Daily Declutter: Wallet

My previous post might have been too radical of a change for those in the early stages of minimalism. With this, I thought of starting this mini-declutter series called the Daily Declutter as a way to help those who are still half-hearted in trying to get rid of their unneccsary stuff.

For my first post in this series, I’ll start with everyone’s EDC: the wallet.

Just a semi-quick backstory to better understand where I’m coming from. I’m not a fan of bags like most women. I’m not saying bags are overrated. They’re great for storing your belongings especially if you’re mobile and your pants don’t have pockets. But for me, I try my best to not bring one when I’m out. Just ask my mom – up until this day, I always put my wallet and phone in her bag everytime we go out for Sunday mass.

My indifference towards bags just became firmer when my family and I became victims of the notorious Quezon City holdupper/rapist back in December 2014. We were having dinner in this burger joint a few days after Christmas, and out of all the days I decided to bring a bag (because I just bought a new one to *finally* act like a proper adult), this unfortunate and traumatic thing happened. To cut the long story short, I was able to save my bag and its contents from the holdupper by hiding all my stuff inside the bathroom trashcan.

When this happened, my wallet was the typical, massive, hollow-block type most women own. It measured 3.5″ x 7″, big enough to actually serve as a weapon during this ordeal. Inside this wallet, I had approximately 3 ATMs, 5 credit cards, 4 membership cards, 6 ID cards (government, school, office), calling cards, graduation and 1×1 photos, and a whoooole lot more. Imagine, if that guy was able to get my bag, he would have easily accessed my identity, savings, and credit line.

From there, I’ve decided to significantly cut down my EDC, starting with my wallet.

There was only 1 thing I considered when I trimmed down its contents – I made sure I was liquid enough to get me through the day. Keeping this in mind, I was left with just the following:

• 1 ATM – the one where I deposit money for everyday expenses. I left my savings and checking ATM cards at home.
• 2 credit cards – those that have the lowest credit limit.
• 2 IDs – driver’s license and UMID.

I immediately changed my wallet as well. From the half-a-foot wallet I used to have, I transitioned to a simple cardholder measuring 2.5″ x 4.5″. This is how my wallet looks like now.

Guys, promise, ang sarap ng feeling – physically and financially. The 70% decrease in content and wallet size has helped me A LOT.

• I don’t withdraw and store excess cash (only what’s needed for the week)
• I don’t purchase big ticket/expensive items impulsively
• I easily keep track if I’m within my budget
• I don’t fumble around when I have to pay for something or surrender my ID
• I carry less items so if things get lost, I don’t feel much loss
• And many others, etc., et. al. I can go on, but I’ll just stick to these for now

So there. You can start with this simple pero rak decluttering exercise if you’re not yet ready to leap to the big things. I swear, it may not seem much but it’s very very very impactful. Once you’ve started with the small things, it will be easier to let go of those items that actually don’t add any value to your life.

Hope this was helpful. I’ll be posting about my shoe decluttering soon. Stay tuned for that.

Babayuuuuu.