clutter

The Paradox of Stuff: Own Less, Use More

March 6, 2013 By Jennifer Derrick 7 Comments

Most of us tend to think that more is better, especially when it comes to our “stuff.” If two pairs of shoes is good, ten must be great. If a library of thirty DVD’s is good, a hundred must be better. If having fifteen board games provides a lot of entertainment, a library of fifty must provide even more entertainment. And on and on it goes, with many of us accumulating far more stuff than we can or will ever use. The funny thing is that our belief that more is always better works against us when it comes to stuff.

When you have too much stuff, much of it often languishes, unused, in the closets and cabinets. Why is this? Isn’t more better? Isn’t it better to have more choices? If we have more, won’t we use more? The answer is often no. Those who have less often get more use and utility out of their few items than do people who have multiples of things. There are a variety of reasons for this, but they all boil down to a simple truth: More is just more, not better. Here are some of the reasons why having more often means you actually use the items less often or not at all.

You can’t possibly use it all

You’re only one person or family. Can you really watch five hundred DVD’s? Can you really wear sixty pairs of shoes or carry fifty handbags? Can you ever play your way through five hundred board games? Can you ever use two hundred tubes of toothpaste? There is a limit to how much of anything you can realistically use before it goes bad, goes out of style, or you just don’t care anymore. There’s also a limit to how much time you have to watch, read, or play things. Anything beyond that realistic amount of stuff is just a waste.

You don’t know what you have

When you have too much, you often don’t use it all simply because you don’t know what you have. Unless you create a directory of some sort, it’s hard to keep up with massive amounts of clothes, shoes, media, games, and toys. When you say, “I’d like to watch a movie,” you can’t remember what you have or what might be on the bottom of the heap. When you think about putting together an outfit for a special occasion, good choices are ignored at the back of your closet because you can’t remember that they’re there. If you can’t keep track of what you own, how can you ever use it all?

You’re too overwhelmed with choices

Research shows that too many choices can be paralyzing. Rather than liberating us, too many choices can actually short-circuit our brains and lead us to simply make no choice at all. This happens with your stuff when you say, “I’d like to watch a movie,” go over to the DVD shelf and become so overwhelmed with everything that you own that you just say, “Forget it,” and watch whatever’s on TV. It happens with kids when they say, “I’m bored,” in a house full of toys. What they may really be saying is, “I’m overwhelmed and don’t know where to start.” It happens when you decide to go buy a new outfit rather than sorting through the thousands of possible combinations you already own. When you have fewer choices, it’s much easier to decide what to use or do and then go do it. There’s no hemming and hawing over the vast piles of choices.

When you have less, you don’t have these problems

You know what you have and where it is. You know you can use it all because you often do. When stuff is brought into your house, it’s often as a replacement for a worn out item, or it’s only added after careful consideration of its merits. The stuff you have is stuff you need or really want, not just stuff you thought was good because “more is always better.”

The trick is to know how much is really enough for you. When you start to reach the point where you feel overwhelmed with choices, or you can’t remember what you already have, you’re getting too much. When you find yourself coming across things you haven’t used in ages (or ever), you’re getting too much. These are warning signs that it’s time to stop accumulating stuff and maybe even start purging so you get down to a level where you are getting reasonable use out of your stuff.

Stuff that’s never used is a waste of money and space. It’s also mentally tiring because you might constantly berate yourself every time you see those items piled up but not getting used. Try living with less and you’ll likely discover that the stuff you keep gets used to its fullest. You’ll save money, feel better, and have more free space in your house.

(Photo courtesy of garryknight)

Is Minimalism The Way To Go?

December 10, 2012 By Jennifer Derrick 2 Comments

Financial gurus often talk about spending on experiences rather than stuff. The idea is that stuff will break, become obsolete, or never get used in the first place, whereas experiences will stay with you for a lifetime. Experiences are said to be more valuable than stuff. To hear some people talk, you should be able to fit all of your possessions in your car. Stuff is bad. But is it really? Should we all be aiming for a life where we can fit all of our stuff into a shed? Probably not.

