Clutter Costs Money – Part 2

Are you spending money to store your clutter?  Storing anything costs money, but storing clutter is a waste of money.

If you rent a storage unit, what’s in it?  Is it full of old things you don’t need?  Have you filled it with boxes of stuff that don’t fit in your house because the house is too cluttered?  Some of my clients have storage units with boxes that haven’t been unpacked from when they moved several years ago.  When I ask what’s in the storage unit, most people don’t know.  Is it really worth the monthly fee to store stuff you haven’t needed for several years?

You may be thinking, “I don’t pay for a storage unit, so this doesn’t apply to me.”  We all pay for storage.  Every square foot of our living space has a cost.  If you’re using some of your living space to store clutter, it costs you per square foot.  If your 2000 square foot house is worth $200,000, the price of each square foot of your house is $100.  Is your clutter worth $100 per square foot.  When you buy or rent a larger home because it has more storage space, you are paying more so you can keep more stuff.

When I see homes with cars parked in the driveway instead of the garage I always wonder about the value of the stuff in the garage.  Is the clutter in the garage worth more than the $30,000 automobile quickly depreciating in the elements? In most cases, the total value of the clutter is a pittance compared to the worth of the car.

Think about the cost of storage and how much you are spending to store unwanted and unneeded items.  Is it worth it?              

Copyright© 2019 Elizabeth Tawney Gross, Organizing For Everyday, LLC