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We have all probably reached a point in our life when we decided that we need a storage unit. Maybe during a move, you did not have enough place in your new apartment. Or maybe you were cleaning your home and had a lot of belongings that you didn’t want to throw away. So the storage unit was the best possible solution. But after a couple of years or months, the storage unit itself became cluttered. So, we are going to help you with decluttering your storage unit. We are going to provide you with basic steps and advice.

How to start decluttering your storage unit?

Well, first of all, you need to decide are you ready to clean your storage unit. It can be very time consuming and you need to be in the right mindset. You need to be sure that you will be decluttering your storage unit, not just moving things around. If you didn’t visit the storage unit often, you probably haven’t seen it from the day you were moving. There could be a lot of sentimental belongings that you handed over to local movers NJ so they can store them safely. You shouldn’t be impulsive and throw out everything. 

a old box as sign of decluttering your storage unit

Go through your sentimental belongings with a friend

A great thing would be if you had somebody to help you. A friend or a family member could be a great help. They can advise you or maybe stop you if you want to either keep or throw all your belongings in the storage unit. You need to make a clear goal why are you decluttering your storage unit. And after that, you can start the process. Just keep in mind that is completely natural to be overwhelmed when you see some of your belongings that have sentimental value.

Make an inventory

Making an inventory can help you in the process of decluttering. If you labeled boxes when you were moving, that will help you. You should keep a pen and paper with yourself and try to see what you have in boxes. You should count how many boxes you have and take a quick look. If you can, you should really avoid getting too attached to boxes, since the cleaning process will surely take more then one day. After you make an inventory, you should create a processing area in your storage unit. There you will be able to sort things.

a yellow sticky note with to do letters

Create an inventory and a to-do list when you are decluttering your storage unit

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So,ting the items you need to sort out things in a couple of different categories. The most common ones are:

  • The keep box – here you will put all the things you will definitely be keeping. Don’t just put anything in there, since then the whole process of decluttering your storage unit will be useless.
  • The wait and see box – here you can place the items that you are not sure what to do with. You can store them until next review, but again, do not place too many items in this box either. When you come next time to clean your unit, if you did not use any of the items from this box- throw them away.
  • The donate box – here you can place things that you do not want to keep but you can donate them. This way you will be cleaning out your things, and helping somebody.
  • The throwaway box – well, here you will be placing things that you definitely do not need them and you can’t donate them.

Once you have sorted out your belongings and decided what you need, you can double check are they all in good condition.  All of the storage units NJ usually have a climate control option, so your belongings should be in the pristine condition.

Rotate the items

A good thing you could do is to rotate your items in storage units. If you have boxes, furniture or similar you can clean them clean the dust between and just place everything on a different place. You can sort the boxes differently, label any boxes that were unlabeled and make sure that you cleaned everything. For example, if you have a rug in your storage unit, moving things around will help you avoid permanent creases. It sounds silly, but this way you will help your belongings in a storage unit to be in perfect condition.

Putting the belongings back

When you get to the point of getting your items back into the storage unit, you can create a plan. A lot of people use this idea to keep their storage unit clean and easy to access. Creating a plan for your storage unit is easy. Also, it will help you to avoid decluttering your storage unit in the future.

Creating a plan

So, you can start by creating an inventory of your items. Some people like to take photos of their boxes in a storage unit, and also what do they have inside every box. That way, they always know where they can find something in case they need it. Creating a drawing or a diagram of your storage unit is also one way of creating a plan. You can keep that by the door and you will be always able to find what you are looking for. Also, you can place the items that you will use in near future right next to the door. That can stop you from making a chaos when you start looking for something.

hand writing in a notebook a plan

Create a plan once you finish

Finishing the decluttering process

We know that was probably an exhausting experience, since it can be emotional but also physically hard to move all those things around. Once you have finished, take a good look at your storage unit before you officially close it and make sure that everything is placed nicely inside. If it seems that items are on top of each other and that even after the cleaning they might just collapse, you should think about renting out another storage unit. That way, your belongings will be safe and you will be able to use them even after a couple of years.