What is Your Clutter Costing You?

What is Your Clutter Costing You?

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Did you know that your clutter might be costing you money and precious time? Let me explain.

The cost of ownership.

Everything we own has a cost of ownership. Cleaning, storage, upkeep, and time to do all those things is the cost of ownership for everything that occupies space in our lives.

For example, a table needs polish and wiping down on a regular basis, not to mention a footprint to occupy in the floor-plan. Clothing needs cleaning, storage space, and a hanger to live on. File cabinets need cleaning out, repaired if they break and files to fill them.

It’s not just the original price tag.

If you look around your home or office, everything that you own has a cost, and not just the price tag you paid when you initially bought it. Thinking about this before buying something new can give you a better perspective on how many resources are needed to take care of things.

More stuff = more time to care for it.

If there’s too much stuff, it can take up valuable time that could be spent doing something else: like going out to dinner with a friend or reading a really great book.

Simplifying, editing, and re-evaluation can free up some of that time. The value of any item is more than just its price tag, but how much time and resources it takes to keep it and take care of it.

So, what’s your clutter and your extra stuff costing you?

I have a rule in my home, and that’s if I have to clean something up more than once without needing to use that item or getting any kind or joy or use from it, then it’s off to the donation box for it. This might sound silly, but I feel like we all have those items that just end up out and in our way and we’re not sure why we even have them. Especially when you have toddlers running around.

With clothing, if I’m not tempted to wear something for a year, then I put in into a donation box, unless it’s a special occasion item.

This was hard for me to do at first because I’m the type of person who prefers to only throw stuff away when it’s trashed. It’s hard for me to get rid of things that are still in fine condition, but that I just have no use for. Being able to donate these items helps me overcome that a little bit because I feel like I’m not just throwing them out in the trash.

Is your clutter costing you more than it’s worth? Share with us in the comments below!