Simplicity is a kind of corrollary to frugality -- people often talk about both values at the same time.

The blog Unclutterer focuses on clearing out the clutter and getting organized, and as a result it often touches on issues that relate to saving money and being more efficient. Today, it's hosting a long post from writer Gregory Go on the seven benefits of getting rid of your "crap."

Among them: saving money, help others, create more space, and save time. Here's an excerpt:

The stuff you don’t need anymore might be useful for someone else. Donating your unused stuff is a fine way to up your charitable budget without using cash.

Bonus: Giving your stuff away helps the environment. If old toasters, hair dryers, and books are handed around to different people, less stuff would need to be produced. Give your old stuff a new lease on life with a new owner, and save the planet at the same time!

Read the full post, which is full of links and concrete tips, here.

I'm always interested in the idea of getting rid of stuff -- but find myself clinging to things when push comes to shove. Books, in particular, are something I want to save -- I do reread my favorites -- and the suggestions in this post for buying and quickly reselling books sound kind of awful to me. I wonder why that would be -- what kind of pleasure can I really be deriving from the stacks of books all over the place?

What's your baseline, when it comes to clutter? Clear and clean, or overstuffed? Have you found that clutter, in and of itself, is costly?

---

---