Serina Bird: How decluttering can save you thousands
Decluttering has taken off during the pandemic and spring is the perfect time to continue the trend. Here’s how getting rid of the stuff you don’t need can save you big bucks.
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Decluttering has been a national pastime during COVID and spring is the perfect time to continue the trend. When you have spent weeks – or months – at home it’s easy to notice how much unnecessary “stuff” there is around you.
Birthday presents, Christmas presents, stocking fillers, op-shop finds, garage sale treasures, online purchase bought at sales, retail therapy, group buying parties to support a friend – in our modern lives, there are plenty of reasons we might end up with a lot of stuff. Even as a frugalista, I have too much stuff!
And as we go through different stages of life, our stuff changes. Do I still need that tiny 00000 onesie my premmie baby – now an 11-year-old – once wore? Or the boxes of Pokemon cards that he thought were really cool five years ago? The giant stuffed Minion toy my boys used to cuddle as toddlers? My textbooks from university – and if I’m honest, also high school? Those books in Mandarin and German I thought I might try to read one day? There are all sorts of things that no longer reflect where my family and I are now.
It might seem hard to part with stuff. You might want to keep things “just in case” you decide to have another child, your kids remember long-abandoned toys (so much Toy Story guilt, what if the toys have feelings?), games you played with your brother or sister growing up, and things that hold memories. But today I’m going to share seven ways that you can save money by decluttering the things that you no longer need in your life and it’s going to rock your world. Yep, part with that stuff and watch the money fly in.
PAY LESS RENT ON YOUR STUFF
According to decluttering and organising coach, Lauren Winzar, most Aussies spend a fortune on storage – and they still don’t have room at home to live as they intend. She challenges her clients by asking “how much rent does your stuff owe you?” Stop spending on storage, rent or mortgage money for your stuff – only keep what you need.
USE YOUR CLEANED-OUT SPACE TO EARN CASH
Do you have a spare room filled with junk? I used to have one of those. I cleaned it out, donated items through my Buy Nothing Project group and ran it as an Airbnb. Pre COVID it rented at $100 a night. While we only rented it every second weekend, that still gave us an extra $5200 a year – which paid for our splurges such as ski trips and cruises. Holiday spending money sorted!
FIND MONEY
It’s easy to leak money – literally. Do you have coins or notes in the dashboard of your car, underneath your sofa cushions, in trouser pockets (yep, I’ve washed some money in my time), or receipts that you could use for medical or other refunds? Clean up and you will find cash – I guarantee it! Lauren Winzar said a member of her group program recently discovered a $100 gift voucher she had forgotten while decluttering. How much money could you find?
Find things you have lost
Growing up, I remember my mum telling me to “clean up my room” if I complained that I had lost something. Perhaps unsurprisingly, she was right: when my room was a mess, it was easy to lose things. You mightn’t even know what you have lost until you start decluttering, but I guarantee you will find something of value.
REDUCE DUPLICATES
Are you habitually buying things “just in case” when you really have that same item at home already? It happens all the time. When your home is filled with clutter and there isn’t a logical place for things, your stuff proliferates, and you end up spending a fortune on things you already have. A friend recently shared that she discovered five jars of cinnamon during a clean-up.
REDUCE STRESS AND EXPERIENCE BETTER HEALTH
Are you going to work just so that your stuff can live in the manner to which it would like to? Think about it. Where would you live if you didn’t have so much stuff? Are you spending your life commuting and spending a fortune in lost time and energy just to have a big place for your stuff? Declutter your life and spend more time for the things that matter – your health and wellbeing, time with your family, reading and learning or even a side hustle aligned with your values.
GIVE AND RECEIVE
Rather than holding on to things that no longer bring you joy, give them to people who will love them. This year, I’m on a quest to give away at least 1000 items with intention. While I am doing it to declutter, I’ve noticed that I am attracting a lot of amazing things back. Whether it’s through being part of a sharing group such as the Buy Nothing Project, because friends give me things in return or just through building relationships, I’m literally richer through the experience of giving. For instance, this week I gave a jigsaw puzzle to a lady who did the exact same puzzle with her grandmother years ago. Knowing that really made me smile. Meanwhile, a neighbour regularly gives me jigsaw puzzles and another friend gifts me high-end fashion clothes (from a friend in Melbourne). The flip side of giving is receiving; when you give from your heart and receive with gratitude, it creates magic.
Originally published as Serina Bird: How decluttering can save you thousands