Getting Rid of Junk is Good for Saving Money?

This week I had the energy to do a little spring cleaning. There are things that I had been collecting for years that no longer had any practical value to me, but they did have a little sentimental value.

I used to be the type that saved everything. I wasn't a pack rat as such, I only buy things when I need them. I don't go to garage sales and buy things because I think they'll be "fun to have".

I had collected to many computer software disks, since 1987, and had never gotten rid of them. It's not like I was going to need Microsoft Excel on 5 1/4" floppies any more.!!

I had kept alot of these software disks because I had spent thousands of dollars on them. And, when money was tight, I sacrificed alot to get these needed bits of software.

I also got rid of alot of computer hardware. A few years back, before I downsized my company I had several employees, and thus needed several computers. I had accumulated most of these computers 4-7 years ago. They were all in good shape, but were just sitting on my basement shelf collecting dust.

I either gave away or through out $25,000-30,000 worth of computer equipment or software, and data backups.

I'm trying to destress my lifestyle.
My logic was, I'm not going to use it any more, and quite frankly I don't want to have to manage all of this computer equipment and software. I wasn't going to go through the data backups that we created years ago.

I was trying to have less stress by having to manage less stuff.

WHAT A RELIEF!!
I couldn't believe the weight it took off my shoulders to get rid of all of that old computer equipment and software. I now don't have to remember any of it. I don't have to strain my brain to remember how to work each computer and each piece of software. ( I cringe just trying to remember how I managed this and more in the past! )

How does this relate to saving money?
I didn't save money by giving all of this equipment and software away. I actually lost alot of money doing it.

What I realized was that I can live with a lot less than I thought. I don't need all of those computers and software to run my business.

It strengthened my feeling that less is more when trying to destress your life. Having alot of toys means that you have to manage all of those toys. When I had the 15 employees, the two office buildings, the cottage, the Cadillac etc, all of a sudden I had several full time jobs trying to manage everything. I was burning out trying to keep everything managed and floating properly.

Even though I thought what I had was the ultimate in being self employed, I was actually harming myself by having too much, which was creating too much stress for me to handle properly.

SAVING MONEY - LESS IS MORE!
These days I am happy to live with alot less material items. I enjoyed alot of toys before, and that was good enough for me.

Living with less and being content with less is a good way to save money.

If you've got a lot of junk sitting around, and you're always looking for that next toy to keep you amused, why not start getting rid of some of the useless junk and see how it makes you feel. It may take some stress out of your life as well, and ultimately save you money.

Less is more. Especially when trying to save up money.