Traditionally people going through relocation’s, marriage, divorce, inheritances, and other life transitions would use storage units for short periods of time. \u00a0Now, storage units are also used long term \u2013 a way to keep things we don\u2019t want in our homes or those things don\u2019t fit in our homes.\u00a0 There\u2019s no doubt these self-storage units provide a beneficial service \u2013 I used one for relocating challenges many years ago and expect I might again when its time for home staging.\u00a0 So whether you currently have a storage unit or will need one in the future, the way you use the space can make the difference between simplifying and complicating things for yourself.<\/p>\n
The best approach you can take for your storage unit is to set it up in ways that will both maximize the space as well as providing you with easy access to all the contents. \u00a0Essentially you want the ability to get to any content within 10 minutes whether you\u2019re planning on ignoring it until you\u2019re ready to empty it or if you\u2019ll need to be in and out of it periodically.\u00a0\u00a0 Of course, if you end up needing to get at something before you empty the storage unit and you\u2019ve organized the contents, you can get what you need with little hassle.\u00a0 Also, when you set it up with this easy access to each thing, you\u2019re simplifying the process for when you empty it \u2013 as the mover\u2019s or yourself can make the most of loading the car or truck.\u00a0 Overall it means simplifying \u2013 a little planning and organizing can save you time as well as money.<\/p>\n
Ok then, how do you set up a storage unit with this in mind?<\/p>\n
First, to keep access for all the contents, you make aisles.\u00a0 You\u2019re leaving space for you (or whoever) to move among the contents as well as allowing some space for shifting or rearranging if needed. There\u2019s no right way to make the aisles \u2013 it doesn\u2019t have to be from the door to the back wall \u2013 consider the dimensions of the unit and the things you\u2019re storing.<\/p>\n
Can you touch each box without having to move other things?\u00a0 It doesn\u2019t have to be set up this way, though it will make things easiest if you end up needing access to some of the contents and will facilitate your handling the things in there.\u00a0 You can identify the box\/bin\/container you need to get access to \u2013 without digging and moving things only to discover it wasn\u2019t behind that<\/i> box after all.<\/p>\n
In keeping with making the most of the space and making aisles, each container needs only one access point \u2013 so other than the items along the walls \u2013 you can make 2 rows of your stuff between each aisle.\u00a0 The only things you\u2019d need to move if you need access to one container would be any boxes on top of the needed container.\u00a0\u00a0 The aisles also provide an easy place to put those boxes you\u2019re moving in order to get access to the container you need.<\/p>\n
Second, as you\u2019re looking at the space available \u2013 even if you already have a full unit \u2013 pay attention to the vertical space.\u00a0 Not unlike a small living space, one way to make the most of small spaces is to maximize the area between the floor and the ceiling.\u00a0 How you will use this space depends on different factors:<\/p>\n
Third, keeping categories of things together.\u00a0 If you\u2019ve got books in storage, get them all together.\u00a0 Clothes, kitchen things, storage\/organizing containers, holiday decor, whatever broad grouping of similar things being kept together will help you if you need to find something and when you\u2019re moving the containers out of the storage unit \u2013 since you\u2019d probably prefer the books don\u2019t inadvertently crush the box of memorabilia while they\u2019re in transit.\u00a0 Broad categories are often all you need, though there can be further detailed grouping when it\u2019s appropriate.<\/p>\n
If you\u2019re storing things you want to go through over time, having the categories will also simplify that process \u2013 having like items together will make it easier for you to make decisions.\u00a0 You can focus on one type of thing (avoiding switching between types of things) and know what else you have \u2013 which will help preserve your energy and maximize making decisions about each item within the category.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s helpful to make sure you know where the various categories are located within the storage unit \u2013 for locating what you need, for when it\u2019s time to empty the unit, for sorting, purging and further organizing, and for anything else.\u00a0 You can label the containers \u2013 with a magic marker, attaching labels to the containers, or even to make a diagram mapping the locations of your categories (so you know the front half of the row along the left wall are where your books are located).<\/p>\n
When you have a storage unit \u2013 whatever the reason \u2013 making the most of the space is important.\u00a0 Even if you already have a filled storage unit, with some time and effort you can rearrange things, making things easier in moving forward.\u00a0 You\u2019re paying money to save and protect your things.\u00a0 These are 3 important aspects for maximizing the space and more importantly, keeping things as easy as possible for you: 1) access with aisles, 2) maximize vertical space, and 3) categorize and group contents together.\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0With these three pieces you can keep your things, your storage unit and using the space (for accessing or for filling and then emptying) as simple as possible.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Aside:\u00a0 If you\u2019re renting a storage unit for an undefined amount of time \u2013 a life transition \u2013 without a real deadline, consider setting a deadline for yourself, choosing your own time frame (and it\u2019s good to be generous).\u00a0 It can be an out-of-sight out-of mind cost, where it becomes easier to keep paying the fee for the storage unit than to face the plethora of decisions inside!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
There might be times in your life when you need to use a storage unit (either for short- or long-term use) for things you want to hold onto. Consider these things in setting it up in order to make the most of the space and keep things simple.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[10,5,22,15,17],"class_list":["post-1713","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-organizing","tag-behavior","tag-household","tag-productivity","tag-resources","tag-spaces"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7p82c-rD","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.jenniferlinnig.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1713","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.jenniferlinnig.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.jenniferlinnig.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.jenniferlinnig.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.jenniferlinnig.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1713"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"http:\/\/www.jenniferlinnig.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1713\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1717,"href":"http:\/\/www.jenniferlinnig.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1713\/revisions\/1717"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.jenniferlinnig.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1713"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.jenniferlinnig.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1713"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.jenniferlinnig.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1713"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}