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Here are some surprising statistics about our clutter that help understand how big of a problem our accumulation has actually become. 
 

• There are 300,000 items in the average American home. (LA Times)

• The average size of the American home has nearly tripled in size over the past 50 years. (NPR) And still, 1 out of every 10 Americans rent offsite storage—the fastest growing segment of the commercial real estate industry over the past four decades. (New York Time Magazine)

• While 25% of people with two-car garages don’t have room to park cars inside them and 32% only have room for one vehicle. (U.S. Department of Energy)

• The United States has upward of 50,000 storage facilities, more than five times the number of Starbucks. Currently, there is 7.3 square feet of self storage space for every man, woman and child in the nation. Thus, it is physically possible that every American could stand—all at the same time—under the total canopy of self storage roofing. (SSA)

• 3.1% of the world’s children live in America, but they own 40% of the toys consumed globally. (UCLA)

• The average American family spends $1,700 on clothes annually (Forbes), while the average American throws away 65 pounds of clothing per year. (Huffington Post) The average American woman owns 30 outfits—one for every day of the month. In 1930, that figure was nine. (Forbes) In fact, Americans spend more on shoes, jewelry, and watches ($100 billion) than on higher education. (Psychology Today) 

• Some reports indicate we consume twice as many material goods today as we did 50 years ago. (The Story of Stuff) Americans spend $1.2 trillion annually on nonessential goods—in other words, items they do not need. (The Wall Street Journal)

Experts from Becoming Minimalist Blog. For more, visit https://www.becomingminimalist.com/clutter-stats/