Every Fourth of July we celebrate our nation’s history and take a moment to appreciate living in the land of the free. Thankfully our forefathers chose to not accept taxation without representation. They determined that the status quo was no longer acceptable and took the necessary steps needed for change.
We can apply this same thinking to the things that are holding us back today. A surprising number of Americans find themselves living under the tyranny of clutter in their homes. If you are among them, it’s time to take your independence back.
A Four-Step Battle Plan
SORTING: Start with three large containers labeled “Keep,” “Toss” and “Donate.” Keep only what is in good working order, what you use on a frequent basis or items that are of sentimental value. Toss anything that is broken, not worthy of donation or unsafe, like a frayed electrical cord. Donate items that are still in good shape that you no longer need or use. Soon the sorting will outgrow the containers and become piles in an empty room or the garage. If you are overwhelmed at the idea of sorting your whole home, try starting with just one room. From there it gets easier.
REVIEWING: Once the sorting is complete, it’s time to review. Start with the “Toss” pile and separate the recyclables and trash and dispose of each properly. Be sure to remove batteries from electronics. Here’s a helpful list of the recycling centers in Montgomery County. After that container or pile is gone, it’s time to look at the “Donate” items. This helpful listing features many places to donate items in our area. It shows what type of items each place accepts. You may need to subdivide the donations to go to several different locations.
REVIEWING THE “KEEP” ITEMS A SECOND TIME: After taking care of the “Toss” and “Donate” piles, you should be left only with items that you want to keep. Now it’s time to take one more look through the “Keep” pile again, to make sure there aren’t things that you should donate or toss.Once the “Keep” pile is down to the essentials, it’s time to question whether it stays in your home for frequent use or it goes to storage for safekeeping until you need it. Just because you want to keep something doesn’t mean you need to “work around it” on a daily basis. If you have enough items like holiday decorations, household items or furniture your are saving for when the oldest goes off to college or personal collections that you don’t look at frequently but want to keep, it’s time to consider your storage options.
MAKING THE MOVE TO STORAGE: Make a list or take photos of the items you are going to store and visit with an on-site self storage manager to determine what size and type of unit is the right fit for your needs. Put some thought in to how to organize the storage unit so that your items are easily accessible when you need them.
If you decide that self-storage is the way to go, we hope you will consider choosing one of the four Montgomery Self Storage locations.
