Simply You: The cost of clutter
October 1, 2009 by Liz Canavan
Filed under Featured, Inside You, Simply You
The true cost of clutter: Why keeping it costs you — big
Out of all the reasons to keep something, “I might use it one day” irritates me the most. Sure, you might but you also might not — and is it worth keeping in the meantime? Anything can fall into this category, which can justify keeping it all. And, as organizational expert Peter Walsh, host of TLC’s Clean Sweep, aptly titled his anti-clutter book, “It’s all too much.”
Photo by Flickr user sindesign.
Working recently with a smart and successful business owner, I noticed her collection of 20-plus spare, mismatched, paper folders.
“Why are we keeping these?” I asked.
(You guessed it.) “I might use them one day.”
“Do you find yourself using them now?”
“No, they’re worn and tired looking.”
“Is that going to change? Are they going to refresh their shape as the years go on, making them useful to you?”
She got my point, and we gave them to the Salvation Army.
My client had been storing these folders, moved at least once with them — all to realize they were not being or going to be used.
I invite you to look at the true cost of clutter. There are many emotional, psychological, even physiological costs associated with clutter (depression, ADD, arthritis, fatigue syndromes, substance abuse), but let’s talk about the dollars and cents.
Clutter takes up 50 percent of your storage space, according to the National Association of Professional Organizers.
ReMax reports that in Boulder County, a square foot of basement space can range in value from $25 to $100. Above-ground space, every square foot can range in value from $75 to $300. Of the stuff you’re storing, 50 percent of it is clutter (a postponed decision on something that you really don’t love, need or use).
For example: We have a 1000-square-foot basement. Following the stats, let’s say half of that is clutter (500 square feet). If we live in an “average” house in Boulder County and the price per square foot is $62.50 (the mathematical average of the range $25 to $100 per square foot), we are paying (or financing) $31,250 for that unused, cluttered space. (Jaw drops here.)
Now put this example in an above-ground space, like using our living room or guest room. The price jumps to $187.50 per square foot, or $93,750.
In other words, it’s possible that someone in Boulder has paid $93,750 for 500 square feet of living space, but uses it for clutter.
Storage space costs
The closest storage facility to our home costs $81 per month for a 5-by-10 unit, or 500 square feet if the whole volume of the unit is filled. The people I know who are paying for extra storage space would be better off making the decisions to get rid of the stuff, rather than putting it in storage, which is simply postponing the decisions.
They never touch it, don’t know what’s in there, and panic when they think they have to find something inside. No wonder — it would stink to have to wedge something out of your storage unit when you really need it. The average person holds onto a storage unit for a minimum of two years, according to a New York City self-storage firm, making the $81 per month charge grow to $1,944.
Other costs of clutter:
Replacement items — When you can’t find it, you buy another one.
Cleaning time — The more stuff you have, the harder and longer it takes to clean. Time is money.
“Searching” time — The average CEO wastes six weeks per year searching for lost documents lost in clutter, according The Wall Street Journal.
Energy drain — With clutter reminding you daily to deal with it, your energy is noticeably drained.
As we enter fall this year, I welcome you to take a good look at your storage spaces and clean them out. Banish clutter and live a richer life.
Your Women’s Magazine bonus this month is a free assessment of your storage spaces. Know how long it will take you to organize after I share with you Julie Morgenstern’s equation on time and clearing out clutter.
— By Liz Canavan
Canavan, of Boulder, is a professional organizer with Alchemy of Order and the marketing director of the National Association of Professional Organizers. Got questions on how to simplify your life? Contact her at 303-641-4760, liz@alchemyoforder.com or www.alchemyoforder.blogspot.com.
