Self Storage – Make Sure You’re Storing Not Hoarding

By

Self storage is a really great idea, but not if it means you end up keeping more items than you need to. Here we look at ways to recognise you’re using your storage for the right reasons.

 

Self storage is an incredible thing, it really is. It enables you to keep your valuable items safe and secure for a small amount of money. It helps you keep or expand your business without getting crushed by additional fees from office or warehouse rental contracts. It can help you stay sane when you’re moving house.

 

There are so many positives to storing, but there are always some potential downsides, one of which could relate to you if you’re not careful. The potential downside we are referring to is hoarding. There are so many legitimate reasons to keep items in storage, but unfortunately some of us do struggle to let things go and instead end up paying for extra space we don’t need. Obviously it is anyone’s prerogative as to why they want to pay for storage but nobody wants to be a hoarder, and storing items you don’t particularly want or need isn’t cost effective either.

 

Here are some easy ways to ensure you are using self storage for storing not hoarding

 

 

Storing Your Hobby

There aren’t many hobbies that take up small amounts of space. So many different hobbies can fill whole rooms, or even the entire house if we’re not careful. Hobbies are something we love so there’s no need to get rid of them, but if the entire family is sick of being squeezed for space because of your love of a certain hobby, then self storage is a great solution.

Maybe you collect teddy bears, or you love buying vintage clothes and restoring them. You can store your hobby items effectively in self storage.

 

Storing Sports Items

Sports items are always huge, unless of course you’re really into finger skateboarding! Kayaks, inflatables, football tables, snowboards, ski’s – sports items can take a lot of space in the home or garage and are really well suited to self storage because you will never need them ‘urgently’ and storing them away from the home frees up a lot of space.

 

Seasonal Items

In smaller homes, seasonal items are quite tricky because sometimes there is literally nowhere to put them when the season changes. Perhaps you bought a huge christmas tree, decorations, tinsel and trinkets for your new flat, then come January when it was time to take it all down you found yourself looking under your bed wondering how you might fit it all underneath. Perhaps you kitted yourself out with an epic 8 man tent, camping chairs, BBQ and all the rest in order to have tons of summer adventures outdoors, but now you’re left with a front room awash with green canvas and tarp because you have nowhere to store it all. Seasonal items are great in cheap self storage and enable you to enjoy seasonal activities or decorations without compromising large parts of your home.

 

Crafts

Crafting is huge right now and is set to keep on becoming more and more popular as people seek vintage pastimes and enjoy practical and homely hobbies. The problem with crafting is it can take up a lot of room, and often you don’t need all the craft items you own at any one time. It may also be the case that you don’t physically have room to enjoy your craft at home because the studio space it needs simply doesn’t exist in your current home. If this is the case, self storage is a great solution.

 

Business

Self storage saves businesses money, it is that simple. It helps:

 

  • The business to avoid growing pains
  • The business to avoid paying hefty rental contracts
  • The business to operate online
  • The business to expand and decrease in size seasonally

 

These are just some of the ways self storage helps people with businesses.

 

Additions to the family

When you have a new baby, it takes up a lot of space that you might not have yet until you upsize, or until you clear some space in your home, which takes time. Even temporarily you might need to clear a room, store the contents and then sort through the contents when you have time. Self storage is like a temporarily addition to your home storage options, ideal when you’re adding to the family.

 

Moving house

Moving home is so stressful, having self storage to use to temporarily store items between moving is a godsend and takes a lot of pressure off moving day. It also means you can save money by avoiding using a moving van, because you can make some trips in your own time to and from the unit gradually moving items in or across, which also helps give pets and children time to move in comfortably without feeling rushed or panicked.

 

Temporary downsizing

Lots of people are facing the fact they need to temporarily downsize in order to save money, work in the city, or even do some travelling (downsizing to no home for a while). Whatever your reason for downsizing, self storage can help you avoid letting go of your most treasured possessions until the day you get your forever home.

 

To Avoid Hoarding With Your Self Storage Unit:

  • Clear it out regularly, getting rid of any items you don’t want or need
  • Check in with yourself about why you have self storage, checking you really are getting value for your investment
  • Check you have a flexible contract so you can down and upsize your space when you need to, so you’re always paying for the space you need

 

If you think you might be hoarding and not storing, try not to worry and just react practically. The chances are you probably do have a good use for your storage space; you simply haven’t been appreciating it, using it properly, or stayed on top of what is actually in there. Just being aware is a great first step, and will help you make the most of this amazing opportunity for extra space.

 

 

Leave a Reply