4 Things You'll Want to Store Once You've Finished Spring Cleaning

Even if you keep your home fairly organized and put together, chances are you will find yourself wanting to hit the “reset” button on your home at least once a year.

After all, there’s something satisfying about taking inventory of your pantry and tossing out-of-date items or getting every last grain of sand off the floor that you spilled out of your beach tote from three months ago.

Perhaps you’re the kind of person who has let a few projects around the house go and plan on fixing them now once and for all. Whatever the case, we know that once you have completed your ritualistic cleaning you’ll have some items that you may not want to give away, but don’t have a place for in your pristinely clean home.

Have you considered self storage? If not, get ready to! Below are four kinds of items you may come across after spring cleaning that we think would be perfect for self storage.

Wet Paper Sucks

The more time we spend on this earth, the more papers we seem to accumulate; and it’s not all stuff that we necessarily want to or should throw away!

Of course, important tax documents, contracts, and various paperwork may be what comes to mind. But we are also talking about things made of paper. Things like books, photographs, party supplies, etc. that you may want to hold onto.

Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to store these seldomly looked at or used items somewhere dry, secure, and out of the way? We think so. And self storage can offer that. If you are worried about needing documents at a moment’s notice, consider making copies that you can keep at home while storing the originals in self storage.

“Backing up” your documents like this is also a way to ensure that all your irreplaceable documents are safe from fire or water damage in the event of a natural disaster.

Keeping other items like books, keepsakes, gift wraps, and decorations in self storage will not only help you declutter closets until you’re ready to use them but also help keep them in the best possible condition, not to mention organized.

Think of all the times you’ve gone searching for that certain item and found it torn, wrinkled, or damaged from the weight of all the other things on top of it. Simply giving these paper accessories enough room to live will help you keep an inventory of what you have and keep them looking as good as the day you put them in self storage.

Toys Taking Over

It gets overwhelming. Between birthdays, holidays, grandparent visits, and the occasional moments of weakness at the store, toys seem to take over.

For the majority of those living in SoCal, extra living space isn’t easy (or cheap) to come by. So if you have children and seem to be living up to your neck in toys your child has accumulated, think self storage. We’re not saying put all of them away, but just some of them. You could even create a sort of library of toys in self storage, where your child can “check out” toys or swap them. Having a rotating stash of never-ending and seemingly “new” toys.

Not only will this help you have peace of mind by reclaiming your once toy-cluttered living space, but it will also improve your child’s developing mind. A study published in the journal Infant Behavior and Development says that when researchers gave kids under age 3 either four toys or 16 toys to play with, then recorded their playing habits, children with fewer toys in the environment engaged in longer periods of play with more creativity.

Seasonal Home Decor and Furnishings

Do you have a special set of decorations you like to arrange in your home to get in the holiday spirit? Maybe you have a different set of decorations for every holiday? Perhaps you even have a different set of linens, paintings, furniture covers, wreaths, etc. that you like to switch out for every season?

If the answer is yes, then it’s likely that you have a storage space at home that is filled to the brim with all the “off-season” decor and furniture you’re not using. Self storage is the perfect solution for freeing up that space. If you are concerned about some of your decor being heat sensitive, we recommend considering climate-controlled storage.

We also highly recommend self storage for outdoor decor and furniture. While outdoor furniture is built to last despite the elements, you’ll be giving them twice the life they would have had if you simply tuck them away during the coldest months. Investing in self storage will likely lead to you actually saving money on not replacing outdoor furniture!

Clothes and Accessories not in the Closet

Maximize the space you have in your closet and in storage by taking a look at what you will most likely wear based on the season.

Even in the seasonally challenged land of Southern California, we like to cycle through different wardrobes! And since not all of us have a glorious walk-in closet, it makes sense to store some of our clothes away until we are ready to use them.

That being said, why not store them somewhere that you know they won’t be disturbed: like self storage.

While your clothes and accessories may seem to be holding up okay being stored in a plastic sack at home, you might be surprised what home storage leaves your clothes susceptible to.

Pests like moths and rodents can ruin your favorite garments and you won’t even realize it happened until the next time you go to wear them! And while we love our furry four-legged friends, one of the toughest situations is to find your favorite pair of stilettos or a designer handbag in shreds.

If you are looking for a way to ensure that your clothes are as pristine as the day you bought them, self storage is the way to go.

Buy an inexpensive garment rack plus a few garment bags and BOOM! You have a perfect way to store your beautiful pieces without fear of wrinkles, dust, mildew, pests, or discoloration.

This way of using self storage is so popular that there are even people who run their online clothing business out of a storage unit. Before you go donating or selling your clothing because you’ve run out of space at home, consider self storage.

The Take-Away

In the wake of your spring cleaning extravaganza, using self storage to help you give your home that clutter-free, catalog feel is within reach. You can also lessen a lot of stress associated with trying to fit everything into your limited at-home storage space by narrowing down what items you truly use on a regular basis and items that you only need once in a while. That way not only are you decluttering and organizing your home, but also your mind.  

Of course, everyone has different storage needs and situations, but we hope that you find our top four suggestions to be helpful! There are so many items that would benefit from being stored in self storage, it’s up to you to figure out how it can change your spring cleaning game!