So many of us are “stuff” obsessed, filling our homes with useful and, if we’re perfectly honest, useless items. This can lead to cramped spaces packed to the rims, closets overflowing, guest rooms stacked with boxes, and garages that serve as storage spaces instead of a place to park the car. When this happens, it’s not uncommon to seek out additional self-storage spaces. Self-storage is always an option, but it can get expensive. If your home is starting to get a little overrun with stuff, here are 12 trade secrets to help you keep your self-storage costs down.
1. Do you need it?
The easiest way to reduce costs is to reduce the size of your storage space. This takes some tough love. Anything you plan to store should be scrutinized with a brutally honest eye. Ask yourself, “Do I need this?” If the answer is yes, then keep it. If the answer is no, then you can choose to:
- Sell
- Give away to friends or family
- Give away to charity
- Dump
2. Sell it
Once you’ve sorted your items, you can make some extra cash by selling the items that have value. Not only will you reduce the stuff you have to store, but also have money to go towards your storage space.
3. Stop buying stuff
This can be hard for some people, but you have to ask yourself if you need to buy so much stuff. Think of the money you could save if you stopped giving in to the need for material things. You could plan a trip, have a down payment for a home, buy a car, or invest in your future.
