Sometimes, the most overwhelming clutter isn’t what we see—it’s what we’ve quietly stored away and forgotten about. In this episode, we explore how on-site storage areas like garages, closets, and attics can slowly become emotional and financial burdens when they're used as long-term holding zones. These spaces may not feel like a problem at first, but over time, they carry hidden costs—monthly fees, decision fatigue, and a subtle weight of guilt.
This conversation is part of our ongoing Storage Series, where we help listeners reframe what it means to store things with intention—and how to move forward when storage starts holding us back.
In this episode we talk about:
- Why “out of sight, out of mind” doesn’t always work in our favor
- The hidden costs—emotional, mental, and financial—of long-term storage
- Small, actionable ways to reconnect with forgotten storage spaces without overwhelm
Mentioned in this episode:
- How to set a “review date” for anything stored in bins, attics, or garages
- Tips for creating a visual inventory using quick phone photos
- Questions to ask yourself before deciding what stays and what goes
Review full show notes and resources at https://theorganizedflamingo.com/podcast
Review Transcript:
Hey friends, and welcome back to Organizing Cherish. I'm Stephanie, your host. This week we are continuing our ongoing storage series where we're taking an honest and compassionate look at how we store things, why we do it, when it works, and when it starts to quietly take a toll. This series is not about the good and or the bad, or reprimand about taking your storage.
Whether it's in your property, in your home, like it's on site or on offsite, taking everything out and throwing it away. It's not a reprimand about what's good and what's bad, because I don't know your situation. I don't know your story and I don't know your reasons, and it would be very unfair for me to create a one episode about.
Storage and include everyone's example. Like it just would be way longer of an episode. And everyone's story in life is very different, so it would be very unfair. But these, this whole series in all of these conversations are all about having you think about and intentionally have more of a reason as to why you're storing things, to make sure we're doing a check-in on what you're storing.
Is it a good idea? Talk it through with your family, your friends, your loved ones with yourself, and make some progress and take some action. Okay? So to be really intentional about the stuff that we're storing. Today's episode is a really important one, and it's all about the kind of storage that doesn't feel like it's a problem until it is.
So we're calling this one out of sight. Still a problem. When storage hides the clutter,
welcome to the Organized and Cherish podcast with the organized Flamingo. I am your host Stephanie, your compassionate and deficient professional organizer. Whether you are part of the sandwich generation helping a loved one declutter, or just trying to simplify life, this is the place for you. Together we will tackle those overwhelming piles of stuff, uncover purpose in what we keep, and let go with dignity and care, because it's not just about throwing everything away, it's about respecting memories and simplifying life.
Sound like a plan? Let's jump in and get organized. If you've ever tucked things away and forgotten about them or found yourself paying for a storage unit you haven't visited in months or even years, this one is especially for you, because here's the truth, sometimes the problem isn't what we see. It's what we've put out of sight and completely out of mind.
So this episode is all about the storage. And the offsite, whether it's offsite or or onsite, but the storage that you have forgotten, and I wanna give you some reminders as to why it's a problem, but also give you solutions. We don't just get stuck in the problem because that's also unfair. It doesn't feel fun.
You probably know many of these reasons as to why it's a problem, but I'm going to give you some actionable steps that you can take to make progress and to actually start either getting. You know, downsizing, whatever your, your goal is downsizing or just being intentional where it feels good and it doesn't feel overwhelming.
So we all know the phrase out of sight, out of mind. It sounds peaceful, even freeing, like, oh my goodness, it's out of sight, out of mind. I don't have to think about it. Like the, ah, I don't have to look at that anymore. But here's what actually happens. Time passes a month, then a season, then a year, and so on.
Because time goes by really fast and all of a sudden we realize we haven't opened that storage area in ages, whether it's onsite or offsite, or we haven't stepped foot in the unit that we're paying for every single month. There's no tripping hazard. There's no pile you have to walk past every morning.
There's no visual reminder that something is off, but the clutter is still there. It just becomes a silent kind of stress, so you might feel like there's that guilt when the storage payment hits your account, right? Every month you're like, ah, that's right. I have to go look at it. I have to go open it. I forgot.
I said, I would do this a year ago and Oh, I'll do it next month. Or frustration when you can't remember what you even stored or how to access it. I have so many people that lost the key, the password. Or it was a loved one, storage, and they're trying to get in. I mean, they have full authority to do so, but they, they haven't called the office to get the authorization and show them the paperwork.
