If you're moving to another home in the same city, a storage locker becomes convenient extra space. You can take your time organizing the move and the space in your new home. Here is how to use this extra space to make your move less stressful and more efficient.
Sorting and Decluttering
The first pass through your house is to identify items that you are ready to throw out, sell or don't need right now because of the season. Rent a space at a mini storage facility closer to your new home, or at least mid way between the two houses, to make it more convenient. Set aside a space in your home for sorting and go through each room to categorize your personal items as follows:
- Things to be sold in a garage sale before you move.
- Things to be taken to a thrift store or donated to a specific local charity.
- Things to go into the landfill or recycling.
- Things you won't need for several months and can go into the storage locker.
- Things you absolutely want to keep, but don't know where. These go to the storage locker for now.
- Things you're on the fence about keeping and you don't want to throw them out right now. These also go into storage.
Now make a trip to the thrift store, landfill, recycling center and storage locker with these items. This is just the first pass you'll make with your personal items. You'll have less items to move to the new house. Another pass will reduce the number of items even more.
Packing Means More Sorting and Decluttering
Before you pack, have the garage sale and you'll have that pile of items paired down. Donate what is left to a local charity since you didn't want them anymore. Then you can move on to the packing stage.
Packing for a move gives you another chance to decide whether you really want to keep an item or not, and if so, where you want to store it. As you pack, sort the items as to:
- Things you really don't want to keep, move, and store
- Things that you want to keep and want in your new home
- Things that you want to keep but don't need them in your new home right now
You'll make another trip to the thrift store, landfill, recycling center and storage locker, and you'll have even fewer items to move to your new home. If you really want to be ruthless, ask yourself if you will need a particular item at the new home in the first few weeks or if it is something you use every day. If so, then pack it up to move to the new home. The rest goes into storage.
After the Move
Once you've moved into your new home and have it organized the way you want it, you can begin to move items in storage to your home. You may decide that you like the look and feel of having more open space in your home, so the items in storage will stay there for a while. This gives you a chance to settle into the new home and decide later what to do with what you have in storage.
For a storage unit facility in your area, contact a company such as Simonson's Mini Storage.
