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Reducing Clutter: Roll those Coins

Photo by Joe Shlabotnik

I noticed the other day that coins were stacking up. The realization dawned after we pulled all our coin storage into one place to search for state quarters to fill a collection. And as I looked around at the piles of change, I realized that they had become clutter.

How Coins Can Be Clutter

Clutter can be defined as anything that doesn’t add value to your life. Coins by themselves, by-products of other transactions, are simply there taking up space. In my home, they add no value. In fact, they have no value until I purchase something or put them in the bank. Therefore, they are clutter.

How to Roll Them

The best way to handle large amounts of coins that you are going to count yourself is to roll them in paper wrappers. Some banks will give out the wrappers for free, but office supply stores will carry them as well. Each roll has a specific amount that goes in it.

To put the coins in the wrapper, insert a finger part-way into the wrapper, then fill with the specified number of coins. Move your finger down as necessary to allow room for the coins. When the coins are in, fold over the top of the wrapper, then turn it over and fold in the other end.

Alternatives to Wrapping

If you have a large amount of coins, you may want to consider an alternative. Here are two possibilities:

Coinstar

Some grocery stores have machines that count coins for you. You pour in the coins, they figure out how much is there, and either give you cash or allow you to get credit, either at the store or at an on-line site. Generally there is a charge for doing this, usually a percentage of the total of coins.

The Bank

All banks have ways to count large amounts of coins. If they do not have a coin machine on the premises (as my bank does not), they will contract with a third party service to count the coins and credit your account. As one person pointed out, though, this requires a large amount of trust.

Outcome

You might be very surprised how much money is laying around in the form of coins. We deposited well over $30.00 from our coin hunt.

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