Clutter can be expensive to buy, but even worse, keeping your clutter is costing you money. Living amidst chaos is bad for your bank balance as well as your sanity.
Keeping your clutter is costing you money – how
1. You repurchase items you already own.
“Damn I know I already have several of these muffin trays” you say as you pull out the credit card. Problem is, the kitchen has been in in chaos since you shifted house (um, 4 years ago) and you are not sure which of the overstuffed cupboards they reside in.
Times this by hundreds of items, and some of them may be super pricey like an express passport for travel, or your engagement ring, or a new iPhone – and we are talking thousands of dollars. Even though you spent money to acquire it, keeping your clutter is costing you money because it buries the important stuff.
2. Lost productivity and missed opportunities. Related to the point above, you waste time and energy looking for lost items.
The average person spends 6.5 months of their lives – or 5,000 hours – looking for their lost shite. All that time (not to mention mental energy) looking for your water bottle or umbrella, could be spent building your brand, your career, your side hustle or yourself.
If you have ever been late for a job interview or networking event because you can’t find your keys, your passwords or your important documents, you will be nodding your head and cringing at the same time.
Just think of what you could achieve in 6.5 months.
Also, studies show that clutter increases our cortisol levels. People who live in messier homes are more prone to stress, insomnia, depression and poor mental health. When we are unwell, we underperform. We also waste time and money managing our ill-health via therapies and days off work.
3. You pay for storage.
- If you are forking out for a commercial storage space, the pain is real, and so are the bills.
- If not, maybe you ‘need’ that extra bedroom so are paying more rent.
- Or you keep buying more shelving, tubs, and storage ‘solutions’.
- Or you have a big renovation planned to tack on more space.
- Or you are avoiding a downsize due to your abundant belongings.
- Or you could take in a tenant but have to sacrifice that income because the spare room is full of your junk.
Owning more stuff means needing more space, which means costing money.
Repeat after me: “I don’t need more storage, I need less stuff”. Keeping your clutter is costing you money.
4. You lose bills and end up with additional fines.
Out of sight out of mind, and when your mail is drowning under other stuff, or thrown into a DOOM box in a busy or mindless moment, you miss bills and the outstanding amounts grow like mould in the dark.
5. It costs more to clean a messy home.
The messier a space, the harder and longer it takes to clean. Clothes piled on the floor make vacuuming near impossible – and perhaps the clothes need to be washed again. All those tubs of miscellaneous items get filthy. Cluttered cabinets collect dust. Messy benchtops make cooking and cleaning up more difficult.
Whether you are paying a cleaner or using your own time, your clutter is costing you money in cleaning expenses.
6. You will spend money to get outta there.
Have you ever wondered why hotels and Airbnbs feel so calm? Yes it’s partly because you are off work and are perhaps in an exotic location. But It’s also because your accommodation is not cluttered. Benchtops are clear, cabinets are half-empty, and any kitchenware is minimal.
Therefore, you’ll probably spend more on holidays, and also on cafes, parties and other entertaining prospects because your home is not a viable option. There are no staycations or milestone events in a cluttered home.
7. You spend more on food because your groceries get lost in the mess and expire, and are repurchased.
8. You get more takeaway meals, due to decreased functionality of your kitchen.
9. It costs more to shift house.
More stuff = more money to shift it. Your clutter is costing you money every time you move it. Not to mention the stress of managing it all.
10. Things get broken.
Stuff left on the floor is stepped on and broken. Things lose their parts, connectors and chargers in the mess and become unusable. Crockery teetering in an overfull cupboard is at risk of falling in spectacular fashion.
If you have to replace these items or could have sold them, your clutter is costing you money.
11. Your home could be at increased risk of fire.
Sounds extreme but it’s true, and this could also affect your home insurance.
12. Higher energy bills.
If you have a lot of stuff, your heating and cooling systems will have to work harder to circulate, and vents may be blocked.
Keeping your clutter is costing you money – what can you do about it?
One word: declutter. It’s an investment.
