10 Tips to Decluttering Your Basement this Spring
Spring is here and it’s time to clean out your basement! Spring offers the opportunity for renewal and a fresh start. Why not take the opportunity to move your unused items out of your basement and to a storage unit nearby?
One may ask, “I want to declutter my house and my basement, but what should I do with my sentimental items? Are there storage units near me that can hold these items for me?”
The answer is, “Yes!” Shield Storage Kansas City, MO can offer you just what you need to store your personal, sentimental items.
It’s important to understand that you are not alone in this endeavor. Did you know that about 90% of the homes in Kansas City have a basement? But many utilize the space for storage and not functional living space. You don’t have to live with the clutter any longer!
A Storage unit nearby can provide a great option to give you back the livable space you need in your home while allowing you to keep the items you hold most dear.
Decluttering your home has become very popular. As we look to simplify our lives, we strive to focus on giving more time, and space, to the things we hold most dear. The truth is, however, many of us have inherited items from loved ones that we just can’t seem to bring ourselves to part with.
Maybe it’s grandma’s old hutch, your mom’s favorite chair, or your grandfather’s tools. No matter the item, if it holds a sentimental place in your heart it’s difficult to talk yourself into purging it.
Over time, like many of us, it’s possible that you’ve filled your basement with items just like the ones listed above as well as many others that hold no value at all. What should you keep and what should you dispose of? What is still being used regularly and what hasn’t been used for years?
It’s time for you to take a closer look and take back the space you deserve.
As you begin to declutter your basement, you may wonder if you need to keep everything you want to store in your basement, garage, or another place in your home?
The best solution would be to declutter the space and determine which items are used regularly enough that they should be kept in your home, which items you can get rid of, and what you would like to store at a self-storage facility.
More space means more possibilities!
Whether you still have a student learning at home who needs a designated workspace, or you need a place to exercise, your basement could offer you and your family extra living space. As you navigate the process of decluttering your basement, having the peace of mind that you can keep the sentimental items you cherish at a nearby storage facility gives you the peace of mind to make the space functional and usable.
Your basement no longer has to be your family’s storage space but a usable living space where future memories can be made.
Think of the possibilities!
Consider the time you can spend with family and friends watching the Kansas City Chiefs or Kansas City Royals play on your big screen TV in your newly created living space. Or the amazing new playroom your kids will have to store their toys, games, and spend hours creating and using their imaginations.
If your family is anything like mine, the thought of having a designated play space for the kids is a dream we can’t wait to have come true!
What about those of us who need a place to work out at home? Your basement may provide you the perfect space to create a home gym, so you don’t have to think about wearing a mask while you work out. The possibilities are endless!
10 tips to clear out your basement and add more living space to your home.
With all that the city of Kansas City, MO has to offer with museums, sporting events, or the vibrant downtown scene, spending weeks decluttering your basement does not sound very exciting.
To help you navigate this process, we put together a list of tips to help you declutter your basement this spring! We want you to do this efficiently so you can enjoy your own and the beautiful city of Kansas City, MO!
It’s time to clear out some space and expand the living area in your home, so let’s get started!
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Start small.
Any project in the home can seem extremely daunting as you gear up to start. As you stand at the steps of your basement looking out over the random items lying all around the room, you begin to feel a bit sick to your stomach.
The stress and anxiety build as you start to count the boxes, sift through the documents, and find the old pieces of sports equipment that have been tossed aside into this make-shift storage unit for the last 5, 10, or maybe even 20 years.
You can’t help but freeze in the panic of not knowing where you should begin.
The key is to start small. Pick one box. Choose one stack of documents. Select one pile of old clothes or sports equipment. Start here.
When you focus on starting small, you take the first steps needed to get started. Don’t expect yourself to finish all at once. Just start with one thing.
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Set goals
A key to being successful with anything like decluttering your basement is setting goals. Set realistic goals to help you move through the task. Do you want to take it a step further? Write it down!
Write down your goals so you can visualize what needs to be accomplished each step of the way. The task may seem daunting, but when you start small and set goals it will be finished before you know it!
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Make a timeline
As you’re writing down your goals, it’s also helpful if you set timelines for yourself. How long do you want to give yourself to get each step, or phase, of the project, done? Do you want to set weekly goals, do you want to do a little each day, or are you going to set a timeframe for the project?
Find what is best for yourself and for the project you’re working on and set a timeframe that will help motivate you and hold you accountable for getting the job completed.
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Boxes, trash bags, and shelves… Oh my!
How do you choose? Where should each item go?