Some of us cannot function without a lot of stuff. It provides comfort, helps us pursue our hobbies, nurtures fond memories or family activities, or is used in our daily lives (as is the case with the cook who has every kitchen gadget but uses most of them every week). We love our stuff and the thought of parting with it (or not acquiring more) is upsetting. Some people who fall into this category would rather have more stuff than any “experience.” Give them a new gadget over travel any day! Does this make them bad people or financial failures? No, just different from the crowd who believes in minimalism.

The distinction needs to be made between stuff that makes you happy and clutter. Clutter is the stuff you don’t use (or don’t even know that you have). It’s the stuff that never gets played with, worn, or even noticed. It’s the broken stuff you know you’ll never fix. It’s the stuff you look at and sigh over instead of thinking, “Wow. I really like this thing.” Clutter is bad. It contributes to dust problems, it stifles you, produces anxiety, and takes up valuable space in your home. Clutter needs to go.

Stuff that makes you happy isn’t bad. Even if you have a lot of it, as long as it isn’t jeopardizing your health, breaking laws, or creating some sort of hazard, it has a place in your life. If you frequently use the items or love them then they are valuable to you and getting rid of them will not liberate you, it will make you cry. If your stuff falls into this category minimalism will never suit you, no matter how many thrilling experiences you pack into your life. You need your stuff as much as the traveler needs a plane ticket.

Obviously if you can’t afford to buy your stuff, then you shouldn’t buy it. But neither should you go on wild experiences if you can’t afford them, even if you think they are “better” than stuff. And you should guard against becoming a hoarder, so attached to your stuff that you can’t let it go even when you know it’s hurting your health and your wallet. The point, as with so much in personal finance, is to do what you can reasonably afford (while meeting all of your obligations) and which makes you happy. If that’s a houseful of figurines, gadgets, games, or clothes, that’s fine as long as those things bring you joy and don’t become just things you have to dust and “deal with.”

(Photo courtesy of Jekkone)

12 Inexpensive Ways to Improve Your Home’s Air Quality

November 12, 2012 By Jennifer Derrick 2 Comments

People spend a fortune trying to “improve” the air quality in their homes. They buy fabric sprays, air fresheners, candles, special vacuum cleaners, and expensive purification machines. Unfortunately, most of the candles, plug-ins, and sprays just make things worse. They don’t eliminate odors; they simply mask them. As for the expensive machines, many don’t work and those that do are usually only required for people with allergies so severe that the slightest bit of allergen can make them sick.

For the rest of us, there are plenty of free and low cost things we can do to improve the air in our homes. Here are twelve ideas to get you started.

Open The Windows

This is the simplest way to improve the air in your home. When a house is shut up, odors and allergens accumulate. You need to allow fresh air to circulate. Sure, the outside air isn’t pure, but studies have shown that most outside air is cleaner than the air inside most homes. Everything in your home from furniture to drapes to carpet gives off gasses that contaminate your air. The only way to get rid of them is to let fresh air circulate. It’s especially important to bring in fresh air if you buy new furniture, carpet, or drapes, or paint or wallpaper your home.

Turn On A Fan

If cooking and bathroom odors are a problem, turn on the fan over the stove or in the bathroom rather than spraying air fresheners. The fan will suck the smells out.

Change/Clean Air Filters

Your air filters are great at trapping dust and allergens as they blow through the house. When they get full, though, their effectiveness is reduced or eliminated because they’re clogged up and can’t trap anything else. Change them regularly or buy the washable kind and wash them out regularly. If you do something to your home like add new carpet or do some construction, change them more often because there are more particles in the air than normal.

Dust/Vacuum

A simple clean up can do wonders for your air quality. Dust is in the air and it settles on furniture and in the carpets. Thoroughly clean your house, and don’t forget the baseboards, blinds, and under/behind furniture. Empty your vacuum or change the bag frequently to keep maximum suction and prevent “blowback” from a full bag/canister.

Reduce Clutter

Clutter attracts dust, mold, and mildew. The less junk you have piled around, the fewer problems you’ll have. Sell, toss, or donate the stuff you no longer use and reduce as much clutter as possible.

