The Clutter Needs Taming
Who knew? Having all that stuff is actually costing us more money. We tell ourselves that we are frugal, that we prefer to hang on to our own things because “they still work”, “we may need them one day”, or “throwing away something perfectly good is wasteful.”
And then, as the years go by, our garages and basements pile up with all those “useful” things. I mean, we keep seriously useful things like a portable camping toilet (still in the box and never used), a dismantled baby crib and mattress even though the “babies” are now in college or married, or ski sets from the 1960’s (because you just never know, right?)
It’s Here Somewhere
Hoarding on to all those things can cost us serious money. Have you ever misplaced your bills and had to pay overdue fees or, are you constantly paying late fees on overdue library books (that was me)?
Maybe some of your checks never get cashed because they are lost in all the paper clutter. Or maybe, (me again), you lose receipts for items that need to be returned to the store. In all these cases and others, money is wasted and lost. When we have too much clutter (paper clutter or other), we end up not being able to find those important papers or things we need, and spending or losing out on the money we could have.
We Have to Give It Room and Board
Who owns your space – you or your stuff? Sometimes we have so much stuff in our space that we have to find a home for it. This can translate into having to pay monthly fees to put it into storage or having to upscale into a bigger house to make room for all the things we have collected. Our stuff also needs proper care and feeding.
We need to give it a comfy space, clean it, fix it, protect it and put it to bed. If we can,t take care of it properly (because we don’t have enough space (or time), we either send it off to “boarding school“(storage) or move it into a bigger home. Both options can end up costing us a lot of money and often much more than what our stuff is actually worth.
More Keeps Coming in
Hands up if you have ever been looking for something you thought you had, but couldn’t find it and then, off you go to the store. Yep, we have all been there, done that, especially at Christmas (that table decoration or special tablecloth?). and then, what happens?
Well, we end up spending more money (and time we don’t have) trotting off to the busy mall to find another one to replace what we can’t find. Then, of course, we find it later, don’t we? Yep, in the middle of July -“Oh there’s that tablecloth I was looking for – fancy that! Now I have two!” So. in all the clutter, we misplace items we need and spend more money replacing them.
The Struggle Is Real
Sometimes the clutter takes over our lives. We get up, we see it, we stare at it and we wonder how on earth it ever got there and when it is going to go away. And the clutter stares right back at us defiantly as we try to enjoy our coffee. The struggle is real.
We think to ourselves “One day I am going to tackle this when I have time.” But, we never have time, do we? All this clutter is stressing us out as we try to think of when we can get down to kicking it out once and for all.
So, while we are in a battle of the wills with our stuff, we can’t focus on other more productive endeavors (like our work, our personal finances, finding ways to bring in revenue and ways to save money). What’s more, all the time we send decluttering takes us away from what we really want to do.
But, It Was a Good Price
As we look at all that clutter, maybe we remember all the times we bought things because they were “on sale. We thought we were saving money, didn’t we? Maybe we did, but not always. Wholesale stores come to mind. We love to buy in bulk everything.
Then we can store away the items (the huge toilet paper packages, the 50 foil pans, the 12-pack of toothbrushes). We store them and forget about them. Yes, we did save money in the beginning, but then we forget to use them. And all these bulk items take up so much space. buying on sale can be a good thing if we actually need, and are going to use, the items we buy on sale. Otherwise, it would be good to think twice about the sales.
It’s Taking Over My Mind
And then there are all the associated health costs. Yes, having clutter can actually impact our health in a negative way. It affects our moods and can provoke anxiety, stress and even depression in some cases.
When clutter dominates our space, it can also dominate our mind when it weighs heavily on us. In some cases, we can become prone to viruses (cold and flu) and end up missing work days or slacking back in our business.
There are medical costs: consultation and treatment, that can dip into our pocket and extract more money. clutter is a beast that needs taming. We need to tell it who is boss.
My dear friends, I know it is hard. I know the struggle. We have so much on our plate already.
My sincere wishes go to all those who can not bear to part with their stuff. I know you have worked hard to at being frugal. My condolences, also, go to those who are always trying to find what they have lost under clutter. The struggle is real, folks. It is a battle of the wills.
Connect with the author, Diana Lynne through her site:Â https://livingandstuff.ca
