One of the things that happens when clutter is in our lives is that we lose track of things; big things, small things – we just lose track. Think of a room cluttered with clothing on the floor; it is hard to find anything, let alone that one cute top you are looking for to wear tonight. General clutter behaves the same way in that the more things that take up space in our lives, the less likely we are to be aware of what these things actually are.
Sometimes clutter just starts to appear without us even really knowing…it creeps up on us literally! Perhaps the obvious subject for this edition of the newsletter should be visa cards cluttered with too many charges from shopping sprees (!!!), but today let us look at something a bit different, examining the situation when too many third party merchants have access to our credit card information which can not only be an overwhelming situation, but can also be one which results in us losing track of very valuable information. This kind of access we allow to providers can lead us to literally having disarray and confusion and yes, life clutter.
See if this sounds familiar…you find out that you are able to pay a certain utility bill with your visa, and are then asked for the credit card number so that they can automatically bill you. Many of us are familiar with this, and I am certain many of us have signed up for these auto-renewal programs. Taking this one step further, you want to sign up for a certain streaming network, like Netflix or Disney+, and then once again, out goes our credit card numbers to maintain these subscriptions. No harm yet right? The issue is not with these sign ups, the problems arise when we lose track of who has our credit card numbers and for what purpose. The key to maintaining control is to diligently keep track of who has this information and also, reviewing the services making sure that they are still ones that you are using so that you are not paying $12.99 a month to every Tom, Dick and Harry!
So how do we even get started with this you may be asking? First, check in with any and all subscriptions you are signed up for; sometimes we forget we signed up for something and low and behold we are being billed monthly for this ‘thing’ that we are not even aware we have. You can start this task by reviewing your credit card charges which will reveal this information. Then review and make sure that the services you are signed up for are indeed ones that you intend to be. This would also be the time to unsubscribe from things that you don’t want to be subscribed to anymore, thus literally decluttering your credit card. This forensic of your credit card charges (if you will) can also reveal other monthly charges that you may not be aware of and review those as well. If you have multiple credit cards you may have to do this a few times. Also, if you have subscriptions or charges that may be auto debited from your bank accounts, review accounts as well to make sure that you have not missed anything. Thankfully online banking will make this review easy as you can search an entire month and even further back. After you have completed these reviews, you will know that everything you are being charged for monthly are what you have intended – it may be interesting to see what you uncover!
Keep life, and your credit cards/bank accounts free from unnecessary charges and clutter by reviewing and removing as need be!
Aside from helping with all of our decluttering needs, Avery hosts the Journey Into Yoga Podcast where she guides you through a different yoga pose each week explaining all that it has to offer the body and mind. Episodes and more can be found at averyrich.com. Check out this week’s show where we work where we use a block as a weight to bring strength to the upper body.Â
Avery Rich
Avery hails from Winnipeg, Manitoba, with a background in both law and yoga! As a long time Yoga Instructor, she hosts the Journey Into Yoga podcast, a show which explores and demystifies a different yoga posture each week. A true believer in creating space in our bodies through yoga, her Declutter U newsletter is designed to provide tips and tools on how to create more space in our lives by decluttering.
