Decluttering My Way to a Richer Life

Yep. I’ve got the urge again. Every 6 months or so the garbage bags come out and I start clearing out more ‘stuff’. As the years pass, my attachment to things just seems to get less and less, as my search for more genuine richness in life’s experiences grows.

My husband gets a little concerned as I dwindle away at our belongings, and start mentioning tiny houses every now and then in conversations. I’ll admit, there is something romantic and purist about the idea of packing a few boxes of essentials and moving to a minimalist shack in the hills. But for now, I’ve made peace with the fact that this is our family home, and I’m determined to clear out as much clutter as my husband and children will allow!

Just because I love a challenge, November for me is decluttering month. I’ve set myself the target of getting rid of 30 items a day for the 30 days of the month. Each night after the children are in bed, I’ve been arming myself with the head torch and attacking one cupboard, wardrobe, or room. So far, it’s been tougher than I thought. My previous rampages have not left quite so much useless stuff around as I thought! We’ve said goodbye to the dishwasher (we never used it and I wanted the cupboard space), more appliances, clothes galore, glassware, almost finished bottles of alcohol, toys, linen, books and bags of ‘rubbish’. And I’m only at day 12. Daily conversations continue as to whether I will be allowed in the shed. Update pending!

For me, clearing out the ‘stuff’ seems to give me more mental and physical space, and more energy. With that comes the opportunity to devote my attention to those other projects or pursuits that matter, but don’t seem to be able to make it to the top of the priority list. Sounds pretty good right? But what I’ve found interesting, and somewhat unexpected, is the financial flow on effects of decluttering. It’s seems counterintuitive, but decluttering can actually lead to more money in your pocket and here’s how:

You need less space – There was absolutely a time when I just inherently thought that a family of four NEEDS three bedrooms and a guest room, a family room, a study, a living room, a dining room. I remember moving in to rental houses and actually buying furniture to fill rooms. Now I’m content with what I have. Some well meaning guests will still often suggest we extend our home, but if it’s feeling too small, my new solution is to chuck some more stuff out! The hundreds of thousands saved from not upsizing our home or extending, is far better used to reduce the hours we work each week or for family travels in the future.

You realise you need less things than you thought – Really assessing everything you own and whether it has any use or adds any value to your life has made me so much more aware of how little I truly need. With less needs comes less purchases. With less purchases comes more money saved towards what does matter to you.

You know what you have already, and what you don’t – Before delving in to the linen cupboard, I thought we needed some new towels and sheets. After I delved in to linen cupboard, I threw out 6 towels. Bang – I saved myself a shopping trip and a hundred bucks.

You are more inclined to think before you buy – Without a doubt, I am SO much more mindful when it comes to purchases now. I’ve worked so hard to clear my home of clutter, I don’t want to bring any more in! I really think before I buy something. And quite often these days I have talked myself out of a purchase even before I have made it to the shops (which is awesome for me – I detest shopping centres and save myself a few hours of my oh so precious time!).

You can actually make money from decluttering – This round of decluttering we are passing a lot of the items to charities or friends and have only bothered to advertise a few things which should earn us a few hundred dollars pocket money, but in the past we have literally pocketed thousands of dollars from selling stuff we don’t use anymore. Our last decluttering adventure funded a new ‘made to last’ BBQ. If you have the time and the energy, don’t discount what your useless stuff might be worth to someone else.

Less stress means less ‘feel good’ purchases – We’ve all done it… ‘treated’ ourselves to a new pair of shoes, a meal out, or a new fishing rod after a stressful crappy week (for the record, I have never purchased a fishing rod as a result of a stressful week – that was an attempt to include the men of my household!). Reducing the clutter in our home without a doubt has reduced my stress levels and I’m convinced this has a financial flow on effect for our budget.

You will save time – And as Richard Branson said ‘Time is the new money’. Smaller house, less stuff, less things to clean, to tidy, less time looking for stuff. Less ‘time saving’ things to buy or employ – cleaners, gardeners, take away food. More time for the good stuff – whatever your ‘good stuff’ might be! Or paid work, if you prefer! I’m really looking forward to decluttering our home office. I would hate to think how much time I’ve wasted looking for paperwork because of just too much unnecessary stuff there and no systems.

And finally,

You realise how much you have – Now that’s real richness isn’t it. That realisation that you are so frigging lucky to have all you could possibly need plus some.

 

I’d love to hear about your experiences with decluttering. How has it changed your life and do you think it’s helped you financially?