The Financial Cost Of "Someday" Stockpiling

These last few weeks I have been gearing up for a yard sale. I have already been decluttering on a regular basis for the last year and a half, so I was afraid I would find little to sell. At the same time, I wanted this to be our best yard sale to date since I want to do all that I can to help our family prepare financially for the big family trip we are planning to take in the new year.

In the end, we hauled four truckloads worth of stuff to the location of the community-wide rummage we were taking part in.

As I was hauling items to sell out of various locations throughout the house I noticed a trend.

A lot of the items were what I like to call “someday” stockpile items.

Someday I will have time to scrapbook again so I should save these supplies.

(never mind that I switched over to using free Shutterfly codes to make photo books years ago)

Someday I will get around to locker hooking again and I will need this yard sale bought material.

Someday we might go back to tent camping and these lanterns will be needed then.

Someday perhaps our town will get another squash court and then my husband will put his squash racquet to use again.

The Financial Cost Of “Someday” Stockpiling

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Perhaps it was because I recently listened to The Life-Changing Magic Of Tidying Up, or that I am currently listening to 7: An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess, or it might be the Cozy Minimalist Mom’s course I took the time to sit down and watch recently (update: it is now a book!), but suddenly my eyes were opened that holding onto someday items–even if I did have space for them in my house–was costing me money.

Each year you hold onto someday items they are losing value.

New and improved models for just about everything come out every year and rarely do older items go up in value, at least not the type of items I was holding onto.

Each year you hold onto someday items there is a risk that they will become damaged and therefore lose more value.

I had stuck several someday items in the basement and when I brought them upstairs into better light, I realized some items had mildew growing on them that would not wipe off and I had to toss them. Had I simply sold them right away after realizing I wasn’t going to get to the project they were intended for any time soon I would have been able to recoup some of my initial investment.

Each year you hold onto someday items you have less room and this can lead to storage expenses.

This has not happened to our family–yet. I hope it never does but I know better than to say never, that word always has me eating humble pie. It is so easy to think our homes have become much too small and either spend money getting a bigger home or money on a storage unit for our stuff.

It is much cheaper to buyback things should your someday ever arrive than to pay either storage fees, more rent, or higher mortgage costs. Plus, a larger living area comes with larger heating and cooling bills and often higher property taxes.

Each year you add to your someday item piles your homes become more cluttered, which comes with a hidden price.

I have been decluttering with intention for the past year and a half now and I no longer want to escape my home. Instead, I want stay home and enjoy the haven it is becoming.

Going out is rarely free. Either we spend money on food, entertainment, or more someday stuff.

How to Cure the Someday Stockpile Problem

Thankfully the solution to the financial cost of someday stockpiling is pretty simple.

When you are about to buy something new

If you are about to buy something new (or new to you) no matter how low in cost the item ask yourself, “Can I fit the project this item creates into my calendar within the next 6 months?” Be brutally honest and if the answer is NO, don’t buy it.

Also ask yourself, “How many projects have I already added to my calendar for the next 6 months?” and, “Will adding this item to my list be too much?”

These questions can apply to supplies for a new or existing hobby, buying supplies for a home renovation project, and more.

When you are decluttering

If you are decluttering ask yourself the same question, “Realistically, will I be able to use up these items in the next 6 months?” If the answer is NO, sell the items and get back more now for them than when you finally give up on the idea 3 years from now.

The key is to be BRUTALLY honest about your life and what fits into it and what doesn’t. You also have to be confident in who you are and what you enjoy. Perhaps you bought those sewing supplies because you thought you could become one of those cool moms that sew up cute outfits for their babies, but truth be told sewing just doesn’t interest you.

Asking these questions day in and day out both as you purchase items and as you declutter your home will save you a significant amount of money over time, as well as put money back into your wallet through resale.

Stop stockpiling for someday and start living today clutter-free! Your home and wallet will thank you!

Need a little decluttering support? Join my Snail Pace Clutter Removers Facebook group.

Use This Guide To Help Rid Your Home Of Your Someday Stock Pile

This list will help you toss 30 different types of items from different areas of your home. Once completed, you should have perhaps hundreds of items that you can resell at a yard sale. Not into yard sales? Donate the items you find with the aid of this list and enjoy the reward of a clutter-free home. Grab your copy here!

3 Decluttering Plans That Will Help You Rid Your Home Of Clutter:

Feel like you would love to get rid of the stress your cluttered home is causing you, but you simply don’t know how you could squeeze time to declutter into your already cram-packed life?

I recommend taking Make Over Your Mornings and/or Make Over Your Evenings. These are 15 day, video-driven courses that come with a workbook for you to complete. Each day’s lesson consists of a five-minute video, five minutes of reading and a five-minute workbook activity.

The information I learned in the Make Over Your Evenings course gave me 30 minutes each and every morning without getting up earlier. The Makeover Your Mornings course is just as full of great time-saving advice that can help you carve out time to rid your house of clutter and finally make your home the haven you know it could be.

Short on time and money? No problem! Sign up for the FREE 5 Days To A Better Morning Challenge and learn how to spend your morning in a way that will bring calm to the rest of your day (and you don’t have to get up earlier to do it).

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