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The cost of clutter
By Meg | April 26, 2008
The cost of clutter has never been felt in our household as much as it has this week. The other night, my husband and I have been looking for my iPod. We finally found a buyer for it, but now we can’t find it because for one reason or another, it’s not where I originally put it in the yard sale pile. We’ll find it eventually, but in the meantime, I’d rather of just sold it as planned.
As frustrating as the situation has been, it got me thinking about how much my husband and I have progressed over the past few months in our goal of decluttering our home — and how it has helped us spend less money and other resources keeping up with the clutter.
The cost to store the clutter
Of course, that’s not the only way that clutter can cost. A few months ago, my husband finally started using plastic bins to organize things like computer parts and small tools. The other day, we were going through more things like that, organizing and decluttering, when he said that he wanted to make a trip down to Big Lots to buy some more of the larger bins. I told him to wait till after we had decided what we were going to keep. Wouldn’t you know, we didn’t need new bins after all. In fact, we have plenty of spares now.
As we go through each room we find ourselves glad that we didn’t rush out to buy more storage space. While we used to think that we desperately needed more shelving, we now have plenty of space to store books with shelves left open to display the knick-knacks that we have kept. In fact, we’ve freed up so much space that we’ve started reconsidering the dimensions of our dream home. Although we used to think that we wanted a much larger (and more expensive) house, we’d probably be perfectly content with a little more space than our current home (it could use a little more space in the bedrooms and bathrooms).
Of course, it’s nice to not have to pay to store things elsewhere outside of our own home — something we’ve been fortunate enough not to have to do. And if and when we do move, it’s nice to know we won’t have to pay as much in moving costs because we’ll have less stuff to transport.
Buying extras
Another obvious way that clutter has cost us is that we tend to buy extras of things we already have. The more things one has, the harder it is to keep track of what you have. And when you have two or more people in the household, the problem grows exponentially. I can’t tell you how many times my husband has come home with ketchup, or batteries, or light bulbs because he thought we were out when we weren’t. We organized the light bulbs this weekend and they fit into two rather large bins. And don’t get me started on the soap. Of course, it’s not all his fault, but I tend to be the more cautious shopper when it comes to replacing things.
Other times, it’s just that we can’t find things. We kept buying finger nail clippers because we could never find a pair when we needed one. Well, there’s no excuse now; there’s at least on pair in each end table, coffee table, and vehicle — plus a pair in a box dedicated to my nail supplies. For us, that is actually pretty ideal, but thankfully we didn’t pay a lot for any of those nail clippers. Even so, it’s easy to spend a lot of money over time on “you can never have too many…” purchases.
Lost opportunities to sell things
Of course, even when it doesn’t seem to cost anything to keep the clutter, you may be missing opportunities to make some money off of it — like me with my iPod. Even if you think you may need it some day, figure out about what you could sell it for and then ask yourself again if it’s worth keeping. Sell some of those “I may need it some day” items, then put the money in a savings account for that rainy day. Sure, you may need to replace something you sold, but chances are you won’t. Chances are you’ll need to the money the buy something totally different.
And while you may live to see some things become collector’s items, most things will likely depreciate. Best to sell the electronics while you can still get some money for them. Same goes with the textbooks. There will be a new edition before you know it, at which time you’ll see the price you can sell them at plummet.
Lost opportunities to use stuff
Ever looked at your packed fridge and realized that half of the stuff was expired? Been there, done that. It’s easy to waste a lot of money on stuff that then expires because you forget about using it. Likewise, it’s easy to buy lots of clothes and then not wear most of them because the style has gone out of fashion or your own style has changed or you’ve changed sizes before you find the piece again.
Of course, it’s not just about the money
Taking care of the clutter isn’t just about money, though, since many other resources go into clutter. There’s the time to find things, move things, clean them, fix them, etc. If I didn’t grasp this before, I do now. One of my to-do lists is entitled “Stuff management” and it’s devoted to doing all those sort of things to the stuff that remains. It’s one of my longest to-do lists. Fortunately, it has helped me decide to get rid of a lot of stuff after I realized what a hassle it was to keep.
Also, while I’m not much of a domestic goddess, neat freak or plain ol’ germaphobe, I’ve come to realize how hard if not impossible it is to keep a cluttered home clean in other ways. Vacuuming isn’t much fun anyway, but it’s a whole lot easier if the floor is clear of stuff. So, if you or someone in your household has allergies, you may want to consider decluttering so that you can better clean the area.
Another thing to consider is how uncomfortable a cluttered home can be. In worst cases, there may be nowhere to sit and you may feel too embarrassed to have people over. However, even a little clutter can be distracting. I always feel like I write my best when the area around me is uncluttered. And if I’m feeling overwhelmed and stressed for no other apparent reason, it’s probably because the house looks like a tornado went through it.
Fortunately, those days are fewer and fewer. And it is a marvelous feeling to sit here and watch my husband carry one old computer monitor after another to the yard sale pile.
Tags: De-stressing, Home & Garden, Impressions, Organization & Decluttering, Productivity, Saving Money, Saving Time
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April 26th, 2008 at 10:01 am
I totally concur.. It’s much easier to vacuum without stuff to bump into, or clutter to stare at and feel guilty about
April 26th, 2008 at 9:27 pm
Excellent post on reasons to avoid clutter. I’m an avid de-clutterer myself…now if only my husband were the same!
April 26th, 2008 at 10:42 pm
Hi Fabulously Broke!
Yes, clutter gives me that guilty feeling, too. That’s one reason why I’m trying to not use clutter as a to-do list. A to-do list is all the reminder I need of things undone.
Thanks Jennifer!
My husband is slowly coming around. We’re down now just to the cluttered office and the back room (which is mostly the yard sale pile anyhow). He recently organized most of his tools and equipment, but it’s still new to him. Recently, he said, “I was looking for a part, so I checked where it would be if I had it, but it wasn’t there. So I realized, that I didn’t have the part I needed without having to look further” and “I’m still not used to going to the shelf and just finding what I’m looking for. What will I do with all this extra time?”
I think it’s pretty hilarious that these are new feelings for him, but I’m glad that he’s seeing the light.