Let’s be honest; the main reason why most of us have storage units in the first place is that we get to have a place to dump stuff we don’t need but can’t get rid of. This gives us the perfect excuse not to clean up. Like any other part of your home or office, your storage unit also requires cleaning. You never know; by cleaning out your storage unit, you may find something useful or valuable.
Any Junk Removal Services in Kansas City, Kansas, knows how difficult cleaning out a storage unit can get. So, here are a few tips you can use to clean out a storage unit.
Take Inventory of Your Belongings
You can’t clean out your storage unit without first knowing what you have in there. Therefore, your first step should be scanning your unit and taking an inventory of everything inside your unit. It doesn’t matter whether you got the storage space via auction, inherited it, or had it for years; you need to know what’s inside.
Here are a few steps to quickly assess what you have in the storage unit.
Jot down the items you see: Have a pen and paper that you can use to jot down the large items you see immediately. Ensure that you count the boxes and write down how many you need to sort through. This will help estimate how much time it may take to clean out those boxes. You can also identify whether you need extra help going through the boxes.
Have an open space outside or inside the storage unit: Space may sometimes be pretty limited in your storage unit. However, you do need space to clear out your storage space effectively. If the inside of your storage unit doesn’t have space, you can clear out space outside. However, ensure you don’t block someone else’s storage space with your items.
Look inside the boxes: Now that you know how many boxes you have, the next step is opening the boxes. Make sure you look inside the boxes and take inventory of what’s inside. For boxes that are already labeled, you can skip this step.
Ask for Help
Depending on the number of stuff you have in your unit, you need to ask for help. You can choose to hire a junk removal company or have your family and friends assist with the clean-up. The more hands you have at your disposal, the easier it gets to clean up your storage unit. Asking for help also reduces stress, which, in turn, makes the task exciting for everyone involved.
However, before you can start the clean-up, it’s important to establish the following factors:
How much time will the clean-up take? You may require more than one day to clean your unit, so ensure you overestimate. Also, plan accordingly to get the most from the clean-up. Having this information beforehand will also be quite useful for the people helping you with the clean-up.
How many people do you need? If you have established that you require help, ensure you ask your friends and family in advance. It would also be best to reach out to the junk removal company beforehand, as this will give you more time to find the right company.
Sort into Categories
Now that you have help cleaning out your storage unit, the next step is sorting your stuff into categories. For this stage, it would be best to use the four-box declutter method. This method requires the use of boxes- a keep, store, toss, and donate box.
- The keep box is for items you want to remove from your unit and take home.
- The store box is for things you want to remain in the storage unit
- The donate/sell box is for items you wish to donate or sell.
- The toss box is for broken items beyond repair; as the name suggests, you need to discard them.
During this process, it’s important not to be afraid to say goodbye to old things. Letting go of items that mean something isn’t easy, but it has to be done. The more you are comfortable getting rid of items, the easier it gets to clean up your unit. Now that the heavy lifting is complete, organizing your store box items will be a walk in the park.
But if you don’t want to go through this entire system, why not hire the services of a junk removal company? The best part about working with one is that you won’t have to lift a finger to clean your storage unit.
