5 Things You Should Toss, Not Clean

When it comes to big-ticket items such as furniture or appliances, you want to do everything you can to extend their lives. But there are some things that simply aren’t worth the time or energy to clean repeatedly because they’re so inexpensive and easy to replace.

Here are five things you might want to toss instead of trying to clean them for the hundredth time:

1. Shower curtain liner

You don’t need to toss your shower liner after you first see mold or mildew on it. You can clean it in the washing machine or hand-wash it, according to Martha Stewart.

But you’ll know it’s time to replace the liner when it looks worn and dingy and you can no longer get it clean.

2. Worn out or burned oven mitts

If you have oven mitts that have burn marks or they’re simply old and worn out, toss them, recommends SmartKitchen.com. Keeping them is not worth the risk of burning your hands.

3. Kitchen sponges

Sponges you use to clean up in your kitchen might be teeming with bacteria. You can sanitize a kitchen sponge or scrubber by tossing it in the dishwasher. The CDC also recommends microwaving a sponge each night for 30 seconds to sanitize it.

But if your sponges start to stink or look worn, toss them immediately.

4. Makeup brushes

You should wash your makeup brushes regularly. However, after two years, you should toss them and replace them with new ones, says All You.

5. Plastic containers

Wash and reuse plastic tubs and containers for quite some time. However, eventually you will need to replace them once they are “cracked, stained or more than a few years old,” says The Huffington Post.

What items do you eventually toss instead of repeatedly cleaning? Tell us below or on our Facebook page.