Clutter and disorganization can cause all kinds of physical and emotional stress. We let our stuff and thoughts take over and cause so much grief. Clutter can cause us to be less productive and strips away our precious time.
Besides being stressed and losing time, have you ever thought about how much clutter is actually costing you? Take a look at these examples and see if you can relate to any of them…
- Have you ever paid a bill late, perhaps more than once and accrued a late fee? Let’s just say you have done this three times in one year. = $105
- Do you have clothes in your closet that still have tags on them? You bought them because you couldn’t pass up the deal, but they just sit there. Let’s say you found a great deal and each item was only $7 but you have 10 pieces of clothing. =$70
- Have you ever accidentally thrown something out of importance? Maybe you had a check to cash and got caught up in what you were doing and threw it away. In this case a woman threw out $200,000 worth of checks! Luckily she realized it and found them!
- Are you renting storage space to house extra STUFF? When is the last time you actually had to access that stuff? This can cost approximately $100 a month. =$1200 a year!
- Do you spend money on impulse purchases when you go grocery shopping. Let’s estimate that at $5 per week. I know I have done worse that that in the past. In a year that can equal $260!
- Have you made a purchase only to come home and realize you already had one of whatever it was you just bought? Often times these are small purchases but could be avoided by knowing where everything is in your home. Let’s say $5o here assuming it might have happened one or two times in a year.
I know the case of accidentally throwing away $200,000 is a wee bit extreme but the rest of the numbers are quite the reality for the average person. In these cases the excess added up to $1685! I don’t know about you but I could do a lot with that extra money.When you break it down and really look at what clutter is costing you it can be eye opening!
For those of you in the business world, here is another way to look at it…
Multiple statistics have shown that the average worker loses at least one hour of productivity each day due to disorganization.
[photo: alancleaver 2000]
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I think that having a bunch of extra things around is a waste of resources, and it costs as well. If you don’t need them, if you don’t plan to use them, or if you would like to use them but know you will not- pass it on to someone else. This could be an opportunity for *earning* money by having a tag sale, online sale, or tax deduction on the donation. Not to mention just passing something on for free can make you and the recipient feel good. :)
So true! We have the storage unit. Now that my husband has a new job we are now able to move all the office furniture out of the unit and get rid of it! I’m constantly working on uncluttering our home. I’m not looking forward to Christmas. We just made it through their birthdays. The last thing we need is more stuff!
I understand Pamela! We just decluttered all of the kids toys. We have two of their birthdays right before Christmas and one right after. Luckily the oldest one is getting into the just asking for money stage. The younger two really can’t decide what they would even want but relatives always buy stuff so I try to figure something out they can truly use.
What jumps to mind for me is buying something I may already have, losing my “list” and then forgetting to buy something and having to go back out for it, or running out of something and having to “gasp” pay full price, and also the extra rush shipping costs you mentioned.
Thanks for the panic attack. Are you a fly on my wall?
Another clutter cost is the cost of urgency. If we really need something and we can’t find it, what’s the natural outcome? We go out and buy another one, of course!
Clutter also encourages procrastination, and that means bills get put off until the end, pre-planing doesn’t happen, and orders don’t get placed. Everything results in a last-minute scramble, and anything last-minute always costs more. :)
Urgency yes, and what about instant gratification! How much do we spend on those items we just have to have now and don’t really think through how much we will use it or if we really need it!
We struggle with kid clutter each day! A 4 year old and a 2 year old know exactly how to mix things up around the house. That’s an astounding amount of money to lose but it makes sense how it happens.
I understand kid clutter! It is getting much better as they get older though. Well at least for my 9 year old. I am sure when he is a teen it will be different.
It is a lot of money to lose and some of it we just spend without thinking about it but it adds up quickly. This was an interesting way to look at it. I just thought of on other way we spend extra.. Shipping costs! Waiting until the last minute to purchase a gift online and having to pay more for shipping charges.
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