Home Organization and How It Can Save You Money

| August 22, 2013

How many times did you have to run to the store to buy something that you swear you had bought in the past or how many times you opened your refrigerator and that smell of food gone bad crossed your path and made you realize how bad your meal planning was? Well, if you can find yourself in those situations, don?t worry as you are not alone. ?Every day thousands of Americans admit paying late fees because they couldn?t find the invoice in the middle of an endless amount of paperwork. Below are some tips on how to get you and your life organized, and believe me, you will be surprised about how much money you will save simply by being organized.

Be Clutter Free! ? First and foremost, you need to perform a spring cleaning on each room of your home and let everything that is broken or ripped beyond repair go. If you do decide to keep some of your clutter, move it out of the house and into a storage unit like the one seen by visiting this site. Items that are out of style can be donated or sold at a consignment store. ?Stop holding onto that old pair of jeans from 12 years ago waiting for you to lose weight. If you haven?t been able to wear something in over a year, it?s time to let it go. In the kitchen and in the bathroom, discard everything that is expired including cosmetics. In your office start by recycling all magazines that are over 3 months old and haven?t been opened yet. Yesterday?s newspaper should also go to the recycled bin along with all expired coupons and junk mail.

Get Organized! ? After your spring cleaning is done and all the unnecessary items are gone, it?s time to go over your belongings and start organizing them. If you don?t know where to begin, start with the smaller spaces as it will make you feel less overwhelmed. Don?t be surprised if you find a DVD in your bathroom or your bedroom?s TV remote control in your office. During this process you will get everything back where they belong to. Remember, the main goal here is to make sure you know what you have so you can make smarter purchases instead of overspending in an unnecessary shopping spree. After all, why should you buy another roll of duct tape if you have already 5 in your home?

Stop Wasting! Use what you have ? Keep all of the toiletries you acquired at hotels together and used them all before buying more. If you have a handful of shampoo samples, use them instead of spending money to buy a new one. Do the same thing with your cosmetics, medicine, office supplies, clothes, and food. You can save hundreds of dollars simply by doing this. In the kitchen, make a seven day meal plan. Shop twice a month, cook every other day, and double each recipe to turn 7 meals into 14 over the period of two weeks.

Bargain! ? Call your cable company, cell service provider, and even your insurance agent, to make sure you are getting the best plan available and if you find a better deal elsewhere, don?t be afraid of switching over. After all it?s your money.

Organize your Finances ? Getting all of your finances in order by sorting thru an enormous mountain of receipts, bills-to-be-paid, overlooked notices, and an endless amount of paper to be filed is probably the most time consuming part of your home organizing process and yes, it can be boring but it is essential and it must be done; so, no excuses please!

Make a list of your earnings and your expenses and create a monthly budget.
If you are in debt, develop a plan to pay it off. Talk to a financial advisor if necessary.
Set up a receipt management system to track and categorize expenses. I personally use excel to log all of my expenses on a weekly basis. This way it?s easy to sort which receipts I should keep and which ones I should shred (yes, shred as nothing leaves they house with my name on it).
Establish a bill paying system to stop late fees and unnecessary charges. Besides saving you money, being on time with your payments helps your credit rating.

Stop Procrastinating! ?? Use empty containers to store office supplies and if your schedule doesn?t allow you to go over your paperwork daily, develop the habit of every day, after you open your mail, you put it into the proper bin: take action, file, and shred. At the end of week, go thru each entire bin entirely (no excuses).

VK Sustainable Concepts? Principal Andrea Vollf, LEED AP ID+C, is a registered interior designer and sustainability professional with over fifteen years of experience in the interior design and marketing industries. Ms. Vollf is an active member of the U.S. Green Building Council – Illinois Chapter, with in?depth knowledge of all aspects of Sustainability ? Social, Environmental and Economic. Connect with Andrea on Google+, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Pinterest.