It might be useless, outdated, or broken—but you’re not getting rid of it.
Boomers didn’t grow up in a world of convenience or instant replacements. Things were repaired, repurposed, and saved because you never knew when they might come in handy again. That mindset didn’t just fade with time—it became part of their DNA. They learned to keep things “just in case,” and that habit followed them into adulthood like a second shadow. To outsiders, it looks like clutter. To Boomers, it’s common sense.
These 11 items aren’t just leftovers from another time—they’re symbols of a generation that believes usefulness doesn’t have an expiration date.
1. Old cords and chargers get tossed in a box—just in case.
Boomers have entire drawers or bins filled with random cords, mystery chargers, and ancient cables that haven’t matched a device in 15 years. They don’t know what half of them are for anymore, but they’re convinced that if they throw one out, they’ll immediately need it. It’s the tech version of Murphy’s Law.
No one’s using a Nokia brick phone or a PalmPilot anymore, but there’s probably still a charger for one sitting in a box marked “electronics.” HDMI cords, RCA cables, phone jacks, and power bricks too bulky to match anything modern—they all stay, because someday, they might be the exact thing needed to fix a TV or hook up a forgotten stereo system, according to Bolde. Probably not, but you never know.
2. Coffee cans full of screws, nails, and bolts feel essential.
There’s always a shelf or cabinet filled with metal coffee cans—or if not cans, it’s old jars—each holding a chaotic mix of screws, nails, washers, hooks, and bolts of every size. They’re rusty, mismatched, and impossible to sort through, but they’re considered a necessary stockpile. Buying new ones would feel like a betrayal of principle, as stated by VegOut.
Even if you need just one screw, odds are you’ll dump an entire container out on the workbench just to find it. And when you don’t find it? You’ll go to the store and then toss the extras right back into the same can. It’s a loop of hope and hardware that never ends, because you never throw away “perfectly good” fasteners.
3. Plastic grocery bags are hoarded like emergency rations.
Boomers keep plastic bags tucked inside other plastic bags, often stuffed under sinks or in a designated drawer that’s always full. They might say it’s for trash can liners, or lunches, or wrapping wet shoes, but no one actually uses them fast enough to justify the ever-growing collection. Yet tossing them feels downright sinful, as mentioned in BuzzFeed.
Even now, with reusable bags being pushed everywhere, Boomers can’t resist saving just a few more—just in case they come in handy. The bags get thinner every year, rip more easily, and breed like rabbits in dark cabinets. Still, they keep piling up, because you never know when you’ll need one to wrap a leaky container or separate wet swimwear in a pinch.
4. Manuals for long-dead appliances stay filed away forever.
Boomers have folders, drawers, or even filing cabinets filled with instruction manuals for every appliance or electronic device they’ve ever owned. It doesn’t matter if the vacuum broke in 2004 or the DVD player was donated last decade—the manual is still safely stored, just in case someone needs to know how it used to work.
These dog-eared booklets feel like official documents, not disposable pamphlets. And if you suggest tossing them, you’ll hear something like, “But it has the troubleshooting guide.” Never mind that you can find every manual online now. Holding the paper copy feels like preparedness—just like having a flashlight with D batteries in every room.
5. Tupperware lids with no containers are still considered useful.
Somewhere in every Boomer kitchen is a cabinet filled with plastic lids that no longer match anything. The containers are long gone—cracked, melted, or warped—but the lids remain, stacked hopefully in case their long-lost bottoms reappear. Spoiler alert: they never do.
Even so, the lids get used for covering bowls, as makeshift coasters, or to separate things in a drawer. They’re not technically useless, which makes throwing them away feel premature. Boomers keep them in rotation, always a little annoyed but never quite ready to let go. Because maybe, just maybe, that red bowl with the flowered sides will turn up in the garage one day.
6. Random keys with no known lock get saved indefinitely.
Every Boomer household has a key ring or drawer filled with mysterious old keys—some are for doors that no longer exist, others for locks that were thrown out years ago. But they all get saved, because you never know when you might stumble upon the thing they still open.
There’s something sacred about keys. They feel important, even when they’re completely obsolete. Maybe one goes to a safe deposit box that’s already been emptied, or a shed that was torn down in 1997. Still, they remain, jingling in a dusty tray, like forgotten relics that just might become relevant again if you wait long enough.
7. Expired coupons hide in stacks no one ever checks.
Even when they’ve passed their expiration date by years, Boomers hang onto coupons like they’re real currency. You’ll find them clipped and stacked in drawers, wallets, even tucked inside books. They meant something once, and it feels wasteful to toss them—even if the store or the brand no longer exists.
Some were saved for a big trip that never happened. Others were part of a Sunday clipping ritual that felt productive. There’s a nostalgic value to it, sure, but also a tiny hope that someone might still honor them. And if not? At least they prove you were once thrifty enough to try.
8. Buttons from long-lost shirts stay in the sewing tin forever.
Boomers keep tins, jars, or ziplock bags filled with spare buttons that came attached to new shirts, coats, and pants. The clothing is long gone—donated, torn, or shrunk in the dryer—but the buttons remain. Tiny plastic ones, big coat toggles, even metal snaps. They all get saved.
Every so often, someone might dig through them to try to find a match, but the odds are low. It’s more about the idea that they could be useful one day. Sewing kits come and go, but that tin of buttons stays constant, tucked away like a miniature archive of lost fashion opportunities and good intentions.
9. Light bulbs that don’t fit anything anymore are still saved.
Boomers hold onto light bulbs like they’re precious rations in a blackout. Floodlights, incandescent bulbs, tiny appliance bulbs—you name it, they’ve got it stored in a basement box or laundry room drawer. Never mind that they switched to LED fixtures years ago. These bulbs might still work in “something.”
The logic is sound in theory—light bulbs go out, and you’ll need backups. But over time, fixtures change, regulations shift, and socket sizes evolve. That weird appliance bulb doesn’t fit anything in the house anymore, but there it is, rolling around with a half-used tube of caulk and some random batteries. It’s too useful to toss, and too useless to use.
10. Old remotes that go to nothing still sit in drawers.
There’s always a drawer with a few random remotes—none labeled, all slightly sticky, batteries removed “just in case.” The devices they belonged to are long gone, but the remotes remain, because maybe they’ll work with something else. Or maybe someone in the future will be able to use them for parts.
Universal remotes made this worse, because now nobody’s sure which remote belongs to what. Still, Boomers can’t quite throw them out. They look too official, too functional. It doesn’t matter if the TV they went with hasn’t been turned on since Bush was in office—those buttons still carry weight.
11. VHS tapes, even without a player, are protected like treasures.
Old home movies, beloved rentals never returned, and fuzzy recordings taped off TV with original commercials still sit in boxes stacked in closets. Even if there’s no working VCR in the house anymore, Boomers can’t bear to toss those tapes. They’re time capsules—proof that a moment once happened.
There’s always talk of digitizing them someday, but that day never quite comes. The VCR got donated, then maybe re-bought at a yard sale, then stored again “just in case.” The tapes stay, collecting dust, because they hold more than footage—they hold memories. And memories, especially for Boomers, are something you just don’t throw away.