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Minimalism & Organizing

The hidden (and not so hidden) financial costs of clutter…

November 5, 2020 by admin Leave a Comment

Do you know that your clutter could be costing you a FORTUNE in both time, and money?  It may or may not be obvious, but for many, this could add up to hundreds or thousands of dollars every year. There are some obvious ways… like late charges for bills you misplaced (or even worse…credit damage!) and duplicate buying of things you have but cannot find. Clutter, even if it’s organized, complicates your life and makes it easier to make these sorts of mistakes. It goes even deeper though!

Image by <a href="https://pixabay.com/users/hans-2/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=227972">Hans Braxmeier</a> from <a href="https://pixabay.com/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=227972">Pixabay</a>
Image by Hans Braxmeier from Pixabay

Financial Costs of Clutter

  • Your kitchen counters/cabinets, sink and fridge are a mess and you can’t get inspired to cook or find what you need, let alone physically have room to do it. Instead, you often use less-healthy, more expensive pre-packaged convenience foods, fast food and dining out. Dining out for a special occasion or treat here and there doesn’t have to be a budgetary nightmare, but grabbing something because you can’t wrap your brain around cooking a healthy meal at home, can be. And a lifetime of this behavior can also lead to health problems, which can be costly. Many of us don’t have the energy to plan and cook if we have to work around clutter and mess.
  • You’re out of space at home, so you rent a storage unit and fill it with the clutter that you don’t want to part with. This can cost $80-100/mo or more in many places, for a standard 5×10′ or 10×10′ unit. If you don’t spring for climate-controlled, you’re ruining your stuff as well if you live anywhere with hot/cold/damp weather any part of the year. I’m not 100% opposed to storage units for a specific purpose (moving, getting ready to move, temporarily storing items you KNOW you will use regularly soon but truly have no room for and can’t declutter) but in most cases, storage units are filled with mostly random crap we really do not need and could not name if pressed to do so. And we pay ~$1200/yr for the privilege of keeping that crap.
  • Maybe you’ve upgraded the size of your living space in order to better house your stuff, and not the people, in your life? Did you have to buy a 5 bedroom house when your family only sleeps in 2 of them, because you have so many office supplies, craft supplies, etc. that you need an entire room to store them? Did you pay more for a 3-4 car garage, cause of your unused stuff? Or perhaps you needed the house with the huge attic or basement, and you only use them for stuff? Unless you make a living (of any kind) from these creative/craft/office exploits, or they’re a part of your daily life, maybe it’s not necessary to have entire rooms dedicated?
  • You’re more depressed/anxious because clutter has been show to result in higher stress-hormone levels in women and now you spend $100s per month on medication, therapy and supplements. And when you’re depressed, you might shop more to feel better, and you’ll probably cook at home less, and be less healthy.
  • You can’t park cars inside your garage due to using it for storage, and that adds up to more wear/tear on your vehicles’ interior and exterior, as well as potentially other even more important parts.
  • You buy gifts and other needed items on sale, lose them, re-buy them, use them and then find the original once it’s too late to return.
  • You purchase more and more toys and other items for children because they seem to be bored of what they have, when in actuality they are probably overwhelmed and would enjoy less, which would save you money!
  • You spend spend spend on items to help you declutter or organize what you have. Storage furniture, containers, dividers, labels, books, courses on dealing with clutter…these ALL add up. Yes, sometimes we need to buy a few things to contain things we need, but if we’re containing things we don’t need, that is wasteful.

