Using storage to declutter your home

The humble storage unit doesn’t only come into play when we’re moving and need a place to put all of our things. No, storage has many other uses which most people think of as an alternative, but that doesn’t mean they can’t prove useful. Storing items can come in handy when it comes to home improvement, selling your home or even when running a small business. We’re talking about the most underrated utilization of the storage units and that’s using storage to declutter your home. Read on and find out the best ways to do this.

Clean and Choose

First, determine how many things you’ll want to store and decide on the size of your unit. With storage, bigger is not always better. There should be enough room for your things in your unit, but not too much free space. Filling only half of your unit could let in moist air or change the temperature inside the unit. Besides, paying for a huge unit when you only need half of it seems kinda pointless.

Next, you’ll need to clean your storage unit before you put anything from your home in it. Ideally, your unit would have already been cleaned by the time you plan to use it, but, giving it a good scrub one more time couldn’t hurt. If you plan on using any of the items you’ll put there again, you’ll want them to be in the best conditions possible. And this means the cleanest conditions possible.

Using storage to declutter your home of things you’re planning to get rid of

We all keep a lot of junk in our homes. Some of this junk has a special sentimental meaning, and it only looks like junk to the untrained eye. However, most of our junk is just that – junk. Years of living and years of buying things have accumulated in our lives. And so, we end up with more things than we have room for. This isn’t so bad if you’re living alone in a huge home. But if you’re planning a family or you live in a smaller apartment, you’ll want as much free space as possible. The best way to do this is to sell, donate or toss what you don’t need. However, this isn’t as easy as it sounds.

• Items you’ll sell – most used items don’t sell very fast, and some of them won’t sell in the first few months. So, if you want to get them out of your home but still keep them safe until they get the best price then storage is the choice for you.
• Items you’ll donate – these you’ll get rid of easily. Unfortunately, there are always many people in need, and they’ll be grateful for your help.
• Things you want to throw away – even though using storage to declutter your home of these seems like an unnecessary thing, you’ll be surprised how many people regret throwing something in the first month after they’ve tossed it. So, give your items a reprieve and give yourself the benefit of the doubt. A month will do. You could be wrong in wanting to get rid of some things. In this case, just pop by your storage unit and get them. In case you don’t change your mind, you can empty your locker and throw away everything you want.

Know what not to store/toss

There are some things you should never put in storage or just throw away. There are special ways of getting rid of things like old gasoline, oil or chemicals. Since we don’t use these things often enough, they are definitely part of the clutter we’re trying to get rid of. However, these substances are very dangerous and you’ll need to follow the federal hazardous materials regulations when dealing with them. If you’re not sure how to handle it, or you feel you’re not capable of doing so, ask for federal help!

Storing things you can’t keep at home

Storage lockers and units usually provide better conditions for keeping things safe, than we can ever recreate in our home. So, you why stop at using storage to declutter your home? You can use it to keep things which would generally deteriorate in your garage. Some of your fine art or antique furniture might get damaged during wet seasons like winter and fall. Thus, you should choose climate controlled storage unit and put your items there until the risky period has passed.

Declutter your home before renovations

Many people use storage units when renovating their homes. You can put all of your belongings in storage and leave your home to the renovators. This will not only give them more room to work with, but it will also protect your items from any dust or paint. Finally, while taking your things out of storage you could make a new and fresh furniture layout. Just bring the items in one by one and use the opportunity to spice up your home a bit. Just make sure you know how to pack and organize a storage unit cause this will help you unpack and unload your items faster.

Put your office in storage

A home office can take up a lot of space. Apart from this, it always sends a message of bringing your work home. And rarely anyone enjoys this. Finally, your business paperwork will pile up and take up more and more of your living space. The solution to this is moving your business to a storage unit. This is a perfect way of running a small business without bringing any work home. In addition to this, you’ll be able to keep all your paperwork in one place. Just learn a few awesome packing tips and you’ll be able to store even more business documentation.

The downside of this is that you can only conduct some types of business like this. If your business requires you to receive clients in person then using storage to declutter your home of your office may not be a good idea. What self-respecting client would willingly enter a storage unit office? This will come across unprofessional and could damage your business.