If money is tight and you have a storage unit, that could be the first place you should cut costs. It may take an upfront investment of money or time to go through everything, but once you do, the savings are huge.
Let’s crunch some numbers:
A 5×10 storage space (which is tiny) costs about $50/month or $600/year.
Most people have at least a 10×10 storage unit which is about $80/month or $960 per year.
Ask yourself:
Are the things I’m storing worth $1000 a year? (Remember that what you paid for something is not the same as what you can sell it for.) If they are, then why am I giving that money to some storage company, especially if I need cash now? Sell it now and save yourself the storage unit fee.
In reality, most things decrease in value over time. Take a long hard look at what you are storing and evaluate your true costs. Most storage units have an old couch, a box spring from a bed, DVDs, VHS’s, a bike, and bags of clothes. Nothing that will increase in value and most of which isn’t worth the price of the first month.
With the advent of Facebook Marketplace, eBay, Craigslist, and many other platforms to sell, it is very easy to sell items that you can’t use right now. It’s also easy to purchase those same items, for cheap, if you ever do need them in the future.
Yes, a storage unit can be necessary and they serve their function in society, but if you have one for more than 6 months you may be wasting your money.
If you want one-on-one help organizing a space, call me at 208.736.3306 for a free consultation. I’d love to help you on your organizational journey.