Financial Benefits of Decluttering
You may not realize it until you really stop and take a look around your home, but many of us own a LOT of stuff. We’ve got all types of furniture, appliances, electronics, decorative items, books, clothes, you name it.
Have you ever taken a moment to ask yourself, “When’s the last time I used this waffle maker?” Or, “Do I really even like this shirt anymore?”
How many things are in your house right now that you haven’t touched, or even thought about, in 6 months? Maybe even a year? Maybe more?
Well, you can always declutter! You can go through your things and make the choice to get rid of what you don’t really use, want, or need anymore.
I can’t say I declutter on a schedule or anything. But I do declutter whenever I start getting overwhelmed by the amount of space in my home that’s being taken up by stuff. And I did the most thorough declutter ever when I was pregnant. #Nesting. In my personal experience, the physical decluttering of your space also brings about some sort of mental decluttering. I’m not a doctor or psychologist or anything. But psychologically, I definitely feel better and more at peace after I’ve decluttered. So that’s a nice perk!
But this is a personal finance blog, so let’s get down to the dollars and cents of decluttering.
What are the financial benefits of decluttering?
Financial Benefit #1:
You can make some extra cash by decluttering and selling the things you decide to get rid of. As they say, “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.” And these days, there are so many quick and easy options for selling your things:
Facebook Marketplace: If you have a Facebook account, it’s easy enough to take a few pics of your items and create a quick listing on Facebook Marketplace. You can arrange for people to pick up the items or you can mail them.
Offer Up: You can download this app for free, and then it pretty much works the same way as Facebook Marketplace. Take a few pics of your items, and create a listing. Then arrange to either have the buyer pick up the item or mail it to them.
Poshmark: Another free app download, where you take some pics and create a listing. This is a good place to sell your clothes, shoes, accessories, and the like. There’s no arranging for pick-ups though. You mail the items that people buy from you. But it’s still pretty easy and straightforward. Poshmark even provides the shipping label for you.
Tag Sale: Although tag sales are a little more old-fashioned compared to the options mentioned above, don’t sleep on them! They’re still pretty common. I feel like I see a sign for a tag sale just about every weekend once springtime hits. I also see people stopping at them to look around and buy. My husband and I participated in a community tag sale a few summers ago and made enough within a few hours to buy a nice new TV. It was a Saturday well-spent, in our opinion. 😃
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Financial Benefit #2:
Decluttering is a great way to take inventory of what you actually own, so you don’t waste money buying things you didn’t realize you already have. This can happen with everything from food to clothes.
Isn’t it kind of annoying when you buy olive oil at the grocery store, and then you later realize you still have more than enough olive oil in the cabinet? It was just hiding behind a bunch of other stuff.
Or how about when you have an event to go to and you’re convinced you have nothing to wear to it? So, you go shopping for a new outfit. Meanwhile, you had exactly what you needed in your closet all along, you just forgot about those perfect pieces because they were squished between other clothes. If you can’t spot them immediately, it’s like they’re not even there.
Here’s where decluttering comes in handy. As you go through and get rid of the things you no longer want or need, you’ll simultaneously take notice of what you can use. When you clear out your spaces -- whether it be your closet, the fridge, or that kitchen junk drawer -- everything becomes visible. And you stop spending money on things you don’t need...because you already own them!
Conclusion
Decluttering doesn’t just have organizational benefits. It has financial benefits too! Take some time to declutter your space, and it can make you money and save you money. You can sell the things you don’t want anymore for a little extra cash. And you can avoid accidentally wasting money buying things you already had hidden away in your house somewhere. It’s a win, win!
Do you know of any other helpful apps or ways to sell your used items for some cash? Share in the comments below!
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