the box with a date six months or a year in the future. If that date passes and you’ve never even looked at the items, it’s safe to sell them. After all, at that point the items are no longer an active part of your life and are just taking up space and holding value that you could be putting into saving for the future or reducing debt.
105. D ON ’T R EPLACE C LUTTER WITH M ORE C LUTTER
When you finally do get rid of all of the excess stuff, your home will feel emptier. Don’t use that as an excuse to fill it with more stuff just for the sake of having stuff. Instead, enjoy the space. Spread out some projects that you’ve been thinking of working on. Enjoy more free time now that you don’t have to deal with the clutter. Perhaps you’ll even realize that you don’t need all of the space that you have and look at downgrading your living space, or perhaps bring in a roommate to help share the costs of the rent or the mortgage.
106. A VOID P RINTED D OCUMENTS
Many people get several different statements in the mail, often taking up pages and pages of space. These printed documents come at a price. They take up more space in the trash, increase chances for identity theft, and require more time to deal with. Find out whether you can switch to electronic copies of many of these statements. It’ll reduce the amount of mail you have to deal with (which can decrease trash pickup costs), reduce the potential threat of identity theft, and perhaps also save you the cost of stamps if you can switch to electronic payments as well.
107. T RIM Y OUR M AGAZINE S UBSCRIPTIONS
Another great way to reduce clutter and save money at the same time is to reduce your magazine subscriptions. If you find that you’re not keeping up with a magazine subscription and old issues are stacking up, unsubscribe from the magazine and focus on those you actually read. Not only will this reduce clutter around your home, but it’ll also save you money to invest elsewhere. Another tip: If you hold on to old magazines, go through them and just remove the material from each issue you might use again, then get rid of the issue. It’ll free up space and make it easier for you to find information.
108. B ORROW S TUFF Y OU ’L L O NLY U SE O NCE OR T WICE
If you’re considering buying an item that you’ll only use a few times, look seriously into borrowing opportunities. Not only will this save you money in terms of buying the item, it also doesn’t require the space to keep it around. For media sources, like books and movies and C D s, check out the library. Need some equipment or tools? Ask around the neighborhood (but be willing to lend your own stuff out in return). If you’re close with another person in the area, you can even consider “sharing” significant purchases that you won’t be using simultaneously, like lawn mowers.
109. E VERY T IME Y OU B UY AN I TEM , G ET R ID OF O NE
This is a clever clutter-reduction tactic that keeps you from accumulating stuff and also saves you money. Every time you buy a nonessential item, commit to getting rid of another item you already own. For example, if you decide to buy a nifty new kitchen knife, commit to eliminating another similar knife. If you buy a new book, get rid of a book you already have by giving it to a friend or taking it to a used bookstore. This makes you carefully consider a new purchase and helps to eliminate clutter when you do decide to bring home something new.
110. S TART A “M AIL B ASKET ” AND P ROCESS I T W EEKLY
Clutter can sometimes cause additional problems, such as misplacing a bill in the clutter and having to pay a late fee even though you had plenty of money to pay it. The solution is simple: Get a “mail basket” that collects all mail that you receive, then go through it completely once a week and process everything in it. Throw away any junk, pay any bills, handle any correspondence, and so on. If you successfully empty that mail basket each week,
105. D ON ’T R EPLACE C LUTTER WITH M ORE C LUTTER
When you finally do get rid of all of the excess stuff, your home will feel emptier. Don’t use that as an excuse to fill it with more stuff just for the sake of having stuff. Instead, enjoy the space. Spread out some projects that you’ve been thinking of working on. Enjoy more free time now that you don’t have to deal with the clutter. Perhaps you’ll even realize that you don’t need all of the space that you have and look at downgrading your living space, or perhaps bring in a roommate to help share the costs of the rent or the mortgage.
106. A VOID P RINTED D OCUMENTS
Many people get several different statements in the mail, often taking up pages and pages of space. These printed documents come at a price. They take up more space in the trash, increase chances for identity theft, and require more time to deal with. Find out whether you can switch to electronic copies of many of these statements. It’ll reduce the amount of mail you have to deal with (which can decrease trash pickup costs), reduce the potential threat of identity theft, and perhaps also save you the cost of stamps if you can switch to electronic payments as well.
107. T RIM Y OUR M AGAZINE S UBSCRIPTIONS
Another great way to reduce clutter and save money at the same time is to reduce your magazine subscriptions. If you find that you’re not keeping up with a magazine subscription and old issues are stacking up, unsubscribe from the magazine and focus on those you actually read. Not only will this reduce clutter around your home, but it’ll also save you money to invest elsewhere. Another tip: If you hold on to old magazines, go through them and just remove the material from each issue you might use again, then get rid of the issue. It’ll free up space and make it easier for you to find information.
108. B ORROW S TUFF Y OU ’L L O NLY U SE O NCE OR T WICE
If you’re considering buying an item that you’ll only use a few times, look seriously into borrowing opportunities. Not only will this save you money in terms of buying the item, it also doesn’t require the space to keep it around. For media sources, like books and movies and C D s, check out the library. Need some equipment or tools? Ask around the neighborhood (but be willing to lend your own stuff out in return). If you’re close with another person in the area, you can even consider “sharing” significant purchases that you won’t be using simultaneously, like lawn mowers.
109. E VERY T IME Y OU B UY AN I TEM , G ET R ID OF O NE
This is a clever clutter-reduction tactic that keeps you from accumulating stuff and also saves you money. Every time you buy a nonessential item, commit to getting rid of another item you already own. For example, if you decide to buy a nifty new kitchen knife, commit to eliminating another similar knife. If you buy a new book, get rid of a book you already have by giving it to a friend or taking it to a used bookstore. This makes you carefully consider a new purchase and helps to eliminate clutter when you do decide to bring home something new.
110. S TART A “M AIL B ASKET ” AND P ROCESS I T W EEKLY
Clutter can sometimes cause additional problems, such as misplacing a bill in the clutter and having to pay a late fee even though you had plenty of money to pay it. The solution is simple: Get a “mail basket” that collects all mail that you receive, then go through it completely once a week and process everything in it. Throw away any junk, pay any bills, handle any correspondence, and so on. If you successfully empty that mail basket each week,
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