Moving is never easy, and I’ve just done it three times in three months. The process has gotten easier each time as I become better versed in streamlining the process, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t made mistakes.

One of the biggest mistakes you can make while packing and moving is bringing unnecessary items with you, and I’ve definitely been guilty of that. Here are 4 items I’ve shed at each step in the process, and why I should have just left them behind the first time around.

Disposable Cleaning Products

I hate to waste, so there are a lot of cleaning products that got packed in the first batch of items that would have been a waste to toss: a mostly full jug of bleach, disinfecting wipes, unused sponges, litter deodorizer, and the like. But just because I’ll need them eventually, doesn’t necessarily mean I should have brought them along in the first place.

If I had been moving from one lease to the next, I might rethink decluttering these items, but I stayed with my sister for a few months and then in a sublet. These are places where I’m not going to unpack my own cleaning items, especially when they’re packed away with other cleaning and decor I simply don’t need to access.

I should have passed them off to a neighbor or friend who could have put them to good use, instead of lugging them around with my things for a few months. I unloaded most of them on my sister, who has been putting them to good use, but at the cost of having to lug them around for a whole move.

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Clothes I Haven’t Worn in Ages

As I was packing up my apartment, I kept pulling things out of the closet that made me think “oh wow, I totally forgot I had this!” Never a good sign.

Instead of evaluating whether or not I needed or was ever again going to wear said items, I blindly stuffed them into a moving bag without second thought. Since then, I’ve had to sift around these items to get to the clothes I actually want to wear—also a bad sign.

Even though a lot of the clothes are really cute, I’ve started setting aside these items when I come across them. At the end of each stay, if I haven’t taken it upon myself to wear the item at least once, it goes to donation.

Shoes

Along with clothing, but in a different vein, I’ve collected a lot of shoes over the years. The difference is that with most of these, unlike with clothes, my thought was “why did I even have these in the first place?”

I cycle through a pretty consistent rotation of six or so pairs of shoes, and really don’t need much else: 3 sneakers, one pair of running shoes, my house shoes, and my formal shoes (Doc Martens and a pair of cowboy boots). Aside from that, I have a single pair of winter boots, my hiking boots, and some flip flops for when the beach calls.

Everything else I pulled out of my closet went straight to the donation bin (which is what I call my sister’s entryway closet). I know I’m not going to wear them—I know I definitely don’t know how to style them—and they’re probably uncomfortable anyway.

Decor Items I Don’t Care For

This one seems pretty self-explanatory, but it was an important one for me to realize. I started furnishing my own spaces when I was 20, and a lot of my decor is still from that time; it felt as if I got rid of those things that I would be ridding my home of its personality.

It took me some time to come to terms with the fact that my taste will change over time, and not everything I collect has to be displayed at all times. And also that my early ceramic pieces are ugly. And that it’s perfectly okay to give these pieces a new home without compromising the personality of my space.