There is a COST to having CLUTTER in your home
You might be like my ex-boyfriend or many clients who keep items because you say SOME DAY I might need this. However, holding onto these items does not save you money down the road. Your clutter is costing you a lot of money! Statistics show that Americans spend $38 billion on renting self-storage units each year. That’s a lot of money for items sitting in a dusty storage unit — usually ending up being donated or thrown away years and years later.
And even if you don’t rent an outside storage unit, storing unused items in your home has a price tag too. To figure out your “clutter cost”, divide your monthly rent or mortgage by the square footage of your house. That’s how much you’re paying for your space per square foot. Then you can calculate how much you’re paying to store your unused items in rooms/areas you aren’t using for other purposes.
Having too much clutter costs you time searching for items and then spending even more money to replace items when you can’t find what you’re looking for. A survey shows that Americans spend 2.7 billion dollars annually replacing lost items. Using a Professional Organizer to help you declutter can save you money, get back time you otherwise would be wasting, and even reduce anxiety.
You can learn how to declutter by watching The Home Edit or Tidying Up Netflix series. Or reading any of the multitude of books sold at stores — or even better — to borrow from your local library! Sort first and tackle categories or rooms at a time. And within a room, start small and just focus on a few drawers or shelves or cupboards at a time and chip away at your project so it’s not so overwhelming. For example, after you’ve sorted and you see how many sweaters you have (and then subsort by color), you’ll have an easier time putting some in the donate or consignment bag. After all, if you have 14 grey sweaters; 11 blue ones, 7 red ones, 9 green ones; 12 black ones (and other colors as well), you will hopefully realize you don’t need so many for a given cold weather season; nor do you have the room to neatly store them. You then decide which ones you like best and realize we all have sunk costs with spending money on items we didn’t wear much or ever wear and let the guilt go!
A common mistake it to buy numerous organizing bins and baskets before knowing what you will keep, how you will store it and where. Wait until after you’ve decluttered to gather more information about what to buy to contain items that need containing and time to measure the space to buy the right fitting organizing items. And check out thrift shops and dollar stores so you don’t break the bank on organizing products that can definitely add up.
For designer labels and current trendy styles of clothing, handbags, shoes, accessories, coats if you have time and computer savvy, you can turn your unwanted items into cash selling on ebay, Craigslist, Thred Up, Poshmark, the Real Real. Or hold a yard sale.
Getting organized and reducing clutter will save you from paying for an outside storage unit monthly. It might help you keep more on track with bill paying to avoid interest, late fees or other charges. You might find checks that need to be cashed in a timely manner if you regularly open up your mail and not let it pile up unopened for months or years.
It does take time to go through your clutter and transition into having a tidier and more disciplined lifestyle but it’s worth it in the long run if you keep it up! LESS really is MORE! Stay on track with your goals by checking out Pinterest and Instagram for ideas; actually read the organizing books you took out of the library; get inspired by the Netflix shows so you too can dream and achieve the vision of what your space can look and feel like. It really is possible!
Reprinted with permission from
https://www.bhg.com/decorating/storage/organization-basics/declutter-to-save-money/
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