It's just overwhelming. Um, there's that avoidance, right? Because going back to, to look just feels overwhelming, like, you know what's in there. But the thought of it, just having to deal with what is inside feels overwhelming. We don't realize just how much it's costing us, and not just in money, but mental clarity and emotional space.
So let's name the problems because clarity helps us move fo forward. So here are a few ways This out of Sight Clutter still affects us. I'm gonna name them based on what I have learned in the past 20 plus years working with people that have had these problems come up. So the first is the monthly fees that quietly add up.
So whether it's an offsite unit or a basement filled with forgotten items, we're often spending money. Utilities or space without benefit. So that's one of those problems that you're like, if that's, that's you, and you're shaking your head, I get it. There's a mental clutter. You might not think about the exact items, but there's often a nagging guilt, a whisper of like, I really should go through that.
Especially for those of you who have onsite storage. That you purposely, you know, purchased or bought. I've had clients who have bought the big containers just for storage, right? Like your whatever holiday or when you had to downsize or merge households and you had to put them all into one place. You did not want to spend the monthly fee on an offsite, so you decided to just.
Buy one and because you bought one and it's on your property or in your basement or at your attic, you're like, oh, well it's not a big problem. Right. But you're still creating clutter mentally because you know it's there. There's the decision fatigue, knowing you've delayed the decision, like what to do with the inherited items or the unfinished projects that are in there, and that adds to that underlying sense of overwhelm.
There's also the problem of lost items. We forget that what, like what's even in there? We, for we totally forget, like, we don't even know what we put away because we were in such a rush, or it was so long ago. And so then we, we buy things or miss out on using what we already own. And then the problem of blocked progress.
So those items though hidden, are often tied to things that we need to deal with. So there's, that usually comes up with a transition, a past season, a goal we haven't finished. But the blog process is really, really personal. That usually comes with the, you know, more of the mental health part of not being able to move forward.
And it's a, it's a like a literal obstacle, like in a, in a figure of speech, but also literally because you're paying for it every month. So it's not just delayed decisions, but now it's blocked progress, like it's an actual stumbling block for you to move forward and all of that. It just keeps us stuck.
Alright, so let's talk about what we can do. What I don't want is for any of this to feel overwhelming. So what I have found is that when I give these types of smaller actions that create momentum, it inspires people to keep going. So that's what I'm gonna do and get going to give you, I'm gonna give you what I normally would give clients in that I have seen work over the years.
Everyone's life and situation and examples are very different. So I want you to take this list more as an inspiration. Come join us at one of our Organized and Cherish chats. They're completely free. It's an hour. I'm going to start hosting them almost every month, but we have them every couple of weeks.
It's usually on a Wednesday at around 10:00 AM Mountain Time. It's on Zoom. You can ask me anything. We can talk about what the stumbling block is, and we can create one actionable step that you can take so that you can start downsizing, decluttering, and feeling free about the stuff that you own so that it doesn't weigh you down, so you don't, you're not feeling like you're in shackles and.
It's weighing you down and you can't move forward because you have these extra bills of the storage unit. You have these extra stuff that is just, you can't even take time off because you feel like you can't go anywhere until you clear, you know, whatever the room is or your whole house. So I want you to try to get some momentum so we can start feeling more free.
So that's what these tips I'm going to give you are. All about and to help you, um, get to that place. But if you ever need specific help, come join us for free at our organized and cherish chats, and then we can take it from there. Okay? So one of the tips I have is to name what the storage space is for.
Is it overflow? Is it for seasonal decor, sentimental items, emergency backup, give the space a clear purpose. So that you can set some boundaries for what belongs in it. This reminds me of, well, so many things. Of course, like, you know, I'm sorting and labeling things as like second nature to me. But one of the, one of the most recent examples I have, which have has nothing to do with really organizing, but kind of is our security cameras like around, you know, our household security cameras.
Sure. Many of you have like a ring or something to that effect, you know, and each one has. A name. You can name each camera so that you know what area it is pointing towards or what area it's recording. Well, that's how this is. This is a way for you to know what you're looking at, kind of like the camera, if you have one.
