A few years ago, Peter Walsh, the famous de-cluttering guru, put out a book by that same name. It is all about how to live a rich life with less stuff. I checked it out the library last year and enjoyed the inspirational boost of not needing so many material possessions (and I’m still working on this). My husband saw me reading it and wanted to read it too. Unfortunately, the book had to go back before he got a chance (there were several library holds on it).
Fortunately, a few months later, I spotted the book in the discount bin of a local bookstore. The store was offering an additional 50 percent off of the bargain books, so I purchased this book, a hardcover edition, for less than $3. My frugal guardian angel must have been flapping her wings that day.
I still refer back to it whenever I am tempting to bring more stuff into the house or when faced with a large de-cluttering project. I’m in the slow-going process of purging our attic in preparation for a decommissioning. My husband wants to fill the entire space with insulation, thus eliminating our largest bit of storage space.
So what is a reflection on clutter doing in the Frugal Living blog? Well, all of that clutter once cost someone some money at some time. And chances are that the clutter is still costing someone in terms of the cost to store it. In our case, if we wanted to keep the attic, we would continue to spend hundreds of extra dollars on utility costs. Other ways that clutter can cost money is in storage costs, either outside storage or by taking up valuable living space in your home.
One strategy that has been working lately for us is to establish a limited space for things that tend to be collected, such as DVDs, clothing and even stockpiled food. When that space is taken up, there is no overflow. Either something old has to go or the new item never comes home. We are saving space and money this way.