How Can Decluttering & Organizing Lead to Financial Benefits?

Updated: Jun 11, 2024

Did you know that physical clutter can have a negative impact on your personal finances?

Think about the bag you carry around: How much more stuff do you inevitably carry around with you if your bag is big vs small?

I keep thinking about Erykah Badu's song "Bag Lady", which is a great example of someone's physical baggage being compared to their mental state. She isn't singing about makeup, Bobby pins, hair ties, cleaning wipes, hand sanitizer, travel hairbrush, perfume, in-case-you-get-cold socks, scarf, essential oils, toothbrush, travel charger, phone, phone charging cable, pens, credit cards, cash, change, first-aid kit, more comfy shoes, snacks, etc. When you have all of those items on you all the time, you do feel prepared for anything! However, you do devote precious energy to carrying about the well-being of those items vs other precious things for which one could devote that energy. Erykah Badu is really singing about one's mental baggage which can be just as draining as physical baggage.

In your home, when you are not particularly taking stock of what you have, you have more of a tendency to impulse purchase because it's just the more convenient thing to do at the time. It becomes very difficult to keep track of your belongings which causes you to overspend. To take it a step further, all of this physical clutter causes a mental state of the need for relaxation and focus. Therefore, it could lead to the "need" for a very exorbitant vacation. You deserve it, after all!

Think about when you plan for a vacation for which you have little time to prepare or pack. You end up over packing in order to be prepared for anything, but mainly because you just don't have time to truly plan and organize specific outfits that make sense for your plans and the weather you are going to encounter. So, you've just spent a ton of money for a vacation you feel you desperately need and pack (and sometimes BUY) as many items you feel will allow you to be prepared for EVERYTHING! Here you come - with clothes for every possible season and occasion that may be thrown at you during your stay. We all know the feeling of evaluating what you packed for vacation and getting annoyed at yourself for overpacking and having to lug it all back home with you!

Decluttering leads to:

Confidence about what you already own and truly need or don't need. You usually find you have more than enough and can ask yourself if the mental baggage that comes with purchasing more is truly worth it.
Focusing on financial goals vs spending time purchasing new items
Saving and/or making money - Can you spend time figuring out what can be sold vs a new purchase? Put that new money away into a high interest savings account (link to article) PLUS save money by NOT making a new and most likely unnecessary purchase.
Less stuff in your home leads to cheaper maintenance costs - less cleaning supplies, water, energy costs. That's more money to put into investments or saving.
Less overall stress!