very personal thing, gifting pamper products is never a good idea unless you know exactly what the recipient likes. No wonder so many of us have unused beauty sets and perfumes or aftershaves littering our homes.
Unappealing books
Books also came up in the survey, with 6% of people saying they've been gifted at least one book they hated. Plenty of people have novels, biographies, cookery books and so on they don't like and have never bothered to read or even flick through now and again, yet won't discard.
Food faux-pas
A similar number of Americans surveyed have received food and drink gifts they're not keen on. While the perishable items end up in the garbage, the longer lasting products tend to remain in the cupboard. We all have a bottle of infused olive oil or jar of preserve we never use.
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Safer bets
Technology and music featured in the survey, too, though fewer people have received techy and music gifts they've not been into, making these offerings a reasonably safe bet compared to things like clothing and household items.
Family heirlooms
Going back to the SquareFoot survey, after gifts, the most common items people dislike but won't let go of are family heirlooms. Think an ugly sideboard that clashes with every other piece of furniture in your home but you'd never part with it because it once belonged to your great-grandmother.
Digital copies
Family photos also fit into this bracket. Many of us have boxes of pictures hidden away in a basement, garage or attic. If you're keen to free up space, it's a good idea to scan the pics and make digital copies that you can upload to the cloud or store on your hard drive.
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Unloved objects
Of course, there are plenty of heirlooms people treasure, such as hope chests that have been handed down or ornaments that have been in the family for generations, but many of us get lumbered with things that aren't to our taste if the survey results are anything to go by.
Boomer wealth
In fact, baby boomers in particular have benefited from the biggest transfer of wealth in US history, estimated at $8.4 trillion by the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College. That translates to a bewildering array of stuff.
Unattached generations
Interestingly, research shows that boomers are far more likely to hold onto family heirlooms than generation Xers and millennials. Younger people appear to have less attachment to sentimental objects compared with their parents' and grandparents' generation.
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Unworn apparel
As well as gifts and heirlooms, Americans have a hard time getting rid of clothing they've rarely worn, whether it was gifted or they bought it themselves. The Squarefoot survey found that 43% hold onto apparel despite never giving it an outing.
Clothing surplus
These days, the average American woman owns 40 outfits, up from just nine in 1930, and the typical family in the US spends $1,700 a year on apparel. It's not surprising so many of us have clothing in our closets that we never wear.
Greeting cards
Greeting cards are next on the Squarefoot survey, with 41% of Americans responding that they feel guilty about throwing them out, choosing to hoard them instead. An attractive 21st or 30th birthday card from a close family member or friend is nice to keep hold of.
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Digital mementos
Ask yourself if you really need to keep the myriad cards you receive each year though. Some people take pictures of the less precious cards and then get rid of them; that way, they have a digital memento that only takes up space on their hard drive or the cloud.
Children's artwork
Kids' drawings and crafts are next up. Many parents just can't bring themselves to jettison their child or children's scribblings or craft projects. Relatives and friends ditto. According to the survey, just over a fifth of people would never throw a child's artwork in the garbage or give it away.
Premium prices
Still, many people do, and if more people were aware that there are sites and galleries these days that sell artwork by children at premium prices, they'd probably be less inclined to hold onto those drawings that remain stuck to the refrigerator door.
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Guilt trips
As many as 91% of Americans have kept an item because they felt guilty about getting rid of it, and even though more than half the people surveyed said their home is cluttered, they struggle to discard a lot of their unwanted stuff. If you're thinking about getting started, take a look at these decluttering tricks.
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