Spending Winter Frugally: While Decluttering is Good For Your Wallet
Posted on February 16, 2009 5 Comments
Several pounds of various fruity smelling lotions that I got for Christmas five years ago… gone.
Bags of “gently used” and slightly frumpy work shirts that I wouldn’t dare wear anymore even if I had no clean laundry… gone.
The black soap dish and toothbrush holder from when I thought it would be cool to have black accents in my Pepto-pink tiled apartment bathroom… gone.
Winter 08-09: Remove, recycle and move on.
* * *
Can you think of a better time than this winter’s deep freeze to spend hours decluttering your home? Really, when it’s zero outside (or BELOW zero), and you’re going stir crazy at home, is there anything better than throwing some old s**t out to feel like you’ve accomplished something? I think not. Spring cleaning may be a time for renewal, but winter clean-out is time to deal with your demons.
As you may have gathered, I’ve spent some down time during the last seven weeks decluttering and organizing my stuff. When I started, I was unhappy with the clutter in my apartment and the fact that I seemed to have no space, especially in my closet-sized bathroom. On a frustrated whim, I started cleaning Oprah-style in that tiny room… I pulled everything out of it – which took up an entire hallway AND the dining room of my place. I was shocked by the excess. I threw out garbage, set aside a pile for the Salvation Army and kept only the supplies I need right now. Did I really need ten bottles of hair product? Three kinds of hot rollers? An entire drawer of travel-sized moisturizers? Absolutely not.
I’ve never consciously decluttered anything other than my closet because it always happened naturally for me. From the time I was 18 until I was 25, I moved about once per year. Moving is a natural declutter – boxes are heavy so whatever you take better be worth it. But now that I’ve lived in my apartment for five years, I’ve accumulated some stuff. Too much.
So I took advantage of this winter’s harsh weather to take action. After I finished the bathroom, I went room to room to see what I could trash, recycle or donate, and what I could move to my parents’ garage (seasonal stuff). The end result? I’m happy again with my apartment and I have a better idea of my unnecessary spending/shopping/storing patterns.
How does decluttering relate to your finances and the economy? Good question! Here are several reasons why you might want to consider cleaning out, uncluttering and reorganizing your place that have everything to do with finance:
1) You hate your place, but you’re stuck there. I thought I’d be out of my cramped apartment in April 2009 and moving into my first condo. That’s no longer happening due to the crazy financial crisis. I need to stay put. Getting rid of some stuff opened up new space in my apartment and enabled me to see the space in a way that had been blocked for a while.
2) You’re trying to curb spending. Two factors help out here. First, decluttering takes hours and hours, and doesn’t cost a thing. Second, once you see how much stuff you already have, you might realize you no longer need to go to the store.
3) It’s below zero outside, and there’s no good TV on. What are you waiting for? That point sells itself. See above points for good-for-your-wallet benefits.
4) Lots of people need your old stuff right now. If you’ve got a blender taking up cabinet space because you received a new one for X-mas, I bet there’s an out-of-work family that could really use a blender. Same goes for your old coats, blankets and work clothes. Some charities will even pick it up for you on your doorstep.
How do you do it? I’ll leave the DIY tips to the experts. Here are a few to check out:
O Magazine/Oprah’s Web site: Learn to conquer clutter
Real Simple Magazine: Lots of good clutter-ridding tips
It’s not an easy process, but I can report that having done it, I’m happier with my apartment and feel I can breathe again now that I’ve cleaned out my mess. Everything has a home, from random Halloween costumes to travel kits to scarves to my tax paperwork.
Let me know if you guys have any good tips on how you’re spending the winter frugally.
Category: Life
Tags: Home
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5 Responses to “Spending Winter Frugally: While Decluttering is Good For Your Wallet”
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February 17th, 2009 @ 2:13 am
I’ve had a decluttering urge for a few weeks now, but not really had time to scratch that itch yet. In addition to it being the winter thing, my boyfriend and I are preparing to move in together, so I need to do some serious downsizing.
February 19th, 2009 @ 6:42 pm
Thanks for the inspiration. After I read this I got 2 bags of stuff together for Goodwill and threw away another big trashbag full of stuff. For me it doesn’t really have any financial ramifications, but it sure made me feel better!
February 21st, 2009 @ 10:08 pm
These are really good tips. Thanks! I think I’m really going to start decluttering my bedroom now.
March 8th, 2009 @ 4:20 am
I did the same thing this winter….and yes, it felt good to do on those cold winter days… I got rid of a LOT of stuff that I didn’t need anymore.
April 2nd, 2009 @ 6:18 am
I love this idea!