How Decluttering Can Help You Financially

Author: Jennifer Kropf

Decluttering is a powerful action that can have a huge impact on many different areas of your life. You probably already know that decluttering will improve your space, and even improve your mental health, but you may not be aware of the great ways decluttering can help you out financially. That's right, getting rid of the clutter can be an important step in killing bad money habits. Let's look at 4 ways cleaning up and cleaning out can help your bank account.

Save a Shopping Trip

When decluttering large spaces like a garage or a storage building, you will often discover items that you completely forgot you owned. If some of these items prove to be things that you are in need of, you could save yourself another shopping trip and another expense by simply using the one you already had stored in your cluttered space.

Need a little help getting motivated? See this declutter motivation article!

Reality Check

During a declutter, you will be faced with the reality of your actual spending habits. It is important to allow yourself this reality check. How much of the stuff cluttering up the space is actually being used? How much of it was ever used? Did you find items that still had price tags? These are important reality checks. You need to be honest with yourself concerning your spending habits. Why did you buy these items? Have you been emotionally shopping? Use this time to evaluate your spending habits and how this could affect your financial life.

Sell Your Stuff

One of the most significant ways decluttering can help you financially is when you sell the stuff you don't need. Today, with online marketplaces, it is easier than ever to connect with people who want to buy your stuff. Set a goal for the money you make. Should it go into savings? Will you use the money to fund a trip or a big expense you have coming up? This is a great way to pay for expenses without dipping into your savings or regular budget.

Ditch The Storage Fees

If you have really accumulated a lot of clutter, you may have found it necessary to pay for a storage room. When clutter has to be stored off your property, this is a sign that you really need to make some changes. Not only is that simply too much stuff, but it is also an added expense each month that you really could cut out.

In most cases, if you start decluttering at your house, you will find that you have plenty of storage space in your garage or attic to deal with your belongings. If there are things in a storage facility that you need to keep, you can then move those to your storage area at home. If your attic, garage, and storage room are all filled, there is definitely room for improvement.

If you get your storage room cleared out, be sure to earmark the money for something to further improve your financial goals, such as savings.