Non-Financial Costs of Clutter

  • Clutter and mess make it difficult to clean and find things, and impossible to stay organized. This can cause stress between spouses or even between parents and children.
  • Relationships outside your household suffer because your house is too cluttered/messy/dirty to have friends over, host gatherings, etc.
  • So much time is wasted searching for keys, wallets, purses, sunglasses, paperwork, etc.  What do you make per hour? What is your time worth?
  • You won’t be as productive in a sea of clutter, whether you’re working, doing hobbies, spending time with family. It gets in the way. And if weighs heavily on us. Many of us can’t fully enjoy ourselves or ever relax with a massive clutter issue hanging over our heads.
  • You can’t clean, maintain, update your house because it’s too cluttered. Your house suffers, and you suffer emotionally, in addition to financially.
  • Your spending is focused on stuff rather than experiences, and there isn’t any left for those experiences. This is the human cost of clutter. Not only does keeping your clutter in check take time away that could be spent with family and friends, the money you spend takes away from experiences you could share with them…vacations, day trips, zoos, museums, activities, etc.

Increased Costs for Moving Due to Clutter

  • Your home will take longer to sell if it’s cluttered, and maybe because it will be less clean, or look that way, due to clutter. Buyers can’t picture themselves living there if there is clutter (including too much decor)…even if it’s neat.
  • You may make significantly less money.
  • Larger/more moving vehicles, packing materials, packing, loading/unloading and unpacking will cost more in TIME and MONEY whether you do it all, hire out part of it or hire out all of it.

Some challenges to consider if you’re falling into a costly clutter trap…

There are different ways to tackle clutter. One way is to work on just one room at a time, and complete the room. One potential drawback is that if you remove items from that room that need to go elsewhere, you could be creatings piles you can’t process, or adding clutter to other rooms. I often find myself with piles of things I feel I need to keep, but nowhere to keep them. This can sometimes create more mess than before!

Another option is to focus on different types of clutter first, but sweep the whole house at each stage, and not indivual rooms. Go room to room and gather EVERYTHING you could throw away/recycle. In bedrooms and bathrooms this would include expired and/or unused cosmetics, toiletries, supplements, medications, etc. as well as clothing. You might want to save clothing for its own day, since it can be overwhleming the first time you tackle it. In living areas it may just include things you don’t need or read that are too worn out to donate or sell.

Once that step is complete, you go back through and grab everything you can donate, give away to someone you know or sell. Gather it up, drop it off, list it, etc. Choose a place in your home to keep it while you work on it, like a box in the garage or near a door you use often. I find that putting donations straight into the back of my vehicle is convenient since I’m eliminating the step of having to load a lot of stuff later, and I have to drop it off before I can pick up groceries, etc. It can’t get forgotten there.

Once THAT step is complete, it’s a good time to go back to closets and tackle clothing, shoes and linens. And then sentimental items. And then books. These things tend to be harder to deal with, but also are easier to contain and won’t necessarily bog down your WHOLE home.

Filed Under: Frugal Living, Minimalism Tagged With: budget, clutter, declutter, Minimalism & Organizing

Over 50 Items You Can Declutter This Week

October 20, 2020 by admin Leave a Comment

Home » 50Items

Decisions can be quick…throw it away/recycle it, donate it, use it up, keep it (make sure you find a home for it and put it away) or sell it.

(Caveat…consider the time and effort required to sell, and that you’ll need to keep it around whilst selling. This approach is best reserved for high-ticket items. If you can’t easily get $20+ for an item, I’ve found it’s often best to give it away…and get some positive karma in return!)

