‘Tis the season to rid your house of all the clutter and cobwebs that accumulated during winter. While some people relish the opportunity to scrub clean the gray and cold of the previous season, others dread the annual task, and not just for the tedium that can make up spring cleaning. Decluttering can be a painful process for people who have trouble letting go of their belongings, whether for sentimental or financial reasons.
That’s right: financial reasons. There’s a direct connection between clutter and finances. Clutter, after all, is mostly a collection of forgotten or little-used things you’ve spent money on. The pain associated with parting with certain items is purely financial. You paid for it and either don’t need it anymore or never needed it to begin with. If it’s the latter, acknowledging that you wasted your hard-earned dollars on something you didn’t end up using is difficult. The fear of needing it later, and not having adequate funds to replace it, also contributes to the pain of letting go.
[See: Spring Cleaning: What Items Are Ideal for Donating, Selling and Tossing?]
If you can’t yet part with items, you can always hold onto them until you’re ready. However, this can lead to more financial woes when you consider how costly it can be to store your items. In 2015, the Self Storage Association reported that the average monthly rent for 10-by-10 foot self-storage units in the U.S. was between $125 and $160, depending on whether the unit was climate controlled. Many self-storage renters (about 30 percent, according to the SSA) intend to rent these units for two or more years, even though 65 percent of users have a garage.
Despite these dismal stats, spring cleaning can actually help your finances and needn’t be a dreaded annual task. In fact, when you’re strategic about the process, you can reduce the amount of time you spend organizing and decluttering in the future while making a positive impact on your money. Consider the following ways in which spring cleaning can contribute to financial wellness.
Reduce desire to acquire. Removing the excess, so that all you see are things you truly love and enjoy, can reduce the desire to acquire more items. Being surrounded by valued belongings offers more than just a clean home. It offers a renewed appreciation for what you already own. When you focus your funds on items or experiences you value most, you’ll end up spending less on unnecessary purchases and have more money to put toward your financial goals.
This change in attitude toward ownership doesn’t happen overnight and requires self-discipline. As many people can attest, cleaning up the home can create a desire for new additions. There’s nothing wrong with identifying gaps in ownership and filling those gaps. For the sake of financial wellness, however, it’s best to live in a space for a while between cleaning and acquiring new items to get a more realistic sense of what’s needed, not simply wanted.
[See: 15 Spring Home Maintenance Tips.]
Eliminate spending on duplicates. How often have you replaced something you never lost to begin with? According to a 2016 study conducted for SpareFoot, a comparison and booking site for self-storage facilities, 52 percent of Americans feel that their homes are cluttered. What’s more, more than one-quarter of people spend at least two hours per week searching for misplaced items. Organizing your stuff, and purging everything that gets in the way, makes it easier to find what you need and use, reducing monetary waste on replacement goods.
Free up funds for financial pursuits. Reductions in spending, coupled with earnings from selling unwanted items, can increase and expedite progress toward financial pursuits. While donating your surplus is a great option, making money from those items you once purchased, but don’t use, can help ease the transition of ownership. Selling locally can be accomplished through Craigslist, community buy-sell groups on Facebook or through apps like OfferUp and Letgo. There are several online sellers for specific products, such as electronics, clothing, designer items and even musical instruments.
To avoid wasting your earnings on more items you don’t need, immediately direct the funds toward a financial goal, whether it’s an extra payment on your mortgage or student loan, or a savings account for your next family vacation.
Increase tax deductions. Donating loads of clothing, home goods and other items to 501(c)(3) organizations provides you with tax write-offs, which are popular financial benefits of decluttering. To expedite tax filing, keep detailed lists of what you donate, when and to whom, complete with the donation value and organization’s address.
Donating in this organized fashion throughout the year can be achieved when you keep a “donate box” in a central location in your house. As you conduct your routine house cleanings, this central depository for items to donate keeps the practice top-of-mind and makes it easier to declutter as you clean. Otherwise, you risk cleaning, maintaining and storing something you no longer want but simply don’t know where to put for donation later.
[See: 8 Home Remodeling Projects That Are Worth the Money.]
Reduce potential of missing bills and payments. The effect of a cluttered life extends to important financial documents, including bills. Missing payments results in late fees and other negative financial consequences, so getting and staying organized is key to avoiding punitive charges and spending.
Reduce food waste. The United States Department of Agriculture estimates that the average family of four wastes an equivalent of $1,500 in food every year. By cleaning out your refrigerator and pantry, you can more easily identify and access the food you’ve purchased. To cut down on waste, consider doing a pantry challenge, during which you halt grocery shopping until everything in your pantry and refrigerator has been consumed. Use a site like SuperCook.com to create recipes based on ingredients you already have.
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How Spring Cleaning Contributes to Financial Wellness originally appeared on usnews.com
