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A reader named Ellen emailed me about how she saves money by keeping items for later use.
I call it re-boxing versus re-gifting. Following every holiday season, I stow away any perfectly good boxes instead of sending them off to recycling. (I usually hide them from my hubby because he’ll want to throw them out–stat.)
My box stash comes in handy for next year’s gift load, not to mention other gift-giving occasions that arise. (During these times, when hubby is on the hunt for a box, I tap into my secret stash with that ‘I told you so’ look in my eye!)
I also save any festive bags that I may receive, knowing next year that I will reuse them, as well. Why spend money to buy boxes and bags when you can save the green by being green.
Ellen’s email got me thinking. Are there things around the house that I throw out or recycle that could save me money if I kept them? Could my empty wine bottles be turned into vases? Old comics used for wrapping presents? Food containers saved for leftovers?
Yes, yes, and yes. But just because something can be reused doesn’t mean you’re saving money by keeping it. What it really comes down to is how much it costs to hold onto something. I broke down the cost of saving something into five areas:
1. Space cost – do you have the room to hoard? Is it worth it to stuff your closets, garage or even rent space to hold everything?
2. Mental cost - do you have room in your brain to remember everything you’ve tucked away? I know I feel better about myself when I’m able to weed out unneeded possessions.
3. Organizational cost – do you want to spend the time organizing and keeping your stuff neat? Otherwise you’ll forget what you have and buy anew.
4. Partner cost – if saving stuff drives your partner/roomate/spouse crazy, is this a battle worth fighting? Or do you want to hide stuff, like Ellen does?
5. Replacement cost – how many dollars does the item cost new?
For me, the most important costs are No. 3 and No. 5. I’m fairly organized and I have a decent amount of storage space, so I often hoard smaller, high-value items like toiletries and clothes. I try to buy ahead of need (hence my $8.48 purchase of a sports bra at Target last week) because when I eventually need it, most of the time I will be able to find it in my closet. What about you?
January 14th, 2010 at 12:26 pm
You raise some great points! I am a huge re-purposer… recently received tins filled w/specialty chocolates that I am going to recover w/left over scrapbooking paper. Think filling them w/hotcocoa, etc will make great future gift.
Am also a big believer in buying ahead of need, storing up chicken when it is on sale for example; so essentially I am never paying full price for an item I use regularly.
As side note: Have you checked out the new app Whatsinmy? It helps you organize & keep track of what’s in your freezer, though I hope they will come up w/ other app options for closets, toy boxes, etc. Wonder if something like this could reduce the organizational & mental cost components?
January 14th, 2010 at 12:48 pm
Organized Hoarding is what I would like to call it. I remember always making fun of my mother for all the ‘trinkets’ that she would save. She was raised during the depression and was very poor and had very little. She would save bows, gingerly open her gifts so that she could reuse the paper again. When she passed away we had the task of cleaning out the house – oh boy…you’ve never seen so many boxes of chicken bouillion or brown pants…go figure! She had a zillion pairs of earrings that she would store in Whitman’s chocolate trays. Well the apple doesn’t fall from the tree. I have learned how to make my hoarding organized. I think twice before I save something and my husband keeps me in check. I like to have a well stocked pantry so I will buy quantity of certain things especially if they are on sale and more so if I have coupons. I volunteer at a thrift store where treasures are abundant. I will purchase only items that I think I will be successful in reselling. One tip I could offer is to keep things visuable so that you know what you have. Keep a notebook that you carry with you or is accessible daily that holds things you have, things you need or ideas you might have. Enjoy!
January 14th, 2010 at 2:02 pm
I’m of the opinion that no amount of money “saved” is worth the amount of mental anguish that hoarding costs. I used to hang on to every single thing that I might have use for, or that reminds of of a good memory. That took up so much space that I didn’t have room for “new” memories and experiences and was constantly stressed out about my space being too cluttered and jam-packed. Now, I throw out most things that I won’t be using in the near (next few weeks) future. If I’m having trouble letting go, I reevaluate on a daily or weekly basis and if something’s on my mind too much it means I’m uneasy about keeping it, so I talk myself into letting it go. I guess if someone has ample storage space and is very organized and can locate every little thing that they hoard, then more power to them.
I’m still a bit of a hoarder, but in a much better place than I was before!
January 14th, 2010 at 10:58 pm
I save only things that it irks me to buy, like perfectly good tissue paper and gift bags. Why spend an extra $5 on a gift for the wrapping if I have great ones in my coat closet? (The space isn’t an issue b/c they fold flat and take up one shelf in there…) I also save jars to repurpose during flower blooming months as gifts for my friends, filling them with vases… nothing says “country” like a bouquet of roses in a pickle jar! And since I use these items, there isn’t a space issue (for long)… and I dedicate space (kitchen shelves, closet shelves) to these items. Be organized in your hoarding/saving!
January 15th, 2010 at 9:34 am
I always save the gift bags, they are perfectly re-usable AND I reuse the tissue paper the stores wrap your new clothes in for those gift bags-double reuse!
January 15th, 2010 at 10:52 pm
OK. I’m operating under the premise “if you know it’s a problem, it’s really not a problem!!”. Kidding aside. I do hoard tissue paper (it can be ironed with a dry, warm iron), boxes, and gift bags. BUT I keep them in certain containers. If the Rubbermaid container is full – the overflow is recycled or donated. I have plenty of organized storage so buy food, kids’ shoes & clothing, gifts, and health and beauty items when the prices are low to rock bottom. We live in a rural community. A trip to buy anything is a minimum of 30 minutes. The problem with a larger stash of items (i.e. school supplies which I buy at around 75% off) is that my family looks at it as disposable and tends to blow through it quickly if they know I have lots on hand. So, those items are often stored in solid-colored Rubbermaids – and sometimes mislabled (with a code I understand) to keep others from dipping into the loot until we actually need it – such as school supplies at the beginning of the school year.
January 16th, 2010 at 12:21 am
I could stock the store for Christmas wrappings and ribbon. I LOVE TO WRAP! I was very jealous when my rich sister-in-law had a closet equipped with storage space for her wrapping paper. But now I have one too.
We moved our water heater outside and in that deep space we put in shelves and just set in different diameters of PVC plastic pipe. They are perfect for storing wrapping paper on rolls! I even have a few extra in the garage.
January 18th, 2010 at 9:01 pm
Always save good ribbon, good boxes and good tissue. Rarely if ever do I have to pay for gift wrap. Didn’t have to buy anything but tissue paper for Holiday gift giving, I figure I save $50-$100 a year by re using gift packaging.
It’s the right kind of hoarding. Good for the budget, good for the environment.