THE HIGH COST OF CLUTTER (PART 2) Why the Junk in Your Life can Cost You Wealth by David LeGrand

This subject is being presented in three parts:

1. Why we are clutter-bugs. (Last week) – Not sure if we want to remove
2. Why it costs us so much. (This issue) to prevent dating our magazine.
3. How to deal with it. (Next week)

The 80-20 RULE

The more we keep, the less we use because it is difficult to find it.

80% of the FILES you use are in 20% of the space.

80% of the clothes you wear are in 20% of the space.

You use 20% of your:

• Recipes
• Medicine in cabinet
• Cosmetics
• Tools in your shop

So we consistently stumble over 80% of all the stuff in the way to try to function each day because we are sentimental and want to keep the past alive.

CHEER UP. It gets WORSE!

What does CLUTTER COST YOU?

Everything you own costs you money, time and energy.

1. Storage space in a home is 40% of the rent or payment
2. What does it cost you to pay for it, clean it, store it, insure it, worry about it, move it, hide it, apologize for it and argue over it?

3. It robs you of freedom.
4. It robs your time—you could be having fun, doing the

things you really want to do with the people you love.

5. Hundreds of cheerful playing children smother to death

each year in discarded junk appliances and containers.

6. Thousands die painfully from old poisons and cleaners.

Thousands more die in fires from flammables,

carelessly stored solvents and fuels or from bad

smoking habits.

7. Many a car accident happens because of objects in

cars that distract the operator.

8. Over half the illnesses in the USA are mentally and

emotionally induced, and many are caused by worry

over JUNK.

Quoting Don Aslett:

“I’ve seen companies who refuse to change communication systems and sales methods corner themselves into bankruptcy.

I’ve seen owners of outgrown buildings lose life savings.

I’ve watched mothers, fathers and grandparents miss trips and other life-enhancing experiences because they wouldn’t loose their death grip on their junk.

Our refusal to surrender worthless, harmful worn-out things keeps us from growing and maturing.”

Too often we confuse ownership with companionship not realizing that things change and lose their value, and we don’t need them anymore. We hang on at the peril of our physical, mental, emotional, social and spiritual lives.

GROUND ZERO

You have arrived at ground zero when everything in your physical environment is there because you consciously determined it would be there.

Cleaning clutter is a process of assessing all the things in your environment in terms of the practical purposes they serve.

Things that make you feel good, function better and contribute to the quality of your life can stay—all else goes!

How do you judge value?

Don’t be like the father who had four antique guns worth about $5,000 each. When his daughter reached college-age the family had no way to pay $5,000 a year to see their musically-talented daughter fulfill her education and her dream. She never did, and the father kept those old guns around until he died. Then, the kids divided them up, sold them, bought cars, couches and partied. His daughter could have been a living inspiration for all his posterity; his guns ended up valueless.

OK! WHAT DO I DO ABOUT ALL THIS?

Realize that change brings discomfort because it challenges your VALUES

You collect clutter not because you are a bad person, but because you have bad systems or have made poor value judgments.

ARE YOU READY?

If you are really ready to do what it takes to make the change, be sure to catch part 3

in the next issue; a clear, simple and practical plan to rid yourself of CLUTTER!

UNTIL THEN…

In the meantime prepare yourself by repeating this affirmation daily: “I am delightfully and wonderfully enjoying my new clutter-free life.”