How often do you clean out your wallet? Be honest- I bet it’s not very often. It’s a small area but once it’s disorganized, it can become a nightmare.

Have you ever been in a store needing to pull out a card only to have piles of receipts or loose change go falling all over the floor? It’s embarrassing and completely unnecessary.

If you can get into the habit of cleaning out your wallet more often, you will feel more together, organized, and physically lighter! Take a minute each week and empty that bad boy out!

As I write this, I’m wondering how many people still even use a wallet? With mobile pay, cashless payments, and cell phone/wallet combinations, we really do not need a physical wallet as much as we used to. I still have one and I bet there are a few people out there that do.

Here are my quick and easy steps to follow to get it cleaned out quickly:
1. Empty out the change! (If you have any). It’s very heavy and most people do not use it regularly. Here are your options:

• Cash it in-if you have a lot, take it to the bank, you’d be surprised how much a small bag of change will add up to. Find a bank that doesn’t charge a fee and walk out of there lighter and with some spending money. We also have a coin shortage so keep your eyes open for stores that are looking for some change, they will take your coins and give you cashback.

• Use it - I like to keep a change purse in my car, we still have some coin-operated parking meters in town and also my family does a lot of camping, so we use the coins for laundry mats, arcades, and vending machines.

• Save it- Keep a change container at home and keep throwing it in there until you have enough to cash in. Maybe even get creative and put a goal on the outside and you’ll be more motivated to save up. We had neighbors who would fill a huge water jug and once it was full, they cashed it in and used it to pay for their vacations.

2. Take out the extras! There are many reasons, primarily security that you do not need to carry around all of your important documents. Leave them safely at home!

• Remove extra credit cards - do you really need to have them all with you? I like to even leave my store cards at home, it helps me to avoid the urge to impulse shop

• Take out essential documents- your social security card, birth certificate, vaccination records, and passports do not need to be in your wallet on a daily basis. I like to keep scanned copies safely in my cloud storage if I do need to see them, but the originals are left at home in my fireproof bag.

• Cash- I still like to have a little cash on me but if you have a lot, you might want to think about keeping some of it at home. I know even when I have cash on hand, I still tend to use my debit card for convenience.

3. Get rid of any old business cards! If you have a pile of business cards in your wallet, then it is time to clean them out.

• If they are your own, then it’s time to get them out of your hands and out into the world. Make it your mission to start leaving them in places where your ideal customer visits- like a coffee shop, restaurant, or fitness studio (make sure the establishment allows it, and then check back frequently to replenish your cards).

• if it's someone you want to contact, load their info into your phone today and toss the card. ⠀⠀

4. Pull out any old receipts or other junk- try saying no to receipts when asked. It will cut down on your paper clutter. If you need to save a receipt for work or tax purposes, try to remember to scan it as soon as possible and keep it in a safe folder on your computer. It will be easier to access during tax time and you do not need to worry about keeping piles of paper all year long.

Give this a try today and see how much lighter you feel! ⠀⠀