What does decluttering have to do with finance?

[cheapwine]

Thank you for all the advice. It seems like the slow and steady wins the race concept is the best way to go. I think what I will do is choose one small area in the house and begin there. Then I can slowly expand outward and hopefully get everything clean and organized. I hope this helps with my debt.

[disneysteve]

Something happened this morning that brought this thread to mind.

I went through the file of pay stubs on my desk and tossed all of last year's in the shredding bin.

In the process, I found my wife's recent bonus check with her pay stubs. She got it in March and I had accidentally filed it with her other pay stubs. She has direct deposit so she gets a stub but no check. I forgot that the bonus was actually a check, not direct deposited, and just automatically stuck it with the others.

Had I not decided to tidy up that file, I wouldn't have found the check. It wasn't a lot of money ($30) but it could just as well have been hundreds of dollars and would have been just as misplaced.

Similarly, I have sometimes found greeting cards with checks still in them when decluttering. Just another example of why clutter can impact your finances.

[wincrasher]

I think that success in all aspects of your life is a matter of organization and management of chaos.

If you are disciplined enough to keep your home organized and tidy, you probably can keep your workplace the same way and can thus keep your financial life the same way. Keeping organized leads to reduction in chaos, peace of mind and eventually, clarity.

Personally, I am not restful or at peace in a place that is a mess. When you aren't at peace, you can't think clearly or plan what you are doing next - other than maybe starting cleaning this mess up!

When I was a kid, my mother used to say "just because we are poor, doesn't mean we have to be dirty!" I'm sure she didn't invent this saying, but it does ring true.

[KTP]

I should point out one advantage to clutter.

The other day I was digging around in a room that is jam packed with stuff we haven't used in 10+ years and discovered a jar of silver dollars and half dollars (well mostly Franklin half dollars but there were 22 Morgans and 4 Peace in there). My grandfather had given it to me years ago when silver was like $4 an ounce and I had just shoved it in with the other mess and forgotten about it. I haven't added up the current value but since jar is just over 13 pounds I think it might have increased a tad with the crazy cost of silver now.

So see? Clutter can cause you to save!

[wincrasher]

I hate to rain on your parade, but my coin collection is in a binder on the bottom shelf in my closet. It's indexed and I know exactly what I have and what it's worth. Screws, nuts and bolts and washers belong in jars on your workbench, not coins.

[KTP]

I hate to rain on your parade, but my coin collection is in a binder on the bottom shelf in my closet. It's indexed and I know exactly what I have and what it's worth. Screws, nuts and bolts and washers belong in jars on your workbench, not coins.

But I am not a coin collector, so the jar seemed fine at the time

I sort of remember looking up the dates on the Morgans back then and didn't see any that were particularly rare so figured I would just hold onto them for their silver content. If I had been organized I would probably have come across them last year when silver was only $15 an ounce or so. By being cluttered, I now can sell them with silver at $35 to $40 an ounce.

Seriously though, I am only teasing (although the silver coins really were in my clutter). I intend to declutter sometime soon.

[gambler2075]

Ever go buy something (again) that you already had but couldn't find??


Wasted money.

Ever clean off your spouses desk and find rebate or refund checks that are now out of date and can no longer be cashed???

Wasted money.

Ever have food or medications get buried in the rubble and go out of date and be expired before you find them???

Wasted money.

Ever clean out the car, purse, coat pockets, chair or sofa cushions and find money that could have been working for you instead of hiding in the junk??

Wasted money.

Ever loose a valuable item due to clutter? Such as jewelry or a birthday card containing cash?

Wasted money.

I know I am a little late to the party (thread) but I just have to agree with this post. I was moving a few months back and started looking through my bathroom and realized I had 4 containers of mosquito repellent that I had accumulated through the years and never found, and probably about 15 sets of bath towels, of which I use probably about 5. It really is amazing how you can buy things and just shove them away and then forget you have them.

Or, I would buy dress shirts and just keep collecting them (had about 20-30, used only about 5 frequently). As you said, wasted money.

Anyway, even though I have come a long way I still need to get rid of a few boxes of knick-knacks and stuff that I haven't really organized after moving... which I also haven't used, meaning I can probably get rid of it.