Does it go in a box to save, a trash bag to be donated or thrown away, or on a shelf to keep and admire? For some, it’s easy.
You know the documents in the box are 20 years old and you don’t need them anymore. So, they get shredded, and the contents go into a trash bag to be tossed. Then there’s the pair of shoes, pants, and shirts your husband hasn’t worn for years. It’s time for those to go into a bag to be donated to someone who WILL wear them.
What about your Grandmother’s favorite set of teacups? They aren’t your favorite, but you know they hold so many memories for your family. The thought of donating them makes you want to cry but having them in the basement where they could be broken makes your anxiety sore through the roof.
The teacups can go in a box, or a plastic storage bin, and put aside for another time. They can go to a storage unit nearby, and when you’re ready to use them or put them on display they will be there waiting.
It all may be daunting, but it’s going to be ok. There is a place for everything in a box, trash bag, or on a shelf.
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Clutter vs Classics
Is your basement full of clutter or full of classics? For most of us, it’s a little bit of both. The key is determining what items fall into which category. If you have deemed an item as “clutter”, decide if it needs to be trashed or donated.
Some clutter is sentimental, such as your children’s art projects and drawings from school. In this case, consider taking pictures of these priceless treasures and putting those images in cloud storage. You can keep them there for years to come without having to take up space that could be used for other purposes.
Then you have your classics. Take my Great-Aunt’s golf clubs for example. These were a gem! A true classic.
My Great-Aunt got these golf clubs when she was in her 40s and would golf with my Great-Uncle. We never knew exactly when they were made, but she received them as a gift in the 70s and they were handed down to me. I loved those golf clubs, and then it got to the point where I golfed less regularly, and we didn’t have the space to store them.
If I had known then what I know now, these would have gone straight to a storage unit near me.
The classic items don’t have to be donated or thrown out if you don’t have space for them. If they aren’t something you use regularly, but still love, they could be stored at a storage unit nearby.
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Remember the 1-year rule
This is a simple one and is pretty straightforward. We use it regularly in our home as my kids go through their things each year. Ask yourself, “Have I used it or worn it in the last year?” If not, it’s time for it to go.
Now, where it goes needs a bit deeper of an evaluation. That decision can be made depending on the state of the item, the sentimental value, or the potential for it to be utilized and appreciated by someone else.
Inevitably, it should go to the trash, be donated, or placed in a box or storage bin and moved into an off-site storage facility.
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Get creative
When you are working on any goal it’s important to get a little creative. Creativity makes it fun! Look for new ways you could use items that were deemed as no longer useful.
There’s an old table that could be turned into an outside table for the patio. Could old jars that could be used for kitchen storage? One idea I love is this LEGO organizer made from an old toolbox!
Getting creative with your old items is a great way to recycle the things you have in your basement that you don’t want to get rid of. What if you know you want to do something with an old item but just aren’t quite sure what it is you want to do with it yet? Or maybe you don’t want to donate it, but you don’t have the time for any extra projects right now.
Either way, finding a better storage unit nearby, that doesn’t take up your personal living space, where these items can live until you’re ready to complete these projects may be the best solution.
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Ask yourself, “Do I love it?”
There is one question you can ask yourself as you work through this process: “Do I love it?”
Well, do you?
If you love it, keep it! Do you use it? Keep it at home. On the other hand, if you don’t consider finding a storage facility nearby to store it for the time being.
If you don’t love it, you should consider donating it or having a garage sale. Either way, you should commit to purging the items you don’t love because there is a good chance that someone else will!
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Find the best storage solution to fit your needs
The process of discerning what to do with the items you have currently stored in your basement can be quite the process. Once completed, however, you will find that you have some items that are ready to be stored near your Kansas City, MO home
Finding the right storage facility that will provide a better storage solution is extremely important. You want to make sure that you find a storage unit nearby that meets all of your needs and offers a wide variety of storage options.
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Make the move!
Once you’ve sorted through all the loose items, boxes, and documents it is time for you to make the move! You’ve found the best storage facility. You’ve had the garage sale and donated any leftover items. Great job!
Now it’s time to make the move! Get those classic, sentimental items you want to keep over to your new storage unit nearby your home. Then, you can begin transforming your basement into space your family will love!
Remember, you don’t have to force yourself to get rid of everything. It may, however, be time to declutter and get rid of the items that no longer hold any meaning. Then, find a storage facility, such as Shield Storage, Kansas City, Missouri to store your sentimental items. This, in turn, will allow you to use the space in your home for a living!
Contact us today for rates and to learn more about our current move-in specials!