How Hoarding Costs You Money and How Decluttering Can Help

19 million Americans are labelled as hoarders. That’s a significant number of people who need help getting organized!

Hoarding can negatively affect your finances, which is never a good thing. Today we’ll discuss how to take control of hoarding tendencies and stop the cycle.

How Hoarding Buries You In Debt

So how does an innocent collection of items turn out to be financially destructive?

This is how, it’s because you tend to:

• Lose bills amidst the clutter – bills unpaid equals penalty fees.
• Misplace cheques and even cash.
• Buy things you don’t need.
• Spend money on non-piority items.
• Collect multiple items because if you can’t find what you’re looking for you purchase another one.
• Rent a storage unit for extra space.

These habits can create a financial problem in the long run. Hoarding, even just a little bit, can leave bank accounts empty while homes are filled with unnecessary belongings.

Things go from woe to worse when you start acquiring things beyond your earning capacity and fall into credit card debt. This may cause financial stress and in turn creates a bigger burden in your everyday life.

How Decluttering Can Help You Save In The Long Run

Declutter (verb)
to remove unnecessary items from (an untidy or overcrowded place)

Here are some ways that illustrate how decluttering will help you save money. Decluttering will:

• Stop you from buying the same thing twice.
• Save you space therefore no need to buy storage containers or rent units.
• Help you avoid penalty fines for late bill payments.
• Actually make you money if you are able to sell your excess items.
• Lessen stress and anxiety in your life so you can prioritise what matters.
• Stop impulse buying because you know exactly what you have at home.

Remember that lots of accumulated stuff may carry a big price tag. Start the change now.

Hoarding tendencies can come in many forms.  If you think you have excessive hoarding problems then we encourage you to seek professional help. 

Want Help To Simplify Your Life?

If you:

• Feel overwhelmed
• Have too much stuff
• Have too little time
• Don’t have your priorities in order
• Are drowning in chaos
• Find it hard to think straight because there’s too much on your mind…

Then our next online program is perfect for you. Join our 21 Day Simplify Your Life Challenge.

Take a lovely, long breath – we’re on our way to a simpler, calmer, happier life…

Click here for the details.

A version of this article was originally posted on Get Organized Wizard in 2017.