Many people have storage units where they keep their extra stuff, seasonal items, or family heirlooms.

These storage units come with monthly fees. Sometimes we get used to relying on the storage unit and haven’t been able to take stock of what is inside them. This can still be relevant to our life situation, or it may be time to let go of some of those things. These items not only cost you money to store, but they may also cost you space in your brain and peace of mind. 

With the nicer weather of Spring, plan a day to go to your storage unit, put on some cool music that gets you grooving, and take stock. Give yourself more time than you think it will take. It may even be fun to take a friend to help you. It can make the process easier and more fun.

Here are some techniques to try:

Donate, Garbage, and Keep

• This is a way to declutter, but remember, the end goal is to move items to their final destination: the garbage/dump, a second-hand store, and the place where the item you keep is going to stay and be used.
• Take supplies with you. These can be: heavy-duty trash bags, boxes for donations, cleaning supplies (broom, rags, cleaner), marker/labels, and a dolly. 
• Create three areas outside of your storage unit and name them “Donate”, “Garbage”, and “Keep.”
• Take items out of the storage unit and make a quick decision about which pile the item should go into.
  • If the item is going to be donated, have boxes ready for the items to go directly into so it is easy to move once you are done. 
  • If the item is going to be put in the garbage, put it directly into a garbage bag so it is easy to move once you are done.
  • Once an item is put into the donate and garbage pile, fight the urge to take it out of that pile. You made that decision for a good reason.
  • DO NOT make a “maybe” pile. Make a full decision about each item and follow through.
• Once you have everything in the piles, make a decision if you still need the storage unit.
  • What else would you be able to do with the money you use to pay for this storage unit? 
  • If you decide you still need the storage unit, is there a smaller, less costly unit available? 
• Make a list of the items in the storage unit.
  • This can help make sure you know where these items are when you need them. 
  • This can stop you from buying doubles of things you already have, which is a waste of your hard-earned money.
  • Keep the list on your phone in the notes app or your other favourite app for keeping lists. Or write it on a piece of paper and tape it on the inside of one of your kitchen cupboards. Make it easy to find the list. 
• Take the keep items to their final place, either to your home, into a smaller storage unit, or back into the existing storage unit, in a way that makes it easy to find things. 
• Take the things in the “garbage” and “donate” piles directly to the landfill and second-hand store. Or put a garbage tag on the garbage bag and have it ready to put out on garbage day. 

If you are going to sell items…

• If you are going to sell items from your storage unit, dust them off and take a picture with them looking their best. 
• Put pictures and details of the items on the app you are going to use to sell them.
• Put them close to the front of the storage unit so they are easy to get when you sell them. 
• Think about having a storage unit garage sale and setting a date and time people can come to your storage unit to pick things up. Talk to your storage unit provider to see how to make this possible. 
• Set a date by which you want all items to be sold. Write it down for yourself. If the items are not sold by that date, DONATE THEM. The goal is to free your mind and debit card from the expense of that item. 

It can also be helpful to ask yourself these questions:

• Am I keeping this item because I want to? Or, am I keeping this item because I feel obligated to?
• Is this item important to me right now, as who I am today?
• Can I live and be happy without this item?
• Does this item make me feel joyful or another positive emotion? If not, let it go. You don’t have enough time in this life to carry that weight. 
• Do I have a use for this item or will I in the near future (within 6 months or 1 year)?
• Is there someone I know who can use this item and wants it? Let me text them a picture and ask them right now.
  • Trust their answer. If they say “yes”, it is a “yes”. Anything that isn’t an enthusiastic “yes” is a no. No pressure. 
  • Can they pick up this item within a designated time (that day, within a week, or within a month)?

I hope you feel lighter and fresher after your clean up… and I hope it lowers your monthly costs.