Don't let clutter control you.
Unless you're a die-hard minimalist, you probably have clutter around your house — bookshelves overflowing with books you swear you'll get around to, your great-great-great-grandmother's china that's been boxed up longer than you've been alive, or clothes that haven't fit right for years.
Clutter can be annoying, but a study has shown it's a bigger problem than previously thought.
Self-storage companies Storable and SpareFoot partnered to analyze how clutter affects the lives of Americans, from their mental health to financial costs.
According to Storable and SpareFoot's survey, over half of Americans (54%) dedicate between 100 to 500 square feet for storage — anywhere from a hall closet to an entire studio apartment. It can easily get out of control, and "one in 10 Americans cannot park in their garages at all due to excessive storage."
Your clutter isn't just costing you valuable space — it's costing you money, too. Storable estimated that, "with the current U.S. median home price hovering around $227 per square foot, a household dedicating 300 square feet to storage is effectively paying $68,000 in real estate value to house their belongings."
Worse still, "this number jumps to $113,500 for those sacrificing 500 square feet to clutter."
Clutter comes with other hidden costs, like buying duplicates of misplaced items, purchasing bins and shelves to contain the mess, and losing out on opportunities to use the space for hobbies, businesses, or rent.
Whether clutter is taking over your closet or your two-car garage, a space in disarray can wreak havoc on a homeowner's mental state. Nearly 75% of the survey respondents reported "experiencing stress or anxiety when confronted with cluttered areas in their homes."
There's also an environmental toll. The more we buy, the more we throw away — Americans toss out millions of tons of furniture, appliances, and textiles each year.
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If you find comfort in your clutter, consider storing it somewhere else, like a self-storage facility. You'll save money and preserve some peace of mind, too.
Storable hopes this information, along with organization strategies, will help Americans convert space used for storage back to areas that can be fully utilized — and stop them from wasting money.
"Ultimately, addressing clutter isn't just about tidying — it's a financial decision with measurable returns in both dollars saved and well being improved," the company said.
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