Get Rid of Clutter to Gain an Hour a Day

Clutter costs the average American nearly an hour a day. We share four tips to get rid of clutter, so you have time for more important things.

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Spotify | RSS | More

We discuss the high cost of clutter on The BIGG Success Show. Here’s a summary of that discussion.

We recently fell back an hour. It made us wonder how we could gain an hour every day. So we opened the BIGG vault of timeless treasures. We found a Newsweek article which cited this stunning statistic:

The average American loses nearly an hour (55 minutes) every day searching for things they can’t find.

Clutter can be costly in other ways as well:

If bills don’t get paid on time, there may be additional late fees.

If appointments are missed, relationships can be damaged.

In some places, clutter is so pervasive that people have been injured when they tripped over it!

There is hope. If you’d like to add an hour to every day of your life, rid of clutter. Here are four tips:

Use it or lose it

If in doubt, throw it out!

Many people approach their de-cluttering project from the opposite mindset. They keep it unless they know they won’t use it.

You’ll never eliminate clutter until you get past keeping things you MIGHT need SOME day.

Marie Kondo is THE expert on tidying. She suggests that, when considering whether to keep something, you ask:

“Does this item spark joy?”

If not, get rid of it.

Here’s another way to make a decision: Apply the six-month rule.

Have you used it in the last six months?

Do you KNOW that you’ll use it in the next six months?

If the answer is “No”, then lose it!

Do you stress over money? Who doesn’t? Let the Financial Freedom Tool ease your mind by pinpointing opportunities to improve your financial picture. Take control, so you feel empowered to move ahead with confidence and clarity. Learn more at FinancialFreedomTool.com.

A place for everything, everything in its place

Once you’re done de-cluttering, you should have a lot fewer things to put away. But that’s the thing – you HAVE to put the remaining things away.

Find a place for everything you keep. Then keep it there.

It’s the old “put it back” rule. When you use something, put it back immediately after you’re done with it. Make it a habit.

Call on a pro

You may not be the “do-it-yourself” type. Or maybe you just want some professional help.

Check out the National Association of Professional Organizers. At their site, you can search for organizers in your area. You’ll also find some great tips on hiring a specialist.