A few weeks ago I got to hear a professional organizer speak. Martha Dunlap is the owner of Divide and Conquer, a Tyler, TX organizing and estate sale business. I’ve taken an organizing class before, but I still learned some new things and I thought I’d share a few with you this summer.
As promised here are some tips and thoughts on storage units.
Martha recommends that you create aisles within your storage unit so that you can easily get to items you need. We did this with our 2nd storage unit that we rented while trying to sell our home in Arkansas. We lined the walls with the largest items, then made an island of sorts with boxes in the middle of the unit, so that you could walk entirely around the island of boxes. It was very helpful, especially when it was time for Little One to arrive and I needed to access those baby items. There were multiple times that I went out to the unit looking for things and was thankful for those aisles. Had they not been there let’s face it, I wouldn’t have bothered to get the items I needed. Then what would be the purpose of the storage unit?
Whether you’re storing items in a unit, in your home, or in the process of moving – I’d recommend:
- label each box on all 4 sides. That way no matter which way it gets turned or you which way you dig it out, you’ll know exactly what’s in it.
- Prioritize items so things you may need sooner (such as seasonal clothing, decorations or the baby items I needed) are easier to reach.
- Take advantage of height by hanging large items from the rafters. S hooks work well for this.
- Properly pack odd shaped items into boxes so they can be stacked, placing the heaviest and fullest boxes on the bottom.
- If you’re only taking advantage of half the height in your unit, you’re wasting half your space and could really pay for a smaller unit instead.
First, is a storage unit truly necessary? As Americans, we tend to collect things we “need” or want, but rarely use or appreciate. I was definitely guilty of this. We had storage units ranging from 10×10 to 15×20 for over 2 years. By the time we cleared out the last unit I realized that some of the items I’d placed in storage more than 2 years ago (and moved from one unit to the next) I no longer really cared about. I hadn’t missed them and didn’t see myself ever using them again. Before you rent a storage unit to store items make sure you really need to keep the items, as well as other items in your home that may be taking up valuable storage space.
Second, see if there are some ways to create storage space in your home. Have you taken advantage of all the available wall space in closets and the upper space in your cabinets? Can a bed be placed on risers or a piece of furniture be pulled away from the wall to make room for storage behind it? Could boxes be double stacked along the walls of your garage and still leave room for your vehicles? Perhaps replacing more decorative pieces of furniture with ones that offer storage and functionality would meet your storage needs. If you have a large enough room you could likely add a closet for a reasonable amount of money ($400-$600). Balanced with the cost of a storage unit rental, it would pay for itself in a year or less.
Third, if a storage unit is a must have consider purchasing one rather than renting. There are many units available with reasonable rent to own rates. 10×10 non climate controlled units rent for $55-$75 in Tyler depending on location and security options. A similar 10×12 rent to own unit would run around $75/mo for 3 years. A wooden structure similar to the one above would be $110/mo for 5 years.
The 3 big advantages of renting to own a unit are that after 3-5 years you own it (so no more payments), it becomes a bid of added value to your home, plus it’s in your backyard so your items are easily accessible to you. We all know that the more demands there are on our time, the more likely we are to give into costly conveniences. Having your items close by makes them more likely to be put to use as well.
When we bought our current home we were originally looking in a lower price range with 300-400 fewer sq. ft. We decided to go up about $10,000 to get the larger home because the payments would go up less than $60 a month. The storage unit we had at the time was about $125 a month and was 15×20 and only half filled. We got much more extra space and for half the price, plus our items were climate controlled. We’ve since managed to weed through our “must have” storage items and regain use of nearly all of our office space.
Storage units are fine for a short period of time, but they can become money traps to hold onto things of the past. If the items you want to store have no sentimental value they can probably be easily replaced at less than the cost to store them for years collecting dust.
As Martha would say – If you’re not going to love it and appreciate it, let someone else!
This is the last post in the organizing series of tips from Martha. Did you enjoy these tips?
If you need some help organizing your home or planning an estate sale you can send Martha a message here to see how she can assist your family in creating some organizational peace in your home!
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good stuff!