Recently I was working with a client and she let slip that she also has two storage lockers just up the road. I say ‘let slip’ because she treated it like a dirty little secret and followed up with: I wasn’t going to tell you about them!
In today’s post I’m going to break down 6 different arguments I hear about why people need storage. Each category answers the question, do I need storage if _____.
1. I have too much stuff – No. Having too much stuff in general is a terrible reason to use storage. Why? Because I’m going to guess that you have no idea what you own and putting a portion of it into storage will just make it disappear (read: pay rent on it) with no further clarification about what you own. And because you don’t know what you own, you’ll never go looking for it and you’ll buy more stuff to replace it.
2. I need to change out my clothing seasonally – Yes if you’re a fashionista who lives in a tiny apartment and the only way you can manage is by doing the seasonal change-out.
This is a no for most people. If you’re honest with yourself, you’ll find that there’s a good portion of items you don’t actually wear/ don’t fit/ every time you put them on, you take them right off. For more info on ending the cycle of seasonal change-out check out this post.
3. I have hobbies – Yes if you live in a New York City apartment and you love to ski, play golf, camp, etc. But rather than using traditional storage, I suggest a valet storage service like Simplify Storage, which costs less and will deliver your items to you when needed.
No if you’re planning on storing old hockey gear you never plan on using again/ hobby related items that you have no use for but are having trouble getting rid of.
4. I have holiday decorations – Yes if you’ve spent a lot of money on a holiday display you use every year.
This is a no for most people. It’s a good idea to do a cost benefit analysis to see how much rent you’re paying to store Halloween decorations worth very little; a Halloween garland is not worth spending the money to store.
5. We’re moving to a house soon – Yes if you have furniture or wedding gifts that you love (and I mean LOVE) that you just can’t fit in your current home and you’ll be moving within the next couple of years.
No if you say you’ll be moving out of the city but that might not happen for a few years. It depends on what you want to store but the truth is that most people end up just putting whatever they can’t fit inside their home into storage and forgetting about it. And here’s the craziest part – often when they move into a new house, they don’t go get the things from storage because they want new things. Keep in mind that your tastes and needs will change over the years so a couch you wanted desperately 10 years ago might not appeal to you now.
6. We’re going to have another child – Yes if it’s within the next couple of years and you’re holding onto only the best stuff.
No if you’re planning on keeping everything, plus every hand-me-down you’ve received. Just because you’re holding onto items for a second child, does not mean that you need to keep absolutely every item you had for the first. Keep the best stuff only. When you have a second child, you will receive more items as gifts.
Am I one hundred percent against storage? No. Do I think that storage is a bad idea for most people? Yes. Only on the most rare of occasions has anyone I’ve met actually re-entered a storage locker they own. For the most part, items go into storage, rent is paid monthly, and they are never seen again. If you plan on using storage, be specific about what you put in and be clear about your timeline.
Try my tips and tricks above and let me know how it goes! You can email me at tori@toritheorganizer.com and follow me on Instagram @toritheorganizer.
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