Local Expert Blog: What’s *Actually* In Your Storage Unit?

The nice weather is here, folks, and it’s time to get outside!

That being said, a lot of us are rummaging through our garages, sheds, and storage units digging out all that summer equipment. However, if we’re being honest, these places tend to get cluttered quickly with seasonal, sentimental, or long forgotten items.

While you’d rather be out in the sun bike riding or kayaking, now might be a good time to organize and sort out what exactly is in these spaces. Though garages and sheds get crowded, they do get more foot traffic than a storage unit.

Ya, that’s right. Let’s tackle that storage unit you forgot about.

Outta sight, outta mind.

It’s really easy to shove stuff into a storage unit and forget about it. So much so that these spaces quickly fill up with all kinds of stuff that turns organizing it into an overwhelming task. Here are a few tips to keep in mind to make cleaning out your storage unit a smoother process. After all, we all want to get back to having fun in the sun.

1. Take inventory

Depending on how long you’ve had your storage unit, you could have items in there from years and years ago. At this point, it makes sense to throw your arms up in the air and say “Who the heck knows?!” But don’t give up just yet! Think of it as a little treasure hunt and take the time to rediscover what you’ve been keeping in there. Make a list on your phone or with pen and paper to track what you have.

2. Keep, sell, toss.

Once you know what you have, you can begin to organize your items into three categories: keep, sell, toss. No, it’s not a revolutionary way of decluttering or organizing, but it is effective.

Besides selling at a garage sale, which takes time to put together, start selling your items off one by one or in bundles online. The benefit of selling online is that you can get items out of your way a little faster than waiting for another free weekend for a garage sale.

For items you want to toss, make sure you give them another once over (same for items you are selling). In other words, do one more check that there are no personal items in pockets or drawers before getting rid of the item. This would include any personal papers, which you would want to shred.

3. Get it done.

The biggest roadblock when trying to clean out a space is not getting it done in one go. Of course, depending on the size of the space, you may need more time. However, storage units are usually small enough to get it done in a day or weekend. If you really want to get this task off your “Honey Do” list, it’s best to just rip the band aid off.

Once you’re done, you’ll feel like a million bucks!

P.S. For those of you who don’t have a storage unit because you don’t think you’d get enough use out of it, consider sharing with a friend or family member. Now you’ll have an extra storage space at half the cost.

Sponsored story by First Stop Services. Visit their Facebook, LinkedIn, or website. Reach them by phone at 519-253-1000.