Storage units can be great to tide you over when you’re moving between flats, or if you’re going away on an extended trip, or you’re selling a house and want to declutter. But they are habit forming and become just another direct-debit that you’re paying for.
I’ve been paying for over 3 years for a room full of stuff I’m only just unpacking. I went away for a holiday (which was to be anything from three months to a year), was then living in ‘temporary’ accommodation (for 18 months), and finally was too busy at work… I don’t want to think about the total cost, or worse the total cost in relation to the value of stuff I’m actually keeping. In the hope of saving others, I present:
Six steps to storage nirvana
- Avoid: Your stuff is already something that ties you down, paying for it to hang around is a bad idea in the first place. Any industry that offers “4 weeks free” sounds similar to drug dealers or any other form of recurring revenue
- Set limits: If you absolutely must do it, decide when you will stop paying for it, e.g If you’re going on a 3 month trip, commit to only paying for 4 months. Cost out how much it would be to replace everything and make sure you’re spending less than that.
- Prioritise: Here’s your product management exercise, you’ve probably three classes of stuff
- Irreplaceable: formal documents, heirlooms.
- Replaceable: Stuff you’d like to keep but could lose or replace.
- Disposable: Don’t store this, give it away to charity shops or recycle. 1
- Catalog: Much of the mystique that has kept me paying for this room of junk is the mystery that “I’ve got some good stuff in there”. Some great CDs that I never ripped. Some wonderful books. Use Delicious Library or similar to know exactly what you’re putting in and what box it’s in, by making replacement feasible you’re able to walk away.
- Pack Well: When you’re filling the room, organise the room well. Know what you can stack other things on, and make the important stuff more accessible than the replaceable.
- Delegate: Have a friend who has access to your unit. If you hit your stop-loss point because your 3 month trip turned into moving abroad, they can whisk out the category 1 stuff, ship it to you, and arrange to dispose of the rest.
When you get back…
Take out the stuff in small batches, it’s less daunting, and means you can better sift/integrate/dispose of stuff rather than just putting it all on the shelves again. Take time to assess everything, and have another cull.
- Anecdotes from friends tell me not to give stuff away on freecycle, charge a nominal amount, as it builds a commitment and reduces no-shows ↩