This post first appeared on April 24, 2008 as a companion piece to the previous day’s post on how being unorganized costs you money.
Just in the same way that being disorganized can cost you money, being organized can save you money. Take laundry as an example. If you have an organized system in place for doing laundry, then you need fewer clothes, saving money on buying them. If you have fewer clothes, then you need less space to store them. If you need less space to store clothes, then you have more space to store other stuff, lessening the amount of space you need overall to store your stuff. If you need less space overall to store your stuff then you can live in a smaller house or apartment. If you live in a smaller house or apartment, then your rent or mortgage will be lower and you’ll also pay less to heat and light your house. If you pay less to heat and light your house, then you’ll have more money to buy clothes.
Back up, that last part was a joke.
Everything else was true, however. I have a friend who has four boys, ages four to thirteen. She does laundry once a month. She has to have enough clothes to last each child a month, enough space to store the clean clothes, enough floor space to hold the dirty clothes. Admittedly this system works for her, but I can’t help but think that things could be easier if she changed her routine a bit.
I’m currently reading Confessions of an Organized Homemaker and when I’ll review it when I finish. Then I’ll hold a contest, the winner of which will receive the book!
What about you? How does being organized help you save money?
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{ 8 comments }
OK, once a month is INSANE. Kids would grow out of clothes before they wore them four times–insanity! Plus, it would take two weeks to wash a months worth of clothes, thus losing the time savings. Laundry is one of those things that does not get LESS when you ignore it. Vacuuming you can ignore; its about the same every time. But things like laundry and washing dishes just make the same amount–or more–work for yourself.
My sis has 4 kids and laundry is a constant for her; she works and her kids do pitch in (they are all elem school age)but the laundry mountain is always looming. My neighbor w/4 boys washes 2x per week. Her kids get by on less clothes and they always look clean.
I wash on off-peak energy times, which generally means late at night and on the weekends. I try to complete all washing–including having the kids put it away–by Sunday night. Try is the operative word!
I couldn’t agree more that organization saves money! The first thing that comes to my mind is my wedding: I planned it in a highly organized fashion and we saved thousands of dollars! Other than that, I would also point to having an organized pantry as another example off the top of my head: It’s effective to keep on top of your stock and spend money on food only when it’s on sale or you can buy in bulk.
Sarah H.´s last blog post..New Year’s Resolutions – The Key to Success
When I am not organized, I waste money, no matter what. What pisses me off the most is when I buy something I didn't need or already had because I was unorganized.
<abbr>Lucie @ Unconventional Origins´s last blog post..Ringing in the New Year Part I: Get Out of Your Box</abbr>
This is so true. When we moved into a smaller one bedroom apartment (from a larger one bedroom apartment) we had much less closet space. This required a large purge of stuff, but I can’t say I really miss anything.
I think it also helps if you implement a one in, one out rule. If you know that buying a new sweater requires throwing out or giving away and old sweater, won’t you be less likely to spend money on a new sweater?
Once a month? When I had 3 school age kids I did 13 loads per week! It would take forever to do a month’s worth of clothes (even for *one* person) if you were using your own equipment, so I presume she must do a massive laundromat excursion. The problem with that is it’s so incredibly expensive. In just a year you could probably *buy* yourself laundry equipment with what the laundromat costs. Plus it would be exhausting.
It’s far easier to pop in one or 2 loads per day while you’re doing other things.
“If you pay less to heat and light your house, then you’ll have more money to buy clothes. Back up, that last part was a joke.”
Why should that be a joke? Having more money to buy clothes doesn’t mean you need to buy *more* clothes. You could be buying better quality clothes, or even having your clothes tailored just for you. That’s a very European approach to the wardrobe. And they, by the way, launder their clothes less often than we do.
I got by with once per month laundry when I was a student and had no laundry facilities where I rented. These days it wouldn’t be worth it since I hang all my laundry inside to dry. It takes 12 hours to dry clothes in winter. So one load per day is as much as I can accomplish. Better to do a few loads per week, in my particular circumstances.
Kate@LivingTheFrugalLife´s last blog post..January Is A Good Time To…
LOL… when I was in college I could get by doing laundry once every three weeks or so, but now! Ha. And its just me and my husband.
Being organized helps save me money in the grocery store. I know what i have in my pantry, so don't buy what I already have, and by having a menu plan, I buy only what I need, not whatever looks good, and then goes bad before I can use it. Great post!
<abbr>Cowgirl´s last blog post..Economic Downturn</abbr>
Being organized about paying bills on time will save you those whopping late fees!
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