1. Expired food, or food your family has tired of
2. Paper clutter and junk mail
3. Old calendars
4. Pens and markers that no longer work, or that you don’t need
5. Magazines/Catalogs
6. Newspapers
7. Mugs…one person person is a good rule of thumb
8. Drinking glasses…one per person is a good idea here as well
9. Duplicate kitchen items..measuring cups, measuring spoons, mixing bowls, colanders, spatulas, etc
10. Small appliances you rarely or never use
11. Toys…broken, outgrown, messy to organize or just unloved
12. Old receipts (consider scanning those you NEED for warranties)
13. Junk drawer/miscellaneous box contents
14. Dead or almost-dead batteries
15. Pet toys that are past their prime or unloved
16. Old sheets/pillowcases/blankets (you don’t need more than 1-2 sets per bed)
17. Old, worn, stained, bleached, faded towels
18. Old, expired medications (check for how to properly dispose in your community)
19. Unused make-up and toiletries…most people have 10x what they actually use. Make-up should be replaced regularly and lotions, etc. expire.
20. Wire hangers
21. Nail polish…what do you really use regularly?
22. Food storage containers…especially if stained, missing lids or odd sizes that are hard to store together
23. Water bottles…check for signs of mold in lids and gaskets and replace if necessary…pare down the collection to one per person
24. Travel mugs, can cozies, reusable cups from theaters, gas stations, fast food
25. Vases…most households can easily get by with 1-2, or none…depending on what other glassware you keep
26. Outdoor tools for yardwork that are past their prime, old brooms, etc.
27. Poorly-fitting shoes, old tennis shoes (rubber gets stiff), shoes you don’t love and wear regularly
28. Decor you are tired of dusting, “word” decor that adds visual clutter…clear surfaces are easier to clean and too much busy decor on walls makes your house feel more cluttered than it is
29. Candles…use them rather than saving for special occasions…the scents wane and get distorted over time anyway, so use them within 6-12 months of receiving
30. Excess cleaning supplies…do you need a whole cabinet of them? I am happy with a glass cleaner, Force of Nature for sanitizing, something for my glass stovetop like Bon Ami or Barkeeper’s and dish soap
31. Old flashlights you never use, have burned out bulbs, have been replaced by newer LED models
32. Empty cans, bottles and newspapers
33. Books unless they’re really special and you read repeatedly, or are references books you use over and over
34. Junk hanging out in your car
35. Hair ties, bobby pins, decorative items you’re not using, along with curling wands and straighteners you don’t use regularly
36. Excess notepads, notebooks, etc. especially the “free gift” kind you’ll never use
37. Sports gear that languishes, camping gear you no longer use
38. Broken items you’ve been saving to fix
39. Cheap jewelry and accessories you don’t use
40. Seasonal items you rarely use…swimsuits, hats, gloves, cover ups, flip flops, sun hats, water shoes…consider having one of each unless you live at the pool/beach or spend months yearly in a snowy climate
41. Worn bras
42. Worn unders and reusable feminine products
43. Car wash soap, car wax, car wash and maintenance items that are old like oil, coolant, oil change supplies if you always go to a shop, etc.
44. Containers for organizing…sometimes we have these lying around half-full after purging, so consider emptying them or consolidating and getting rid of some so you won’t fill them back up
45. Old TVs, computers, laptops, phones, cables, printers, scanners, etc. that you no longer use regularly
46. Office supplies that are languishing
47. Seasonal decor that is cluttery or you don’t LOVE
48. CD and DVD cases…and maybe the CDs and DVDs since we can stream so much
49. Go paperless for bills. Opt-out of mailers and credit card offers.
50. Fridge magnets and paper clutter…purge and organize…or take them all down either temporarily of permanently

Filed Under: Frugal Living, Minimalism Tagged With: declutter, home, Minimalism & Organizing, Simplicity

Aim for empty (or close to it!)…

December 13, 2013 by michelejo Leave a Comment

For years I went back and forth between stockpiling (bought with big savings) or just having enough to get through a certain period of time.  I decided a couple years ago that I was finished stockpiling, both with regards to food and household items.  I do make exceptions, like when canned pumpkin was on sale for 30 cents per can in October, I stocked up knowing I’d be using a lot throughout the holidays.  If I see toothpaste that we like on sale for $1 a tube and I happen to have coupons, then yes, I will buy a bunch. Same goes for deodorant and other products we regularly use.  But not to the extent that I need special storage for these items.

I’ve been slacking in general lately, noticing that my fridge and pantry would be overflowing yet I’d be out shopping.  I decided to put the brakes on that issue and am quite proud to say I can actually see the inside of my fridge again!  My plan is to get it empty enough to clean it without having a million items to take out and put back!  The pantry isn’t faring quite as well, but I’m working on it.  I need to use up those 12 cans of black beans, for instance.  If for no other reason than I have a huge container of dried black beans too.

