Did I Save or Lose Money Decluttering in 2021

Everyone who knows me knows that I love to declutter stuff. But, as they say, nature abhors a vacuum. So, sometimes I refill that space. Then I need to get rid of stuff again. And, more often that not, I admit that I lose money decluttering. I shared this problem with you about one year ago. So, I thought that I’d revisit it today and look back at what decluttering looked like for me in 2021.

The Basics Are Still the Same

If you take a look back at last year’s post, you’ll see the gist of the pros and cons of decluttering in my life. More specifically, you’ll see what tends to cause me to lose money decluttering … and why I love doing it anyway. The short version is that I tend to pay money to get rid of things because it’s convenient. And the reason I do it is because I feel mentally better with less stuff.

Did I Buy Less Stuff in 2021?

The obvious answer to this entire problem is: BUY LESS. I support this plan in my life for so many reasons, not the least of which are:

I believe in conscious consumption.
I’d rather spend money on experiences and connection than “stuff.”
My bank account would clearly be better off if I bought less.
I fully believe that “stuff” doesn’t make you happy.

Etc. etc. So, I was aware of this one year ago, and how it was related to the problem of how I lose money decluttering. Did I make changes and buy less stuff in 2021?

Replaced Much of My Closet

Well, the short answer at least in this part of my life is, “nope.” I bought more than usual, actually. I had gained some weight, plus I realized that many of my clothing items were over a decade old. I consciously chose to replace a large percentage of my closet.

I stuck to my clothes shopping principles, though. I bought secondhand clothing, which I’ve been doing for decades. It’s important to me to either buy secondhand or from ethical small businesses and I generally can’t afford the latter.

Bought Some New Cheap Furniture

I don’t have any good excuse for this. The furniture is cheap and won’t last long. I don’t even particularly love it. However, my puppy had destroyed the furniture I had, and it was time to get stuff that would work for now. I didn’t want to spend a lot. It’s working for now.

Other Spending Categories

That said, I did pretty good in all of the other spending categories that relate to “stuff.” I didn’t buy a lot of craft stuff or art supplies. In most areas of my house, I didn’t add a significant amount of physical clutter at all. So, overall, I would say that I did better in 2021 than I had been doing in the previous years. Being aware of the problem at the start of the year definitely helped.

Gifts of Stuff That Came Into My House

Now, this is an area that I didn’t do great in. Usually I have pretty good boundaries with people. They ask if I want something and I say that I don’t. I have learned from experience that typically “free” things end up costing me mentally if not financially. However, I managed to let more things that usual sneak into my house from other people’s homes.

My mom loves to send stuff, and I got some things from her. Books, craft supplies, blankets, kitchen stuff. Most of it I’ve used, but some of it really just didn’t need to be here in the first place. I decluttered some. I’ve still got some.

Also, I get free things from my job. This year it was A LOT of knitting needles. (I prefer crochet but was learning to knit for work.) I also got lots of yarn and a bunch of books. Mostly I use these things. However, they do take a lot of space in my small apartment. When not well-organized, which for a lot of the year they were not, they definitely contribute to visual and mental clutter.

Did I Save or Lose Money Decluttering in 2021?

So, I added more things to my home than I would have liked. However, it wasn’t as much as previously, so that was a good thing. Ultimately, did I lose or save money decluttering in 2021?

How I Decluttered and Made Money

I managed to make a tiny bit of money decluttering. Honestly, I’m not very good at this for a lot of reasons. I know all the ways to sell things that you don’t want anymore (Facebook, Craigslist, Etsy, etc. etc.) However, I’m not very patient; when I want to declutter, I want it gone now. Also, I hate meeting strangers just to get rid of a small item, so I don’t like local sales stuff like that. So, I don’t typically sell things I don’t want anymore.

However, I did start using the ThredUp Cleanout Service. You send them a box of your old clothes at no charge. They list the ones they want to try to sell. They donate the rest. It doesn’t cost anything to send stuff to them. Therefore, I found this to be a terrific way to get rid of my extra clothes. I ended up making about $200 in store credit. It didn’t cover the cost of what I spent replacing my wardrobe, but it was better than nothing.

Also, I’ve had a desktop computer forever that I never use. It’s old and not worth much. But I decluttered it and got $100 Apple voucher for my efforts. That was actually in early 2022, but I’m counting it as a win from the past year.

How I Decluttered For Free

Mostly, I found ways to declutter for free. I took tons of books and magazines to the Little Free Library throughout 2021. I recycled and threw away what was appropriate to do so. Additionally, I occasionally gave things to people that I knew they would actually use. For example, I know a lot of knitters and some of them were thrilled to get the needles that I knew I wouldn’t use.

How Did I Lose Money Decluttering?

And yet, if I’m honest, I did lose money decluttering. When I look back, I see that I called 1-800-Got-Junk out to the house twice in 2021. The first time I spent over $400 to have them haul away SO much stuff. The second time, I spent about $200. As you saw in last year’s post, this is where I tend to lose money decluttering.

BUT, I spent less on the service in 2021 than 2020. Moreover, I feel like each time was a little bit more painful. Therefore, each time reminded me to buy less. So, I have hopes that in 2022, I won’t lose money decluttering! I’ll keep you posted.

What does decluttering look like for you?

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Kathryn Vercillo

Kathryn Vercillo is a professional writer who loves to live a balanced life. She appreciates a good work-life balance. She enjoys balance in her relationships and has worked hard to learn how to balance her finances to allow for a balanced life overall. Although she’s only blonde some of the time, she’s always striving for total balance. She’s excited to share what she’s learned with you and to discover more together along the way.

The Basics Are Still the Same