title: Performance of using static methods vs instantiating the class containing the methods
body: <p>I'm working on a project in C#. The previous programmer didn't know object oriented programming, so most of the code is in huge files (we're talking around 4-5000 lines) spread over tens and sometimes hundreds of methods, but only one class. Refactoring such a project is a huge undertaking, and so I've semi-learned to live with it for now.</p>
  
  <p>Whenever a method is used in one of the code files, the class is instantiated and then the method is called on the object instance.</p>
  
  <p>I'm wondering whether there are any noticeable performance penalties in doing it this way? Should I make all the methods static "for now" and, most importantly, will the application benefit from it in any way?</p>