I guess my biggest issue with stockpiling is that it goes against the very core of minimalism.  Saving a few dollars isn’t worth the emotional cost of stockpiling ~ especially when you have to spend money to store what you’ve stockpiled.  And did you know that stock-pile sales are actually ILLEGAL?  Yeah.  So when I find myself doing it unintentionally, I try to re-think and change my game plan.  I know not everyone is like me, but I find it stressful to have a lot of anything to store and keep organized ~ and that goes against my core believe of keeping things simple.

 

Filed Under: Tending Hearth, Uncategorized Tagged With: coupons, Minimalism & Organizing, pantry, simplcity, stockpiles, storage

Setting up a Minimalist Home

September 22, 2013 by michelejo Leave a Comment

I’m certain that my level of minimalism probably pales in comparison to others’ but for my family, our current level of minimalism is a huge improvement over the way we used to live.

Though it may seem counter-intuitive, we’ve had to buy some things to help us acheive our minimalism goals at the new house.

New sofas are a splurge and won’t necessarily help keep us organized, but the old ones were 20+ years old and an ugly hunter green that would never have matched the paint, carpet and existing decor in the house.  Plus, having enough comfy seating space for the whole family so we can have more family movie nights and more family game nights is very important to me.  Happy occupants equals more productive occupants.

Bookcases.  While I’ve pared my books down by about 90% over the past few years, I still have to have some books.  I can’t NOT have books for our homeschool.  I can’t NOT have ANY cookbooks.  I can’t tell the kids they need to toss their reading material and go digital because we only have two Kindles, after all, and they LOVE their books.  It wouldn’t be wise for me to throw away my collection of Professional Photographer magazines, because there are important articles I reference regularly.  And my small collection of home magazines (I only save certain issues) makes me happy and I’m almost finished cutting ideas out of them and making them into inpsiration notebooks, which make me feel GOOD and help me keep my thoughts ORGANIZED visually on paper, rather than swirling around in my head.

And then there’s our family room TV.  We have a 47″ Smart TV and we don’t have cable.  We have use OTA and streaming, often for educational purposes for the kids.  We have a couple came consoles.  And a small DVD collection; some fun and some educational.  These things need homes.  I’m not ready to part with them because I feel like they enrich our lives in small ways while not taking anything away from us.

I also have a small collection of Willow Tree figurines…they all represent something and I love them.  They are also simple, non-ornate and very organic looking.  I have some other decor pieces that I love…I recently read that when decorating a home it’s important to surround yourself with things you love.  If I love something and it helps impart warmth and whimsy to my home, then to me it’s not clutter but an integral part of my space.

Of course all these things I mention need homes.  After looking at several alternatives from DIY to custom-made cabinetry, we settled with Carson collection bookcases from Target.  Four 30″ bookcases, a 54″ unit for the TV and we have something that looks almost built-in, and will look even better after we finish our DIY bridge shelf.  All for less than half of what the same would have cost in Ikea Hemnes, which was my initial plan.  I also invested in some decorative storage containers from the Martha Stewart collection at Staples, which will let me store the less-pretty of our books plus workbooks and magazines, out of sight.  There’s also plenty of shelving for plants, my Willow Tree items and small framed pictures.  All the things that make our house a home.

Next…my re-purposed, upcycled work-table/coffee table…

Filed Under: Tending Hearth, Uncategorized Tagged With: home, Minimalism & Organizing, organizing, Simplicity

Low-Spend January Recap and Thoughts

February 1, 2013 by michelejo Leave a Comment

Um, where to begin?  I have so many thoughts about this past month’s “low-spend” experiment.

I honestly went into this month believing that it’d be a great month that would allow me to “catch up” a bit and sock away some spending money.  Surely if I spent more cautiously (and didn’t have any major holidays to pay for) I would be left with oodles and oodles of extra money to toss around.  In reality I realize there is extra money to toss around, but we spend it before we realize it’s there.  😛

Another thing I have realized is that as inconvenient as it might be, I really need to do two transactions when I get groceries at Target or Walmart (at the same time as non-groceries) because I am bad at remembering to split the transactions in Mint.com and then I have the program telling me I spent $1800 on groceries when I know I didn’t and that a lot of it was home improvement, toiletries, personal care, clothes, maintenance, medical, etc. supplies.

