Why declutter? In addition to the obvious advantage of having more space at home, decluttering brings a range of other benefits.
One of the most important doesn’t relate to the house at all, but to the people living there. Research into the psychology of clutter is increasingly pointing towards the conclusion that a cluttered home is a stressful home. Visual clutter increases levels of cortisol, a hormone that the body releases when stressed. Especially when working from home, decluttering can lead to you being calmer and more productive.
Reducing clutter also means that you’ll be able to find what you are looking for quicker. Instead of rooting around through a pile of items whenever you need to find something, decluttering and organising means that you can see exactly what you have.
Finally, decluttering gives you a blank canvass to make new changes. Just because you once wanted and used something doesn’t mean you have to keep it forever: getting rid of it creates space for something you want now.
The thing that stops many people from decluttering is a worry that they may need the things they get rid of later. Self-storage provides a steppingstone: the items are out of your house, but they aren’t completely gone.
Ideas for decluttering using self-storage
In addition to storing unused or unwanted items, a self-storage facility can help declutter in other ways.
Infrequently used items
Often, clutter isn’t just items you don’t want, but items that you do want but infrequently use. Camping equipment and bulky sports equipment are perfect examples of this. You’ll almost certainly want to keep them for future adventures, but unless you’re going camping every weekend there is no need to have them in the living room. Putting these items in self-storage keeps them safe and out of the way while not in use. When you do come to need them, you will know exactly where they are.
Seasonal items
Similarly, some items are only used for part of the year. The majority of people will not need a thick down coat in summer, or beach wear in the winter. Rather than have these belongings cluttering up wardrobes and drawers while not in use, put them into storage. When the seasons change, you can swap everything over. This way, you can have them when you need them without them taking up space at home.
Renovations
The most challenging thing about DIY projects is often just finding the space to do them. Without a storage space, the option is often between working around the mess or moving everything into another room, thereby putting two rooms out of action until the project is done. Putting the contents of the room into storage allows you to work more efficiently without the clutter. Then, when everything is finished, you can decide what needs to be moved back in.
Garage
Believe it or not, the garage was once an area for keeping a car in. For most households now, the garage is an area for storing odds and ends from the rest of the house that don’t belong anywhere else. Reclaim your garage by putting these bits into storage. Clearing out the garage this way can often reveal a surprising amount of space, which can be used for any number of applications.