We know the old song and dance of storage units. You get a loveseat for a great deal, but you don’t want to get rid of your old one, so you toss it in your storage unit for when you move to a bigger place. Perhaps you’ve had several moves and your old shelves don’t fit the vibe. Or maybe you’ve had these fishing rods since high school and you can’t stand to give them up.
Whatever the reason may be, your storage unit is getting filled to the brim with stuff you can’t even remember and it’s time to clean it out.
What’s even the point of getting rid of all this stuff that you can almost remember the significance of? Clutter has been shown to increase stress levels, impacting your memory and focus.
You also should be able to find the things you need, when you need them. If your storage unit has boxes full of things that aren’t labeled or organized, and you’ve got old shoes mixed in with old appliances, it’s time to start tossing.
Did you know that 10% of households rent a storage unit? With the ease of purchasing these days, it’s no wonder we find it so easy to keep accumulating stuff.
But when finally decide you’ve had enough of nonstop junk at home and in storage, there’s an easy solution.
Here are our steps for organizing and cleaning out your storage unit.
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Take a day to go to your storage unit and pull everything out. Yes, everything. Write down everything you see, from the thirty unmatched socks to the awful dining room table your in-laws gave you.
You’ll have to open all the boxes and the bags to see what’s inside. Your storage unit will feel even messier than before, but you know how the saying goes. It’s always darkest before the dawn.
When you see everything in front of you, the task of cleaning out your storage unit becomes more tangible. You’ll be able to see everything in a concrete way instead of a hypothetical, larger-than-life task.
This is likely a full-day task, but it will be worth it.
This can be combined with step one or made into its own day.
You are likely to have encountered stuff you don’t want or need. That’s great! Rent a dumpster to toss all the junk you forgot you threw in there. Some stuff you’ll know right away that it’s meant for the dump. Other stuff, you may still be on the fence about. That’s okay! Set it to the side to revisit later.
You may find stuff that can go to a donation center, like the Habitat for Humanity ReStore, or your local resale charity shop. Things like gently worn clothing, functional furniture, old toys, and more will be better in a home than in a landfill.
If you’ve got materials like old textiles (like old bed sheets, towels, or ragged clothing) or electronics, those can actually go to special facilities for recycling.
We know it’s easy to go down memory lane, but the best way to get things done is to be methodical, precise, and objective.
There are some things that may hold too much sentimental value to go anywhere but your storage unit, but trust us, you don’t need all those swim trophies from when you were ten. You also don’t have to hold on to your ex’s paintings. You can toss them, we won’t tell.
Transporting your donations is probably going to be the hardest part. You can make multiple trips, no one is tallying how efficiently you clear out your storage unit, we’re just proud you’re making this step.
We don’t mean to toot our own horn, but a significant portion of our rental business comes from people clearing up clutter in their homes, and we are very good at helping them get rid of it.
Tossing junk to a landfill should be the last resort, but we all have stuff that is in poor enough shape that it can’t go to a donation center.
Once you’ve gotten rid of all your junk and you know exactly what you have, you can finally create an organized system for your storage unit.
Give your shelves and boxes a label so you know exactly what’s in there. You can create your own filing and sorting system.
The main goal of cleaning out your unit is so that you know where to find the things you’ll eventually want to find.
Put your things back into place and take a step back – your storage unit looks so clean and organized! We hope you’re proud of yourself.
Cleaning out a storage unit is a massive undertaking, but we promise you’ll feel so much better after. We encourage you to take this one step at a time and remember that this is something that had to happen sooner or later.
With large cleaning tasks comes a lot of trash. Discount Dumpster comes in handy for those moments. We’ll deliver your dumpster right to your unit. You can keep it there for as long as you need as you work on your cleaning process. When you’re done, we’ll come pick it up.
We want to make this as easy as possible for you, and our fast and affordable rentals will help you do that.
Give us a call to schedule your delivery so you can start cleaning out your storage unit!
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