Being Organized Can Save You Money and Time

Anytime is a good time to be organized. But now it may be more important than ever. Even if you aren’t facing any greater financial challenges than you did last year here are some reasons being organized can save you money and time.

I am a professional organizer and I had a woman call me and say she was sick of all the clutter in her home. It made her depressed and she never wanted to be home. Does this sound familiar?

If you or someone you know avoids being home that means they have to eat out a lot of the time. Money spent in restaurants or at fast food places are much more expensive and not as nutritious as cooking in your own home. Avoiding being home may mean more time in your car using gas driving around.

Being disorganized means people are living out-of-control. They are overwhelmed and living in a wasteful, haphazard way. Clearing clutter can bring their lives back into focus where they can find peace of mind and a sense of well being.

Being disorganized can mean wasting food and overbuying. The way to avoid this is to be organized by having certain places assigned for items in the kitchen. Think of the kitchen as having zones. A zone for baking items, spices all together, baking soda, baking powder, flour, sugar and other ingredients kept together.

All canned goods being kept together on the shelves. To help family members know where to put the cans after a trip to the store you can label the front of the shelves. (Soup, veggies, fruits etc). Have a specific basket for chips so when you stock up there will be a place for them in the cupboard or pantry.

By knowing what is in the refrigerator you won’t be over buying and having food going to waste.

Replacing items that have been “lost” or buried under the clutter is a big money waster because when the item has to be purchased again you are spending money you didn’t need to. By clearing clutter it allows you to see what you have and you don’t need to over buy. It also saves time to know where things are because searching for particular things wastes time and effort.

Another reason to be organized is to avoid paying a premium for things at the last minute because you are up against a deadline. Or having to pay late fees because bills aren’t paid on time or library books aren’t returned on time. Some ways to avoid late fees is to record due dates in a daily planner, sign up for email at the library to receive notices of overdue books before they incur a fine. Plan a certain day of each month to pay bills so you get in a routine and always pay bills on time. Also have a file system to keep bills in so they are all together and organized. I use and recommend Freedom Filer filing system.

We can all save money by being organized now and forever.