Go Shoeless

Shoes track in all kinds of pollutants including dust, dirt, animal fecal matter, fertilizers, and pesticides. Leave your shoes in the garage, on the porch, or in a designated area by the door. Wear slippers or “house only” shoes inside (and remember to never wear them outside).

Smoke Outside

If you smoke, do it outside. If you have guests who smoke, insist that they take it outside.

Skip Artificial Fragrances

Air freshener sprays, plug-ins, and candles actually hurt more than they help. Most release known toxins and carcinogens into the air, even though those chemicals are not required to be listed on the product label. If you need fragrance in your home, place some sliced lemon on a plate in the kitchen, or place freshly cut pine branches in a vase.

Skip Commercial Cleansers

The scents from those commercial cleansers and detergents are really just chemicals. While you may think the smell means you have a clean home, what it really means is that you’ve released a lot of chemicals into the air. Switch to homemade cleansers which use staples like baking soda, vinegar, and essential oils.

Get Some Plants

Plants act as natural air purifiers by helping to remove toxins from the air. If you have kids or pets, get non-toxic varieties. A good nursery should be able to help you choose.

Clean Your Pet’s Bedding

If you have pets, wash and vacuum their bedding regularly, as well as the areas where they spend time. This will keep odors, dander, and fur problems to a minimum.

Deal With Moisture Immediately

Moisture leads to mold, so if you have any leaks, burst pipes, or rain damage, deal with it immediately. Run a fan or open the window in the bathroom when showering to keep mildew and moisture in there to a minimum. If you need to hire a professional service to clean up major damage, do so because if you let it go your house may become uninhabitable.

Improving the air quality in your home shouldn’t mean buying lots of expensive fragrances and gadgets. Simply opening a window and changing how and how often you clean will make a huge difference.

(Photo courtesy of Orin Zebest)

10 Reasons Storage Units are a Waste of Money

April 3, 2012 By Danielle Warchol 6 Comments

When it comes to storage units, many people are simply throwing away their hard earned money. There aren’t many legitimate reasons that someone truly needs one. Unless you’re renting a storage unit for a specific reason with a set time period (for example, you’re moving and there is a three month time gap before you can move into a new place), you’re likely wasting a whole lot of money. This is especially true if you have a storage unit because you just don’t have enough room in your current home. Sound familiar? Below are 10 reasons that storage units are a waste of money for most people.

Storing Clutter

Most people rent or buy storage units because they have too many items in their home. Unfortunately, the first items that get boxed up to go into storage are the unnecessary, rarely used items. If you currently rent a storage unit, do you actually know what you have stored away? Chances are you have a lot of unneeded clutter and are storing items you’ll never use again. In this case, you’re essentially paying to store useless items and you’re better off selling them.

Stolen Property

Storage units might be hard to break into, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen. There are people who store incredibly valuable items in storage units, after all. Most storage companies claim that they’re not liable for items that are stolen or lost. If your storage unit is broken into and your items stolen, you lose out on that money.

Weather Hazards

Storage units that claim that they’re not liable for stolen property are also usually the same companies that won’t compensate you for weather damage. If you end up renting a storage unit that has mold or water damage, your property will be ruined, and therefore useless. These weather hazards are often concealed when you’re first shown the unit, so you might not even know they exist.

Prevents Downsizing

As stated, the reason most people chose to rent a storage unit is because they no longer have space in their home. If you’re moving to a smaller house or apartment, your focus should be on actually downsizing your belongings, not storing them away. If you don’t have room in your new home, why pay for a storage unit? If your true goal is downsizing, there’s no need to waste money by putting things in storage.

Empty Space

Unless you have an extremely large amount of items to store, you’re probably going to be wasting space. One of the easiest ways for storage companies to make money is by renting large units to people who don’t maximize the space. Only have a few pieces of furniture? Look at all that empty space in your storage unit that you’re still paying for. Don’t pay for space you’re not using.

Not Maximizing Space in Your Home

There’s probably space in your home you’re not using that could be used for storage. Instead of paying exorbitant rates for a storage unit, start getting creative with storing items at home. Build shelves on your walls or in your closets. Store things under your bed. Buy furniture that doubles as a storage unit. With a little ingenuity, you can find some new places to store your items.

