The Cost of Clutter

by taosaur via Flickr

Have you ever stopped to think how much your clutter costs you?  Most people don’t even think about the monetary consequences of their belongings.

The blog Becoming Minimalist, they talk about the statistics of clutter.

Some illuminating numbers:

• Harris Interactive reports that 23 percent of adults say they pay bills late (and incur fees) because they lose them.
• If you rent a storage facility to store your excess belongings, you’re contributing to a $154 billion industry – bigger than the Hollywood film business!
• 1 in 11 American households rent a self-storage space and they spend over $1000 a year in rent.
• It costs an average of $10/square foot to store items in your home.

I like numbers because they can help me make quick comparisons. I can use these numbers to decide whether something is worth storing or not. Although it doesn’t specify, I think the $10/square foot cost is probably per year.  It’s just an average so you should calculate your own cost.