You may have plans to try and clear out your storage space in the New Year to allow extra room for new belongings, or maybe you want to do a stock check of what’s been left in your storage unit, especially if you’ve been renting yours for years. Did you know the longest-standing storer we have at Hogleaze has been here for a total of 15 years?
Whatever your reasons are, it’s important to clear out your storage unit in a methodical way. We’ve seen many people come and go, so here are some of our top tips for clearing out your unit.
Decide on the purpose for your clear-out
- When deciding to clear out your unit, most of our customers fit into one of these categories:
- You’re relocating and need a storage unit closer to home
- You need to fill your unit with different belongings from your home
- You are downsizing or upsizing your unit
- You’ve decided to sell some of your belongings within the unit
- Your unit was only a short term requirement for a house move
It may be a big job, so you need to be ready and set the time aside knowing what your end goal is!
Start with a stock take
Do you even realise what you’ve been hoarding in your storage unit? In some cases, people just keep filling their unit higher and higher until there’s no space left, which can lead to things being forgotten about.
By doing a stocktake of every item, big and small, you can easily refer back to it and remove or sell if needs be.
Prepare the right kit for your clearout
Here are a few items we would suggest you take with you to make your clearout as stress-free and easy as possible:
- New boxes – you may want to move some possessions into new boxes if they are looking a bit tatty.
- Labels – did you rush the moving in process and forget to label? We would recommend labelling everything!
- Pen for writing labels
- Rubbish bags
- Scissors and tape
- Cleaning equipment
Categorise your belongings (and be brutal)
If you have a lot of ‘stuff’ in your unit, we would recommend categorising your belongings, for example:
- Large goods
- Small belongings
- Antiques
- Items of sentimental value
- Items of high value etc
Whilst doing your stocktake, you also need to be brutally honest with yourself about what you can keep and what you can chuck in the bin (or you could take some stuff to the charity shop).
Something you may have thought you wanted to keep 5 years ago may not have the same emotional or sentimental value or may have decreased so much in physical value it’s not worth keeping.
Can anything be sold?
There are some great, fairly new apps and selling sites that allow you to sell your second-hand furniture, antiques, electronics or clothing quickly and with little to no selling fees. Simply snap a picture, upload and await the offers to come in! Here are some we would recommend:
- Facebook Marketplace – this allows you to super easily add products with no fees, it’s best for local sales, but you can offer delivery if you’re happy to do this.
- Gumtree – a site that’s been around for a while now, but is still a popular option, especially for larger goods such as furniture.
- eBay – anything and everything can go on here and lets you reach a wide audience from all across the country.
- Vinted & Depop – these are great apps for those wishing to sell clothing, in particular designer or vintage items.
Make some space
Even if you only have a small unit, it’s good to have a central space in your unit so you are able to see everything in there, that way things don’t just get pushed to the back never to be seen again. Having a little rejig can make this quite a simple job, you could also consider adding shelving into your unit to make everything a bit more accessible.
Bring in the cavalry
If you see this as too big of a job to handle yourself, don’t be afraid to ask friends or family yourself, you could even make a bit of fun out of it and start auctioning off your belongings (or just giving them away if you’re feeling generous).
Contact Hogleaze Storage
Did you know that we also have storage boxes and packaging materials that you can purchase from reception? We can also provide trolleys to make it easier for you to get to and from your vehicle whilst clearing out your unit.
If you need to discuss storage options with us simply give us a call on 01305 889777 for Dorchester or email info@hogleazestorage.co.uk OR for Weymouth 01305 830000 or email info@weymouthselfstorage.co.uk