How to Declutter Your Wallet

I think the one thing that I always pass on is decluttering my wallet. Does anyone really do that? And if so, how often?

My wallet was bulging on Monday morning which bothered me because I couldn’t figure out what was going on. Sure, I had tons of gift cards, credit/debit card, my bank card, identification cards, and cash in there but it never really felt bulky.

Until Monday.

With my new discovery, I set out on the idea of cleaning my wallet and making it functional for the things that I’m going to use in that wallet. I have old gift cards that are around a year old that I could pass on to one of my siblings or my parents. It’s the easy things that I could be doing to declutter my life.

If you’re like me, you don’t like clutter or bulky. It gets on your nerves and drives you crazy. I’m the type of person that just wants to throw everything away but I know I can’t because something important might be in my wallet.

How to declutter your wallet

Step 1 – remove everything from your wallet

This is the most important step because you’re pouring everything out to see what is in your wallet. There might be things in there that you had no idea were in there. Maybe you’re a receipt hoarder. Step 1 is going to be the best way to tackle all your clutter and bulky issues. This is the moment where you unveil all that you have been hoarding in your wallet. You might find something that you have been looking for.

Step 2 – throw away all the trash

Toss out all of your old receipts and gum wrappers that might have made its way into your wallet. Not only do you want to rid yourself of this trash but you want to treat your wallet like the treasure that it is. Especially since it houses all of your money cards. You don’t need that trash and that receipt that has the code for a free meal might be worth it if you actually did the survey. If you have no plans to do the survey then toss it. Listen to me, it’s not worth it if you’re going to stall. Most of the time they expire after a few days, any ways.

Step 3 – add your identification cards that are current

Some people never take out their different ID cards and to each their own but I get rid of my old ones. I don’t think there is a purpose unless you want to look at how you used to look. This is definitely a great way to downsize on the cards in your wallet. You can take out eh expired license or student ID that you no longer use. And then, rejoice in the space that you now have in your wallet!

Step 4 – insert credit/debit/money cards and cash/coins that are current and not expired

I don’t know if anyone keeps old credit and debit cards but get rid of them! They are of no use and just provide you with confusion when you’re checking out. You don’t need those old pieces of plastic. Cut them up! Include updated and current money cards in your wallet from your credit card to debit card to ATM card — only keep what is necessary and will be used by you.

Step 5 – pay attention to the gift cards and which ones you’ll actually use

Yes, I will be the first person to own up to hoarding fit cards. I don’t eat out as much as I did in college so I just stacked up my restaurant gift cards. I need to do better, I know. My advice? Take out all the gift cards and decide which ones you are going to use and which ones you can pass on to family or a friend that might be needing a gift.

Step 6 – give unused (& not wanted) gift cards to someone in your life

I started to talk about this in step four but here is where you give those gift cards away. They’re doing you more harm than good. Do you really want your wallet to burst open and ruin the seams? I think not! Whoever you pass the gift cards on to will love them and adore you for thinking about them.

Step 7 – make sure your wallet isn’t bulky

Last but not least, you’ll know you’re in a good spot when your wallet isn’t bulging. There are times when I clean my wallet out and it’s still bulky. I could have removed a few more things or even gone and used the dozens of Chipotle gift cards that I have. We like to take on the ‘what if I need this/whatever’ complex when we just need to let things go. The bulky wallet isn’t cute, let it go!

Hope you found these tips helpful! Let me know how your decluttering goes and tips you would add!