A couple of semi-related links:

Freakonomics » Hey Baby, Is That a Prius You’re Driving? Full Transcript

Hoarders - Video - A&E TV

g

[dawnwes]

Well, I listed several things on ebay that I don't use or won't use again!

[DebbieL]

I was reading the "what did you do to de-cluttered today?" thread and was wondering what decluttering had to do with finance. Do you think that having an uncluttered house is essential to having good finances? Are these directly related? I'm curious if anyone has stories about how decluttering has helped their finances and if they feel it is important to do a little decluttering every single day to make sure their finances stay in order?

I am very unorganized in the sense that I have a messy desk and am generally not a person who tidies (I do hire a cleaning lady for most areas of the house), and you would have a hard time finding someone with better control over their finances than me. I see no correlation there (at least in my case). I'm never late on bills, I have highly detailed budget that I tweak all the time to reflect recent changes, I save a very high portion of income, etc. I'm the same way with my schooling. My notes and papers scattered around higgly-piggly would drive the average person mad (DH hates it, lol), but I'm a straight A student and always have been. For some reason it works for me, lol.

[disneysteve]

I am very unorganized in the sense that I have a messy desk and am generally not a person who tidies (I do hire a cleaning lady for most areas of the house), and you would have a hard time finding someone with better control over their finances than me.

Have you ever missed paying a bill on time because it got buried on your desk?
Have you ever missed out on a rebate because the paperwork got misplaced and forgotten?
Have you ever spent time looking for something that you know you had but just couldn't find?
Have you ever bought something even though you know you already have it just because you couldn't find it?
Have you ever come across an unused gift card, expired coupon, forgotten cash gift, etc. that got lost at home?

If the answer is no to all, good for you. These are just some example, as already stated, of ways in which clutter can impact finances.

[snafu]

Debbie: I believe I am more productive with better time management skills now that we no longer require 'search parties' for needed items. Savings are significant since we know when regularly replaced/purchased items will be on sale. We avoid wasting money letting food or products slip unused to expiry. I feel we are more in charge of our lives by making small changes to be better organized. We are more apt to re-purpose items and turf un-needed stuff. It's good to bless others and give them the opportunity to enjoy items we no longer love. Our goal is to keep our home visitor ready 24/7. We're proud of our digs.

[timbuckley10]

I certainly agree with material decluttering as a means of being financially stable and organized, but I also think there should be a much more greater focus on decluttering spending before anything else. Don't let purchases you make go by unnoticed. It will ruin your budget and drain your money. Unorganized spending and an unclear budget, in my opinion, can lead to many more financial dangers and disasters than keeping your house clean. Don't get me wrong, anything to contribute to the spirit of organization is positive for your bank account. But to me, keeping a tight ship at home is secondary to decluttering your spending.

[DebbieL]

Have you ever missed paying a bill on time because it got buried on your desk?
Have you ever missed out on a rebate because the paperwork got misplaced and forgotten?
Have you ever spent time looking for something that you know you had but just couldn't find?
Have you ever bought something even though you know you already have it just because you couldn't find it?
Have you ever come across an unused gift card, expired coupon, forgotten cash gift, etc. that got lost at home?

If the answer is no to all, good for you. These are just some example, as already stated, of ways in which clutter can impact finances.

No to all of the above Actually, I just looked at the list again, and I have spent time looking for something I know I had but just couldn't find. I think that's happened to pretty much everyone at some point. Haven't you heard, a tidy desk is a sign of mental illness

[DebbieL]

Debbie: I believe I am more productive with better time management skills now that we no longer require 'search parties' for needed items. Savings are significant since we know when regularly replaced/purchased items will be on sale. We avoid wasting money letting food or products slip unused to expiry. I feel we are more in charge of our lives by making small changes to be better organized. We are more apt to re-purpose items and turf un-needed stuff. It's good to bless others and give them the opportunity to enjoy items we no longer love. Our goal is to keep our home visitor ready 24/7. We're proud of our digs.

I don't want a visitor friendly home 24/7, lol (well, I don't want the visitors anyways). Plus, I do have a cleaning lady. Others need not be subjected to my habits