What is your clutter costing you? Have you sat down and thought about it? Today I want to focus on the financial aspect of excess stuff (and give you some exercises to try out).
You might want to write this down as you do the exercise. Grab a pen and paper (or use your computer or phone) and a calculator too. Seeing the actual numbers makes a bigger impact than adding it in your head.
First, look at all of the items you have bought more than once because you thought you were out but later saw that not only do you have one of them, you have multiple (they were just hidden behind other things, etc.). If this happens frequently, how much do you spend every month on duplicates? Add that up for the year.
The second exercise is to think about all of the stuff in your home that you don't use, don't like, don't need, and have no sentimental value. Would it all fit in a storage container? In the US a typical storage container costs about $50-$100 a month. You can look online and see how much that would cost you monthly then add it up for a year.
The third exercise is to think about the storage containers, boxes, and systems you have bought in the past year to hold things. Focus on the ones that you bought and are not using, are using to hold things you don't use (and anything in the 2nd exercise). Think about that and add it up for the year.
The final exercise is to think of all the time you have spent decluttering, moving items around from one box to another, and trying to find items in your home. Add all of those hours up for the year. Now think about how much you are paid per hour at your job (if you are a homemaker, you can find the amount here). Take the hours you spent decluttering and handling your stuff this year and multiply it by your hourly wages.
Add all four totals up.
Is your extra clutter/stuff worth that much to you? Is this how you want to spend your money? Something to think about over the week.
I hope this helps you on your decluttering journey.
If you want to declutter but haven't been able to get it done, I've created a FREE download of the decluttering system I teach just for you. This will help you declutter in a simple, manageable, and achievable way. Click here to download it today.
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