The key to an easy move is organization and having a self storage unit can make moving far easier.
When we last moved, my husband and I had 14 days from the day we accepted the job at Spacemall Storage to the day we needed to start work here. We had to transfer our entire lives from Illinois to Pennsylvania, pack up a two-bedroom apartment, and train our replacement at our new job.
It was a lot.
Thankfully, my husband is very well organized. We also had access to a storage unit to stage the things that were packed, the things we were giving away and the things we were donating. But what if you don’t live at a self storage facility.
Is it still worth having a self storage unit to make moving easier?
Yes and it might help reduce moving stress as well.
Next to a death in the family and a new job, moving is one of the most stressful things that we do.
Experts say that even when you are looking forward to the move, hire professional movers and have plenty of time, moving is stressful. So why not do one thing that can help ease the stress: rent a self storage unit.
When my husband and I were moving, one of the first things we did was decide that as we packed we were also going to purge. We had stuff to give away, stuff to donate and stuff that we deemed just trash. If you have more time than we did, you might also have stuff that you are trying to sell.
Visual cues help minimize stress
Immediately taking out the trash helps. Things that were to be donated or given to friends went in one storage unit and stuff that was packed and ready to go went into another. Obviously, we had the luxury of multiple storage units that not everyone will have. But let’s address why getting it out of sight is important.
Even when you are moving rapidly like we did, you have to have some down time at the end of the day. If you are constantly staring at boxes of stuff that needs to be addressed, you will seriously increase you stress level. According to the Mayo Clinic, decluttering can help you reduce stress. And nothing feels more like clutter than boxes of stuff that you need to move.
Equally important, having a storage unit while you are moving makes things easier by helping you see how much you have and how much you have done.
As you put things that are packed and ready to go into a storage unit, you have a visual reminder of what has already been accomplished.
In some ways, this is like checking thing off a to do list. But with a moving to do list, it can be overwhelming to see it all at once. A quick peek at a storage unit makes moving easier because you can see your progress.
Storage units make moving easier by measuring your stuff.
Moving trucks, the price of movers and storage units are all measured in terms of volume — how many cubic feet of stuff do you have?
A moving company might say that a 26′ truck is standard for a 2-bedroom apartment, that might not actually be the case. So when you put packed items into a storage unit, moving gets easier because you can see how large a truck you are actually going to need. In our case, we needed more space because we had an oversized sofa and love seat that took up a lot of room on the truck. So do things like desk chairs and other oddly-shaped items like lawn mowers or sports equipment.
If you put everything that is ready to go in one place, you can see how much stuff you actually have.
Storage units make moving easier by consolidating things in one place.
The actual day of your move, you will have a million things on your mind. Having to remember to check the basement or the attic or the garage for those last things you might have forgotten is stress you don’t need. If you consolidate things into a storage unit as your prepare for the move, you can cross off rooms as they are emptied, making your moving day a little bit easier.
If you are planning a move shortly, now is the time to call Spacemall and set up your storage unit.
Check out other moving tips here.