That's like one of the examples I have for you, analogy, so you can relate to it, right? You need to know what you're looking at so that there are boundaries and you have a purpose for that storage space. What really helps sometimes for people is on your monthly, like if you have a monthly bill that you're paying, label it stuff.
I have decided to throw away in five years. I had a client, what we did this exercise in, they had two storage areas, one on site in another offsite, so we ended up labeling their bills. Like every time it would come, it would show up because you can rename on your credit card. I, I don't know if everybody can, but she could.
You could do this too if you're still kind of writing like a, a check. I think those are going away pretty soon, by the way. But let's say if you're still writing checks, um, or if you're doing an automatic payment label it like the nickname of that bill. What its intention is for holiday decor storage.
Like instead of it being the name of the, the business label it what it really is. If it's onsite and you're not paying a bill for it, have a sign in front of it. Decisions. I am delaying the decision delaying area. So label it what it is so that you know what you're looking at and if you're being intentional about it, it will help you eventually because if it's collectibles, like let's say it's items that are are worth something, they are your family heirlooms you.
You do have beautiful, lovely things. You're just not. Wanting to get rid of them right now and they are well taken care of and there's no reason to throw them away. I have an entire episode about this, this, I think it's one of the last 1, 1 18 maybe. No, I think it's like one 16 or something. But it's about the positives of having storage, like, well, the reasons I would suggest you get a storage room and if you label it that like things that I, things of value I want to keep, you can finally let that guilt go and know that you're doing it intentionally.
Name that storage space. Very helpful. Create a check-in calendar to put a reminder on your phone or calendar for every, the sweet spot that I have seen has been like three to six months to visit the space. If you're working with, with a mental health practitioner and or you are on a very strict timeline, this obviously will be different for you.
Okay? But if you have some flexibility, three to six months tends to be a sweet spot. It's not overbearing where you're snoozing. The alarm, um, you know what I'm talking about. When you're used to the alarm going off, you almost ignore it. So it needs to be surprising enough for you to pay attention to it, but predictable enough so you know it's coming.
But it's also surprise, but it's not a knowing that you're ignoring it completely. So three to six months seems to be the sweet spot, and that alarm should say something along the lines of. Like open the space and go in and actually like walk into the space, visit the space, not just, oh, think about it like, I mean, the reminder is for you to open it and go inside.
Even just opening the closet, peeking into the garage or walking through the storage unit can reconnect you with what's in there. And one of the things I have found is, especially for any of you who. Do have stuff of value and you need to make sure that your insurance papers are up to date, then this is a good time for you to film or take pictures of this storage room and put it in your records to create a checking calendar.
Hi, cherish friends. Life can get overwhelming, especially when you're juggling caregiving, clutter and everything in between. That's why I created the Organized and Cherish weekly email that goes out every Wednesday straight to your inbox. To help you keep the momentum inspiration going with tips and reminders of our upcoming events, all you have to do is head on over to organize and cherish.com and sign up for the email newsletter.
It's free and you can up subscribe whenever you'd like. It's my way of helping you simplify your life and respecting memories along the way. Now back to our show. Next is set a dollar limit or a time limit. If you're paying for storage, ask yourself, would I pay this much to keep this stuff at home? Like if you had it at home, would it be worth it?
Or am I willing to pay X dollars to not make a decision right now? Reframe it in a way that makes sense to you. I'm just giving you some examples. But you can also try something like, if I don't need this by certain date, I'll donate it or let it go. So like, set yourself a dollar and a time limit. What I have seen some people, so these are real life examples, is the dollar amount.
The dollar amount seems to, seems to be like a really, like a good, like a positive trigger point of after I spend like a thousand dollars let's say, or 500, whatever your limit is, I need to make a decision one way or another. And that seems to be the, the more of like the financial, responsible way to look at it.
The other way is time limit. But the thing about time limit is that you have to be very strict and, and actually keep your time limit. You know, after a year I will count, like I will cancel this, but after a year, that means you have to start clearing it out or make thoughtful decisions about three months before that because it'll take you a few weeks to figure out, sell, donate, clear out, you know, go through it.
So. When you give yourself your timeline, make sure you add cushion to actually prepare for the timeframe that you're trying to work within. So that's why the time limit just means you need to plan out a little bit more. So does the money in the financial one, but the dollar limit one seems to hit like very quickly.
