In Exchange for Clutter
When you hear the word clutter, what thoughts come to mind? Piles of paper? Overstuffed closets? S-t-u-f-f e-v-e-r-y-w-h-e-r-e? Clutter is not generally used as a happy word and has a negative effect on our lives, whether we are aware of it or not. There have been numerous case studies and research linking clutter to stress. Stress permeates into nearly every aspect of our being, from our health to our finances to our relationships. And every item that contributes to what we call clutter has a price attached to it in one form or another.
Have you ever spent time looking for your keys, eyeglasses, or your phone? This could turn into one very long list. It has been reported that a person will waste one year of life looking for things. Waste. Think about the last time you were looking for something. Was it a peaceful stroll through the house with a sense of playful curiosity wondering where the thing could be? Or was it a panic-driven, curse-laden, frantic search, throwing open drawers, rummaging through them, and digging pockets inside out? How much time did you spend on this most rude interruption? Did it make you late for whatever it was you were supposed to be doing? Time marches on as they say, it waits for no one. Once it’s gone, it’s gone. For most, time is a highly valuable, precious commodity. We just cannot seem to get enough of it. How much of it are you willing to part with in exchange for clutter?
The Cost of Clutter
In practical terms, physical stuff takes up space. As consumers we are pretty good at filling up all the available spaces in our homes, leaving no empty surface behind. Research suggests that it costs $10 per square foot to store stuff in our homes. What is the square footage of your home? Does that sound like a fair and reasonable price to pay?
Our mental and emotional health is at stake when we feel the overwhelm of those piles of paper, overstuffed closets, and covered countertops. Those are things that we invited into our homes, whether directly purchased, accepted as a gift, inherited, or acquired by other means. In some cases, the ‘things’ scattered throughout our homes are the cause of embarrassment and shame. I am not talking about situations of hoarding disorder; that falls into a completely different category. The clutter referred to here is about the everyday abundance we live with that causes the common refrains, ‘There’s too much stuff’, and ‘There’s stuff everywhere’. It is the everyday clutter that causes CHAOS, known as Can’t Have Anyone Over Syndrome. It would just be too embarrassing to let people into our real-life homes. Clutter is a stimulant for our brains causing stress and anxiety. The mental and emotional toll it takes on us perhaps cannot be measured. But how priceless to be free of it!
Rather than part with our stuff, we sometimes opt to contribute to the nearly $40 billion dollar storage industry occupying well over one billion square feet of rentable storage space. On average one in ten people store some portion of their belongings in a storage facility. More often than not, storage renters are homeowners with attics, basements, and garages – and no place to put anything. Using the Boston area market as an example, the average price per storage unit is just over $100 per month or $1200 per year. And while there are often very valid reasons for needing offsite storage, these rental agreements can go on for years. When it is finally time to clear out the unit, there’s little recollection of what went in there in the first place. Out of sight, out of mind. Out of money.
Time to Decide About All That Clutter
There are lots of reasons why clutter accumulates in our homes. Not having enough time to tend to it all, and not knowing where to start are common reasons for the buildup. Perhaps clutter is merely the result of not having organizing systems in place rather than not having adequate storage space. All these things stored in our homes or in rented spaces represent procrastination and our inability to decide just what to do with it all. Maybe getting organized sounds like an expense, but think about how much the clutter - of all kinds - is costing you. We know for sure it causes us stress and gobbles up our time and money.
How much is that worth to you?