Declutter your home and save money

Spend a few minutes poking around your kitchen cupboards and get rid of what you don’t use. You’ll see more clearly what you have on hand and what you need to buy on your next trip to the grocery store. Donate any non-perishable items you won’t use to your local food bank.

Outside of the kitchen, by knowing what you already have and where it is, you won’t waste time searching or money on buying replacements.

When your space is disorganized and clutter is piling up, you may lose track of bills, which can hurt your credit rating if they’re not paid on time. Or you may misplace items like library books. While each book’s late fee may be small, they do add up. Stop paying unnecessary costs by keeping your spaces clear.

Self-storage is a big business since many of us run out of space at home. Ask yourself: If you haven’t used it in over a year, do you really need it? More importantly, is it worth spending money each month to store those unnecessary items? Take some time to go through your home and storage facility to decide what you need to keep. Many organizations would be happy to take donations of your furniture and other household goods.

If your home feels crowded and disorganized, you might find yourself spending less time there. You might decide you can’t cook in your cluttered kitchen, so you spend money eating out. But, what if your home was only filled with things you really enjoyed? You might find yourself wanting to stay in more – instead of eating out.

Books can take up a lot of space. Consider donating books you know you won’t read again. Before buying books in the first place, you could borrow a copy from your local library. Many public libraries now offer digital resources such as audiobooks, e-books and streaming services for movies and TV shows, which saves on subscription services.

Whenever something catches your eye at a store, ask yourself why you want to buy it. Do you need it? Or is it something you want? We all buy things because we want them, but if you’re buying, let’s say, a sweater, only because it’s on sale for 75% off, then leave it at the store.