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Re: Frugal living and cluttered living
By Meg | February 13, 2008
Over at Frugal for Life, Dawn has posed an interesting question: “In order for us to live a more frugal life and live below our means it requires that we re-use items instead of going out to buy something new. However, does that mean that our frugalness causes us to live in a cluttered house?”
This has certainly been an issue for me since I want to cut costs and reduce garbage, but still live in a clutter-free home (still working on all three counts). I’ve seen what can happen when people keep too much stuff “just in case”, and it scares me that I could end up that way. However, I think it’s very doable and here’s how.
Buy less
Sure that’s obvious, but this is the biggie.
Living frugally can be a force against clutter because hopefully you’re buying less stuff. Since I’ve started using the library, I’ve bought way fewer books and even given a lot of mine away. Newspapers seem to be an issue for some people who are prone to clutter. My husband and I read are news online or watch it on t.v. Problem solved. And of course, one of the reasons to reuse stuff is to have less to buy.
Another thing is to realize that you don’t have to buy 10 of something just because it’s on sale — especially if it’s not something you use already.
Take just what you need
With so many things out there for free, it’s easy to get loaded up with samples. I know because I am trying to use up my collection. At some point, you just have to say, “I have enough soap.”
The same goes with things like grocery bags. The main reason why my husband and I use canvas grocery bags is because we got sick of corralling all the plastic ones. While there are times when we do reuse the plastic ones, we still have more than enough from when we shop elsewhere and they’re usually nicer.
Be picky about what you reuse
Yes, you can reuse stuff, but that doesn’t mean that you should reuse just anything. For example, you don’t need to keep every glass bottle because you might use one for a flower vase. Just keep one or two that are really nice looking and recycle the others.
Know what you will use
Know yourself. Don’t put stuff on your to-do list that you know deep down you will never do. For example, I think the idea of a soda tab belt is kind of cool, but I’m not going to start collecting tabs because I know I don’t have the patience to make one and I probably wouldn’t wear it even if I did.
Plan what you are going to collect
Instead of collecting stuff just because you might need it, plan what you’re going to keep beforehand based on needs you have or can predict. Make a list if you want. That way you’ll still meet your needs, but will be less likely to say, “If only I had kept…” after garbage day.
Have a dedicated place for reusables — and limit it
Right now, I have a box on the shelf under the printer labeled “Reuse”. It’s mostly for stashing scrap paper, though I put a Ziploc bag there this morning. The important things is that I’ve already told myself that that box is the limit.
Likewise, we have a hanging laundry bag in our utility room. That’s where we keep our plastic bags. When it starts to overflow, I recycle the least useful ones.
Dispose of stuff responsibly — but quickly
It is possible to get rid of stuff without sending it to the garbage can. If someone else might be able to use something, give it away or sell it. Give it to charity or to friends, post it on Freecycle or Craig’s List, sell it online or offline. But set a time limit! If you have a pile of stuff to go to Goodwill, don’t let it sit for weeks or years.
And of course, recycle.
Tags: Green Living, Home & Garden, Links, Saving Money, Saving Time
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February 13th, 2008 at 3:39 pm
This a wonderfully thought out post, thanks for writing on this and giving your thoughts
February 13th, 2008 at 4:26 pm
[…] If you have more to say and would rather write a guest post on this, let me know. Meg wrote a good response to this: Re: Frugal living and cluttered living […]
February 13th, 2008 at 6:47 pm
Thanks, Frugal for Life! And thank you especially for the inspiration! I rarely respond so quickly to posts, but it’s a topic that I’ve been thinking a lot on recently and I just happened to see your post this morning while I was feeling productive.
February 14th, 2008 at 8:41 am
Clutter drives me nuts. Also, many people claim that they live cluttered lives because they are busy. I think the opposite is true. Clutter eats up your time (looking for pens, feeling frustrated at a messy desk) and saps your energy.
One of my favorite things about this post is your emphasis on time limits. Recognize that you might never use those scraps to learn to make a quilt (although that’d be cool). And make some time on the weekends to crush boxes and recycle them, if you feel you don’t have time to do it day-to-day. Schedule, schedule, schedule, and then of course set some time aside to totally ignore that schedule.