Anes Weblog  -

Clutter Reduction

04 04 06 24 33

-------- What to do with it?

(Five Cent Nickel is hosting the Carnival of Frugality this week. He also inspired this article with some clutter reduction on his own.) With clutter I mean things that will not get used but are still occupying space on your dwelling. Clutter causes a lot of headaches for you, and it costs time and money to keep your clutter!

• If you move, you have to haul the stuff with you – breaking your back for a longer amount of time or paying more to the movers.
• If you are going to sell your home, you should move it away into storage, to make the house look more spacious.
• They don’t give you space! You start to get the feeling that you need more space prompting you to spend on a larger dwelling or to rent storage space.

However, in our consumerist society, it is almost certain that you will accumulate clutter. Once you can be realistic about it, you can start taking care of it. I have placed bins in my library, closet, and basement. Books, clothes, and stuff that will not get used, into the bin it goes!

The question that comes up to our mind is what to do with the clutter? Throwing it away into the trash would not only be a waste of hard earned resources, but a way of contaminating the environment even more! Economically sustainable ways have to be used. These may include:

• Give Away To Friends. This is the easiest one, and an easy way by itself of making points with friends. Just list what you have (assuming you will not be ashamed of sharing it with friends), and send an e-mail to your friends. First to yell gets it. It is particularly useful with books and tools. It may also be good for those with kids – old clothes may be useful for expectant parents.
• Yard Sale. I must confess that I have never spent the time to do a Yard Sale. First of all I try to avoid accumulating enough clutter to make my effort and time worth it. I would hate to spend a sunny Saturday or Sunday sitting on a chair, waiting for people to stop to buy stuff – I would rather spend it backpacking, canoeing, or just doing a day hike up a mountain. Even if I wanted to feel at home, I would probably do a lot of gardening. However, those with kids may find it a fun opportunity to teach them about money.
• Ebay It Some things may be worth some money to others. Other things with low worth value are at least worth the price of shipping to others. Starting an auction at $0.01 may bring surprises. I once sold some oversized, cheap cotton shirts for around $30 on eBay, even when I thought them where not important. Books that would have been donated to the library to be sold for $0.50 have been sold on eBay for around $2. Granted, there are some fees to watch for, but it is an alternative way of disposing of clutter with the potential to make some money --- or at a minimum, send the goods to places where you know they will be appreciated.
• Donate to Charity. Those with houses may find out that Charity Donations can reduce your tax liability – it can even reduce your Alternative Minimum Tax! Check out the Salvation Army Valuation Guide -- as a tax deduction, around a third of what is listed there could be yours in the way of a tax refund!
• Freecycle it! When you can’t find a friend to get the item and don’t want to spend the time selling it or donating it, find a person around your neighborhood that may be interested on it. User groups like Freecycle it! are an outlet for unwanted good that help reduce waste and impact on the environment.