Storage Organizing Success
Storage units are a nice option for those in transition. For someone in a temporary living situation, they make it possible to hold on to those keeper items without having tons of boxes or unneeded stuff lying around.
I recently helped a client purge and organize her storage unit. As she is in a place of transition, half of what was there needed to stay because she will need it when she settles into a more permanent living situation. For the rest, however, it was time to say goodbye.
Here’s where we started.
Well, we actually had coffee and a nice chat first because we knew this was going to be really hard work. We worked from the top down, front to back, as we pulled out items and placed them into separate categories down the narrow hallway of the building. We were so glad no one came into the same section that morning!
Everything came out. I mean EVERYTHING.
Our categories included: keep, donate, trash, sell, and go through. There were some boxes of “stuff” that needed to be sorted through by the client herself. This is going to take time beyond what can be done in a single morning. So I helped my client by gathering those boxes together, and making them accessible in the unit itself. She can now grab one at a time to take to her home and sort through.
As boxes and items were returned to the unit, we created a path down the middle that went all the way to the back wall. On one side are items to be kept and taken with her on her next move. On the other side are the boxes that need to be worked through one at a time.
Needless to say, she was very pleased with the progress! I’m so proud of her for the hard decisions she made that morning, and the ones she will make in the future. Here’s a before and after shot. And as you can see, she can now have easy access to all items in the unit.
The plan is to say goodbye to the unit altogether with her next move. Storage units are a nice tool in the transition period, but they are a monthly expense that’s not always necessary! We must be careful that they do not become a place to store everything we want to keep but don’t use.
Happy Organizing!
Melissa
Get Organized. Simply Live.