Like, okay, that's it. Like after a thousand dollars, I gotta make a decision by, you know, within 30 days. So I don't get, I don't get another charge next month. So that one seems to be. A, um, like a positive trigger point. If you are doing onsite, the way you can do a a dollar amount or a, a financial amount limit is, so here in the US we pay our taxes and stuff, and so you have, you can allocate a certain percentage of your house or home to like, you know, if you do in a business like your home office or whatever it may be.
So if you can allocate how much square footage you're. Using for storage. So if it's in your attic or your basement, how much square footage are you using as storage? And how much is, is your house worth per square footage? So like, if you're a real estate agent or you, maybe you can ask your friend, neighbor, your, the business partner that you're, you know, you, you collaborate on this.
How much is that space worth to me if I were renting my basement? How much would I, you know, what is the financial value of it? Not that you will, but I think it triggers some people in a positive way knowing that that area is worth that much. And then they make sure that the stuff that, that they're storing.
It's worth it because that area, you could be using it for a home office. You could be using it for a home gym. You could be using it for a craft room, you know, a showroom. If you're an artist, you know the list goes on, a workshop, whatever you want. That is not storage. So could you be using that area for something else?
And you could be putting your effort, financial effort into that instead. So set up a set of financial limit or a time limit. Very helpful. Next up we've got the visual inventory. So use a visual inventory, take a quick phone, like a picture or video of what's stored in the, in that storage area, and then take inventory of it For some people, that could be an Excel spreadsheet for some people, like Excel or Google Sheets or whatever type of sheets that you use.
It could be on your notes, like your, your phone notes, and just take a running list of what's in there. This helps remind you what you have, and it makes it easier to let go if you realize you haven't used it in however many years. Or it could be the opposite, like, oh my gosh, I use this all the time.
Having an inventory at at your fingertips, like on your phone. I mean, this is where we want to use technology to our advantage. I mean, we have this, so why not use it? Take pictures, take some video, take a look at and see what you have so that next time you're at the store trying to buy new. Christmas, Halloween, whatever holiday that you celebrate, the decorations or the seasonal stuff that you wanna get, next time you go out to Home Goods.
I, you know, I, a lot of you, uh, me included, love that place, but when I go, I do have a visual inventory of what I have at home already, so that if I'm tempted to buy something and I don't remember if I have it, I can look at my inventory, my visual inventory and see, okay, like, do I have it or don't I. But then if you wanna do a quick search, you can just do like a search of pink plates.
Do I have pink plates? And then any picture, any video of pink plates will come up. And then you can see, oh my gosh, I totally have some. I used them last year and I totally forgot. So use technology for visual inventory. It will be super helpful if you wanna go the extra mile. Like I said, you can then.
Move all that inventory to some kind of spreadsheet if you really want to. Very helpful for insurance though, and if you have multiple family members or loved ones that you're sharing and try to figure out what to do with the stuff in this, in this like area. Very helpful because you can send them the, the sheets or the picture and the albums and then they can kind of go through it as well or get it appraised or, you know, you can do so much with that data if you wanna take it a step further.
But the simple, take action now. It doesn't have to be that complicated. Just take some pictures, take some video, do some voice notes that describe what's in there. Take inventory and then next time you're looking for that thing, go back to your, your pictures, that album. Do a search and see if you have it.
Next up, we've got pick one item to bring back out. This tip is really helpful for all of you who love the seasons. And who are very visually creative people. I mean, this goes for everybody, but especially for people who don't really resonate or they don't, they don't love the minimalist feel or look like.
It's not them. They don't, it doesn't resonate with them, and they do love showcasing their stuff. It's just not all at once or it becomes overwhelming. So for you reintegrate something useful or beautiful from storage into your life, so like a blanket, a kitchen tool, whatever it may be, right? So let your storage support your daily life or your, the way that you are creative.
So not just hold the stuff hostage, like actually have a routine to go in there and rotate your stuff. And this tip though is, is also very helpful, not very helpful, but you can use the inventory tip that I have for you and the reminder to go in and check in in your storage. So those three tips you can combine into one.
So if your style is more of a seasonal lifestyle, then for you, it's okay. You have appointments to go to your storage area every, you know, like a month before the stor, the next season begins. You go in for an hour and you take inventory. So you're going to take some pictures and video of what you have, make a list of the things you need to buy, if that's even hopefully not a, an option.
