Self storage units can be handy when it comes to getting seasonal items out of the house, as well as protecting larger assets such as boats and RVs. But especially around the holidays, it may become clear to you that you’re holding onto more than is really manageable and healthy; storage unit rentals should allow you to safely store the things you love, not enable you to pile up items that could have a better life elsewhere (or even in the trash bin). Here are some tips for what you should — and shouldn’t — consider storing this holiday season.
What You Should Store
Self storage units are the perfect way to accommodate the rotation of seasonal elements in your home. Even if you don’t decorate as extensively for other seasons, it’s likely you have items coming both in and out of your home around the winter holidays. A storage unit can also be handy if multiple family traditions mean that decorating habits vary from year to year (white lights on the tree in even years, colored lights in odd years, for example).
There’s nothing wrong with holding onto sentimental items that aren’t used yearly as long as you curate them carefully. The holidays are, after all, a sentimental time of year. You can keep holiday-related items (a card written by a grandparent for a baby’s first Christmas, etc.) without feeling the need to set them out every single year. This will allow you to preserve memories — ones that will probably live on in your children’s homes in the future — without too much clutter.
What You Shouldn’t Store
Especially if you’re renting a storage unit to clean out crowded attic and garage space, don’t simply shuttle your boxes over blindly; you’ll end up just shifting your clutter to self storage units without solving anything. As you move your things, take a hard look at every single item in every single box. Most families end up accumulating items they don’t need and don’t have any attachment to. If it wasn’t used last year and won’t be used this year (and doesn’t fall into one of the sentimental exceptions above), donate it. If you get started a little early, you might even be able to sell higher-quality pieces and pick up a little extra gift money.
Whether you’re celebrating Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa or Solstice, these holidays are supposed to be about peace and joy, not stress and showing off. So if your storage unit is filled with decorations you and your spouse bicker over putting up, or your kids complain about not being able to actually touch, then it’s time to whittle down your collection and focus on what really matters.
Do you have any tips on choosing self storage locations, or ideas as to what sets apart a great self storage company from its competitors? Join the discussion in the comments.