Store With a Friend or Family Member

Of course, storing your items with a friend or family member only works if you actually have a friend or family member who’ll agree to store your items. If you do, this doesn’t mean you should overdo it and store everything there. But if you need temporary storage for a couple months, see if they’ll take some boxes or furniture. You’ll end up storing for free than paying costly monthly fees.

Increasing Fees

Depending on where you rent, you could face increasing fees each month or year. Some companies have a “special” deal when you first start renting, but will increase fees as more time passes. Other companies also charge more if you’re only renting for a short time period. Even if you shop around of decent rates, be wary of how much extra you might be charged after the fact. Always read the contract to look for hidden fee increases.

Replacing Items is Less Expensive

This is hit or miss depending what type of items you’re storing. If you’re storing furniture or appliances for a long period of time (because of traveling, deployment, or college, for instance), it might be cheaper to just sell those items and buy them again when you need them. The fees you pay for long term storage will probably be more than what the item is really worth. Before you rent a storage unit, look over your items and calculate their worth. Is it really necessary to keep the items or can you buy them again later?

Losing Your Items if You Miss a Payment

Due to the recent reality shows about storage units, most people now know that if you miss a payment, you’re in danger of losing all your items. Storage companies can make a lot of money from selling items in your storage unit. Worse, they’re not lenient about missing or late payments. You’re usually granted a very small time period to pay back the money. You don’t want to risk losing your items, do you? Even if you’re only storing clutter, you’re still losing out if your items end up in someone else’s hands.

So what can you do to avoid wasting money like this? Learn to live with less and become aware of which items you own are useful and which are merely adding to the clutter. While it may be easier to throw all that stuff into a storage unit to deal with later, you pay for that procrastination. Save yourself the stress of having to think about what to do with all that junk and sell what you can, donate the rest and set yourself free. You’ll feel better and so will your pocket book.

(Photo courtesy of pmsyyz)

New Uses for Family Mementos

May 17, 2011 By Jennifer Derrick 6 Comments

Over the years I’ve inherited quite a bit of stuff from my relatives. Dishes, jewelry, books, scrapbooks, pictures, clothing, keepsakes, letters, souvenirs from far away places, and even a trunk have all come my way as relatives have passed away or downsized their lives. For the longest time this stuff just sat in various places in my house. Some of it was in the attic because I had no real use for it and I wasn’t sure that I wanted to sell it, throw it away, or donate it somewhere. Despite the fact that some of it had no real use for me, it was still sentimental stuff. Sentimental stuff is hard to get rid of.

After a while, I got tired of the clutter. I got tired of tripping over stuff and having no room for other things because this stuff was taking up my space. So I sat down to think long and hard about what I wanted to do with it all. I sorted things in to two piles. One pile was for the things that I knew I wanted to keep in some form. The other pile was for things that I wasn’t as attached to.

I looked at the pile of things I wanted to keep. Very little of it was in a form that I could use or that would bring me joy. The trunk was a dirty mess. The dishes were still useful, but not my taste for table decor. The photos were nice, but photos in an album aren’t seen or appreciated. Same with the postcards from some far away places. I thought about all of those things and about what I could do with them that would make them useful to me, but which would allow me to still remember the past. Here are just a few of the things that I did:

I broke the dishes and embedded the pieces in concrete to make pavers for my garden. I applied sealant on top to make them weather proof and voila! I have pretty garden pavers that are more valuable to me than anything I could buy.
I turned the gravy boat into a home for a small violet which I keep it on my windowsill.
I laminated many of the photos, letters, and postcards and they now serve as place mats for my table. I have more than I can use for one setting, so I rotate them and people often remark on my “different” place mats. I also made a few into bookmarks.
I cleaned and painted the trunk and then decorated it with some embellishments from the craft store. It’s still my uncle’s Army trunk, but now it sits at the foot of my bed and is used for blanket storage.
I cut up some of the clothes and sewed them into a quilt. I still get to remember the outfits, but I don’t have to wear them.
I took some of the jewelry apart and either had the stones reset into something more my taste, or I combined parts from several pieces to make something I prefer.