Categories where we were pretty much on target:

gas
groceries
kids activities

Categories where we definitely went over:

fast food (really, this should be ZERO)
dining out (it was about double what I want it to be, but we did have a birthday!)
snacks/treats

All in all, while I didn’t acomplish everything I’d hoped for, I did realize that we’ve got areas we can trim (even cut) without really feeling a pinch.  Our goal this year is to save 1/3 of our take-home income monthly while putting $1000/mo torward our student loans, while not sacrificing on educational spending and activities for the kids.  We’re moving in the right direction!! 😀

Filed Under: Tending Hearth, Uncategorized Tagged With: A Year of Less, Frugality & DIY, Minimalism & Organizing, Radical Simplicity, Simplicity

Low-Spend January: Day 31

January 31, 2013 by michelejo Leave a Comment

Two year car registration renewal for hubby…$115.  🙂

Smog check…$27

Filed Under: Tending Hearth, Uncategorized Tagged With: A Year of Less, Frugality & DIY, Minimalism & Organizing, Radical Simplicity, Simplicity

Low-Spend January: Day 30

January 30, 2013 by michelejo Leave a Comment

Target – $200ish

We really needed hampers!  $80 of it (plus tax) was hampers.

And then some milk and produce and snacks.

Most of the hampers were on sale online for $5.25 but rang up for $15 in store.  I bought four of those and they are now price-matching their site, so I’m going to try to get a price adjustment, which would save about $40.  I had to have these hampers though…they are definitely in the “will change my life” category.  😉

Filed Under: Tending Hearth, Uncategorized Tagged With: A Year of Less, Frugality & DIY, Minimalism & Organizing, Radical Simplicity, Simplicity

Low-Spend January: Day 29

January 29, 2013 by michelejo Leave a Comment

I spent about $40 on books and some marketing templates…notably got Nourishing Traditions…which I’m loving!

Filed Under: Tending Hearth, Uncategorized Tagged With: A Year of Less, Frugality & DIY, Minimalism & Organizing, Radical Simplicity, Simplicity

Low-Spend January: Day 28

January 27, 2013 by michelejo Leave a Comment

Groceries: $200

I guess we gotta eat!  It’s more expensive sticking with primarily organic, grass-fed, pastured, etc.  Next month I’m getting some things from Azure Standard since we now have a nearby drop-point.  The organic, pastured, cultured butter is $3.50 a pound while I’m paying $2.50 a pound for conventional.  There are some really great prices!

Jerky Direct order and distributor sign up….$15.

What can I say?  I love good jerky and they carry grass-fed, organic with no nasty chemicals, additives or preservatives.  I figured if I only use my membership to order for our family, I’ll be doing better than buying the HFCS. MSG-laden stuff I usually break down and eat!

Filed Under: Tending Hearth, Uncategorized Tagged With: A Year of Less, Frugality & DIY, Minimalism & Organizing, Radical Simplicity, Simplicity

Low-Spend January: Day 27

January 27, 2013 by michelejo Leave a Comment

Zilch!  Yay!

Filed Under: Tending Hearth, Uncategorized Tagged With: A Year of Less, Frugality & DIY, Minimalism & Organizing, Radical Simplicity, Simplicity

Low-Spend January: Day 26

January 26, 2013 by michelejo Leave a Comment

Ha!  Nothing!

