Decluttering and self-storage

How much space to you really have in your home? You may have more than you thought, and you can take full advantage of this extra unknown space by marrying up two spacesavers – decluttering and self-storage.

Where to start with decluttering

If you have a lot of belongings and nick-nacks to declutter, it could be very demotivating, so start small. Even clearing out a drawer and seeing the difference that it makes can inspire you onto other things.

Try and break everything down into five stages – bin, charity shop, keep, store at home and self-storage

Successful decluttering

Deciding what to keep and what to throw away can be difficult, as ownership of certain items can be emotional as well as physical. For many people the answer to this can be self-storage. If you’d like to keep the items but don’t need daily access to them then self-storage is ideal.

Go through your rooms, attics, garages etc methodically. Succesful decluttering will take time and you won’t see success straight away – in fact half way through you’ll probably hit the “OH NO WHY DID I START THIS? IT’S A WORSE MESS THAN BEFORE!” stage. Don’t worry – power on through, keep sorting and then suddenly it will all be clear!

Decluttering and self storage

What items are ideal for putting in self storage? Here are a few ideas

• Seasonal items – Not just storage for Christmas decorations either. How about seasonal sporting gear? Also in winter you can store away all your barbecue supplies – not just the barbecue itself but your outdoor furniture, and all your outdoor cutlery and crockery. In summer stash away the sledges!
• Archive paperwork. Is your home office or kitchen drawers filled with old bills and statements that you have to keep but really don’t have space for? Keep a filing cabinet in self storage to remove these papers from your home but still keep them handy for access.
• Seasonal clothes – During the summer, put away those big coats and wellington boots (we could say that during this summer – isn’t that great!) and then swap them out for all your holiday clothes in winter.

Removing the clutter

Once you have decided where an item belongs, get rid of it. At the end of every day do a tip run and charity shop run to clear your home – that way every day you will see a small improvement and know how much that you have taken from the house. You can also fill up your storage unit daily – a benefit of secure self-storage is that you can gain access as often as you need during opening hours.

Have you decluttered recently? How did it go?