The things you can do with old mementos are limited only by your imagination. There are tons of ways to convert or incorporate old stuff into items you’ll actually use. Before you resign yourself to tossing things or storing them forever, give yourself some time to think about what else you might do with them. Don’t be afraid to break it or use it for a different purpose. The point is to make these old items into things that you will love and use. It’s not sacrilegious or horrible to repurpose items.(Although I’ll admit that breaking that first dish did feel a little like that.)

Some of the mementos did end up being given away or donated. There were some things I just couldn’t repurpose and I had to make the hard decision to let it go. It was sentimental to me, but not useful. With limited space hard choices had to be made. I did feel badly for a little while, but then I looked around at the things I still had which were now very useful to me and I felt better. I can keep the memories of those other things and hope that someone else is enjoying them. What I’m left with are the things that mattered most and they are now in a form that serves me today, as well as honors the past.

Look at Your Clutter, See Your Money

August 5, 2009 By Jennifer Derrick 9 Comments

Recently I was trapped in a hotel on a rainy weekend and I got sucked into a marathon of Clean House. (This is why I don’t keep cable at home. If stuff is on, I just fall into it.) I was mesmerized by the amount of stuff that some of these people had. Stuff was piled to the ceilings, bursting out of the garages, and filling every closet. As a neat freak, it was disturbing to say the least.

But as I watched, what really got my attention was the amount of money that was invested in this clutter. In some of these houses, thousands of dollars had been spent on stuff that wasn’t being used (heck, some of the participants didn’t even know what they had). Hundreds of dollars of holiday decorations, perfumes, clothes, shoes, toys, bath products, hobby supplies, car parts, and electronics. All of it just piled to the rafters, unused (some still in the original packages, unopened). Not to mention the stuff that was broken and useless and needed a new home in the landfill or recycling bin. Even the woman who said she never bought anything at retail price had hundreds of dollars of “bargains” overflowing out of every closet in the house.

I found myself wondering if there was a relationship in these homes between the amount of clutter and the amount of debt. I bet there is. I have no scientific proof, but logic says that with that much stuff there is likely debt that goes with it, unless the person makes or has a lot of money to begin with. Clutter doesn’t come cheap, even if all you ever buy is stuff on sale. In order to fill a house to the rafters with stuff you’ve got to be spending some serious money. If these people have money troubles, the first place they should look is at their mountains of clutter. Where did the money go? It went to all those clothes that have never been worn, all those kitchen gadgets that have never been used, and all those knick knacks that are filling the shelves.

If you have money troubles, look at your clutter. Do you have a lot of stuff you bought that you never use? Is there stuff you bought with the intention of starting a new hobby or business but then never got around to doing it? Do you have a lot of clothes with the tags still on? Are there bags and bags of “bargains” in your home that you’ll never find a use for? Are your kids drowning in toys they never play with? Sure, maybe you spent too much on eating out or other areas of your life, but I bet if you look at your clutter you’ll get a pretty good idea of where your money has gone.

The good news is that your clutter can be turned into money again. You won’t be able to recoup all that you paid, of course, but you can get some money back. On Clean House they have the mother of all yard sales to get rid of the junk and they seem to rake in a decent sum. You can have your own yard sale. Or you can sell on eBay or Craigslist or to another resale shop. Or you can donate your stuff to a charity and get a tax deduction. If you’ve got a lot of recyclable material, you can get money for that, too, at the scrap yard.

Once you’ve got it cleaned out, try this visualization when you’re tempted to clutter up again. Look at the thing you’re about to buy. If it costs $50, picture a fifty dollar bill in its place. (Or a stack of fifty ones if you like larger piles of money.) Then mentally lower that $50 to about $5, because that’s what you might get for it someday if you sell it. Then ask yourself which is more valuable to you: The thing, or the $50? Because that’s really the trade off you’re making. Your clutter is your money. Every item in your house represents money spent. When you’ve got stuff overflowing your home, that’s a lot of money you could have saved or used elsewhere. If you’d rather keep your money, leave the clutter item in the store.