How reducing clutter decreases your debt

Do you have piles of clothes in your bedroom, mountains of junk in your closets, and stacks of files in your office? If so, you might be more likely to have bills and debts you can't pay. Some experts believe that the more clutter you have, the more debt you're in.

Here's something else clutter and debt have in common:

"Clutter and debt are both great ways to keep ourselves from interacting with others," says Paula Langguth Ryan, author of Bounce Back From Bankruptcy and Giving Thanks: The Art of Tithing. "We often use clutter and debt as protection devices for not having people over, or not going out and doing things with other people."

How Clutter Increases Debt

Debt is financial clutter, and it causes stress the same way material clutter does, says Ryan. When we have material clutter, we often wind up spending more to replace things we can’t find, or purchasing “organizing” assistance - containers, books, even professional help. This increases debt!

When you reduce clutter, you know exactly what you have - nothing ever goes “bad” in the fridge because you forgot it was there. You never have to go out and buy a replacement for something you already have, but can’t find. And often we buy things to make ourselves feel better as a way of avoiding clutter. So, reducing clutter decreases stress, which in turn reduces the compulsion to spend money to “feel better.”

8 Tips for Reducing Clutter

1. Reduce clutter in a way that makes you feel empowered. Don’t try and bite off big chucks if that’s stressful -- make a game of it!
2. Pick one drawer, or one pile, and go through it. Create new piles: Toss, Keep, Give Away.
3. Don’t worry if you don’t know where something is supposed to go right away. Just know it goes in the KEEP pile.
4. Don’t keep anything that isn’t beautiful, useful or something you absolutely love. For papers, if you could find it somewhere else with a few phone calls, toss it.
5. If you do decide to do a big area, or an entire room, or your garage, take EVERYTHING out and start with the empty space, even if it means you create total chaos somewhere else. The results when you’re done will be worth it entirely.
6. Put things where you will think to FIND it, not where you think you should FILE it. If you always go out the same door, then put your phone and your keys right there, on a hook or a shelf, so you know exactly where it is every time.
7. When you use something, put it back where it goes. Create a place for everything.
8. Don’t be afraid to throw things out -- no matter who gave them to you, no matter how much “sentimental” value you think they have. Keep the memories inside your heart and create peace in your space.

Related Articles: 

-- 3 Steps to Improving Your Relationship With Money
-- 5 Ways to Get Rid of Your Debt
-- 4 Ways to Rebuild Financially After Bankruptcy

Laurie Pawlik-Kienlen is a full-time writer and blogger who created and maintains a series of Quips and Tips blogs: Quips and Tips for Successful Writers, Quips and Tips for Achieving Your Goals, and Quips and Tips for Couples Coping With Infertility. She's also the Feature Writer for Psychology Suite101.