Filed Under: Tending Hearth, Uncategorized Tagged With: A Year of Less, Frugality & DIY, Minimalism & Organizing, Radical Simplicity, Simplicity

Low-Spend January: Day 25

January 25, 2013 by michelejo Leave a Comment

Car Wash – $10

Prescriptions – $9.58 (metformin and my precious…xanax…which I hoard in case of times of extreme anxiety!  😉 )

Filed Under: Tending Hearth, Uncategorized Tagged With: A Year of Less, Frugality & DIY, Minimalism & Organizing, Radical Simplicity, Simplicity

Low-Spend January: Day 24

January 24, 2013 by michelejo Leave a Comment

Taco Bell – $11

Petsmart (dog toy, calendar, magnet) – $24

Target – groceries and household – 104

Filed Under: Tending Hearth, Uncategorized Tagged With: A Year of Less, Frugality & DIY, Minimalism & Organizing, Radical Simplicity, Simplicity

Low-Spend January: Day 23

January 23, 2013 by michelejo Leave a Comment

Home Depot – $68 (paint, supplies)

Filed Under: Tending Hearth, Uncategorized Tagged With: A Year of Less, Frugality & DIY, Minimalism & Organizing, Radical Simplicity, Simplicity

Low-Spend January: Day 21

January 21, 2013 by michelejo Leave a Comment

Today is Katie’s birthday….we went out to lunch.  And dinner.  And we bought a cake and new earrings and presents and party supplies.  So I declare toady exempt! 🙂  Most of her gifts were, however, purchased in December.

Filed Under: Tending Hearth, Uncategorized Tagged With: A Year of Less, Frugality & DIY, Minimalism & Organizing, Radical Simplicity, Simplicity

Low-Spend January: Day 22

January 21, 2013 by michelejo Leave a Comment

Low-key day, nothing spent. 🙂

Filed Under: Tending Hearth, Uncategorized Tagged With: A Year of Less, Frugality & DIY, Minimalism & Organizing, Radical Simplicity, Simplicity

Low-Spend January: Day 20

January 20, 2013 by michelejo Leave a Comment

Walmart…two sheet sets (hubby wanted flat sheets for an air tent and I wanted new fitted sheets+pillowcases for our bed, so win-win), party supplies for Katie’s b-day, wrapping paper – $100

Filed Under: Tending Hearth, Uncategorized Tagged With: A Year of Less, Frugality & DIY, Minimalism & Organizing, Radical Simplicity, Simplicity

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summerland.az

Meant to paint these rocks and leave them along th Meant to paint these rocks and leave them along the way from AZ to NC, so ran out of time. New plan: leave them around the complex! 💜

(Reminds me I totally forgot to hunt for Pokémon on the trip out here!!! Argh!!)
Celebrating Father’s Day today! Katie has a hom Celebrating Father’s Day today!  Katie has a homemade ice cream cake in the freezer and cribbage was played earlier. Now Mario Kart. Tom’s mounting the bedroom TV between hanging out with the kids. 💜 I’m trying the Hime Chef hot honey butter salmon, Home Chef shrimp recipe for dinner.
It’s pretty here 💜 It’s pretty here 💜
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Shamelessly hiding in my car while Tom and Dakota Shamelessly hiding in my car while Tom and Dakota load a U-Haul van.
The stuff of nightmares but less scary alone than The stuff of nightmares but less scary alone than going in the elevator with Tom and our stuff 🤣😳
New brands of treats!? New brands of treats!?
Chicken and biscuit place, in an old Wendy’s… Chicken and biscuit place, in an old Wendy’s…
Enjoying trying new things. Enjoying trying new things.
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Next to last one this trip!! Next to last one this trip!!
I had to order Mississippi and Alabama on Ebay. 🤣 I have picked up New Mexico, Texas, Louisiana and now...Florida! 💜
She was mad I moved the blanket 🤣 She was mad I moved the blanket 🤣
The crew 🤣 The crew 🤣
In my car with Katie next to Tom in his car, tryin In my car with Katie next to Tom in his car, trying to wait out the second big Florida storm of the day. And oh, we’re in Florida today. 🤣 They have great rest stops!
Dinner date. Waffle House was EMPTY so we ate INSI Dinner date. Waffle House was EMPTY so we ate INSIDE!! 🤣🤣🤣
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