But if you do, I get it. What you still need to buy or whatnot, and then what you're taking out and what you're putting back in. So you're like rotating this stuff. Okay. Alright. And then the last one is be honest with what you're avoiding. This is one of those actionable tips that is hard for some people, but sometimes I need to hear it over and over again.
So I'm here to be that friend for you. Be honest with what you're avoiding. Sometimes storage holds a lot of grief, a lot of guilt, a lot of decisions that have been avoided. Hopes that didn't come true. It's okay. You know, be gentle with yourself, but also be real because if these items are weighing you down, they're not helping you move forward.
I can tell you from my own personal experience that I have a storage room. I've talked about it in other episodes as well, but we have a un mainly unfinished area in our basement where. All the stuff that my parents have been handing down over the years are being kept. I am absolutely avoiding those, those big bins because for many reasons, one of them is because I don't know what to do with it.
Like I don't have an actual plan. Like I don't know if I, if I want to keep it, but the more time that passes and every time I do my three month check-in. More and more I get closer to being so certain that it's not regrettable to saying I don't need it. There are things that I immediately, when I do these check-ins, like I did my three month and six month check-ins on all these boxes, there are things down there that without a question I need and want to keep.
Oh my gosh, my mom, she knows me. She's, she's picked things that are just beautiful and they were part of her life as we grew up, and I love it. I've immediately taken those items and put it into my rotation area, like my pantry closet, you know, so that I can keep using it for in my house. But then there's all this other stuff that I keep delaying because I don't even know what I would do with it.
But again, the closer, the more I go in, the more. Of an overwhelm. It is, and the more I'm convinced that it's not even my style, like there, I haven't taken anything out to put it in my rotation the the way I do with other things, which makes me realize that I don't even want this stuff. So when it's time for me to finally let go and make that decision, I will feel much better about it and without regrets.
So be honest with what you're avoiding. And the part about the avoiding part that I, I wanted to mention is I'm really just avoiding the regret that I may have if I don't keep it. That's how it started because I was journaling about it, right? Like at the very beginning I was like, well, I don't know if I will regret this decision.
There's some stuff in here that's really cute. Maybe I will want to show it to my kid. Or I could use it as wrapping paper. You know? I don't know, like, because there's some artwork in there that I did when I was a kid, but the more I go in every three months, every six months, the more I realize, like I'm not, I'm not that person.
I haven't done what I said I would. So it's okay to let go. So start by acknowledging that part about what you're avoiding and that will really help you take some action. And the more you do it, the more you practice. It doesn't have to be like a one time thing. It could be every time you go in, do this exercise and get in.
It'll help you get closer to making some kind of decision. But ask yourself those questions. So here's your organizing encouragement for the week. Remember that storage is not just about space, it's about decisions. So that's what it's for. And sometimes we postpone those decisions because life is busy or it just feels like too much.
But the longer we wait, the more invisible that clutter becomes and the heavier it feels. So take one step, just just one, like one actionable step. Walk into that garage, walk into that storage room, peek into that closet. Look at your storage unit invoice. You don't have to declutter the whole thing today right now, but just reconnect with it.
Okay? Next week, we're in the next couple weeks, I should say, we're digging deeper into offsite storage more specifically, and then I'll talk also about onsite storage. And from there we will answer some of the questions that have been coming in. If you have any more, it's not too late. I plan on doing the episode probably around right before the summer starts, summer 2025.
I mean, but you could be listening to this almost anytime. These episodes are meant to be timeless as much as possible. But that is the timeline. If you do have a specific question you want me to address here on the podcast, but if you come to the Organized and Cherish chats, we can address it live and you don't have to wait until the episode comes out.
So come join us. You can find the information on our next chat, um, on our show notes, we'll talk about next steps and all the fun other topics coming up. We also have some great guests. In the next couple of weeks that I will start to introduce again, so stay tuned and until next week, happy organizing.
Thank you for listening to the Organized and Cherish podcast with the Organized Flamingo. If you enjoy today's episode, I'd be so grateful if you left a rating and review on your favorite podcast player. It helps others discover our show. For full show notes, resources, and more organizing inspiration, visit www.theorganizedflamingo.com/podcast.
Until next time, happy organizing.
