With a new year (and another lockdown) in full swing, one great way to pass the time and feel organised for the year ahead is to get your home tidied, clear of clutter, and in order.
Maybe you’re just looking for a way to use up the hours you’re shut indoors during lockdown. Maybe you’ve gone into full DIY mode and are ready to completely remodel your home this year. Or maybe you’ve just let things build up and want to have a sort out. In this guide, we’ve provided a few tips to achieving exactly that!
Go through what you already have in storage
If you already have a self-storage unit housing unwanted clutter, a good first step is to go through these items before you add more belongings to your collection. You may have items in storage for your business, due to down-sizing your home, or just because you don’t have anywhere else to put it.
First, take stock of your inventory and identify any items that you simply don’t need anymore. Remember, your self-storage insurance increases as the total value of your items stored increases, so there’s no need to hang on to things you have no intention of using in the future.
Be ruthless about decluttering your home
Next, go through the items you no longer want or need in your home. You may have large items or furniture that simply take up space, old books and clothes that are just gathering dust in your attic, or you might decide you want to remodel entire rooms in your home altogether.
Follow these steps when having a clear out:
- Sort your items into three piles: one for storage, one for donating/selling, and one for throwing away
- Be ruthless: don’t hang on to things you haven’t used for the past year and realistically won’t be using again!
- Make a plan for rooms you plan to remodel, and consider whether you’ll want to put your items into storage to keep them safe while decorating
Consider where to keep sentimental items
More sentimental items such as photo albums, family heirlooms etc can be frustrating to deal with because they can take up valuable storage space in your home, but you should think carefully before transferring them to a storage unit.
Remember, while your storage insurance covers the value of your items from unexpected incidents such as a fire, you can never replace the sentimental value of photos and memories. You may prefer to keep these items in a safe storage space in your own home than trusting them to a storage facility.
Invest in some useful storage items
Make use of boxes, containers, shelving, and more to really get your items in order. Some great storage items for organising around the home include:
- Drawer organisers for clothes, socks, etc
- Underbed storage boxes
- Additional shelving units for in the kitchen
Useful storage accessories for putting your items safely into a storage unit include:
- Cardboard boxes
- Packing tape to securely close boxes
- Bubble wrap for fragile items
- Dust sheets for larger items of furniture
- Garment bags for clothes
- Marker pens to correctly label everything
If you’re putting items into storage, make sure you have the correct self-storage insurance to protect the value of your belongings.
Guides you might find useful for this include: