Most of us treat our storage rooms like a “black hole” where items go to be forgotten. But what happens when you approach that dusty space with a clear vision for your life? In this episode, we explore how to transition from passive storing to intentional keeping. We touch into the psychology of “just in case” clutter and provide a step-by-step framework for reclaiming your square footage so it serves your current self, not your past fears.
Mentioned in This Episode
- The difference between a “storage unit” and an “resource center.”
- How to handle the emotional weight of heirloom items and “sentimental sediment.”
- Practical strategies for sorting high-volume areas without burning out.
- Why Intention is the best organizational tool you own.
Review full show notes and resources at https://theorganizedflamingo.com/podcast
Review Transcript:
Most of us treat our storage rooms like a black hole where items go to be forgotten, right? But what happens when you approach that dusty space with a clear vision for your life? Well, in this episode, we're going to explore how to transition from passive story to intentional keeping. We dive into the psychology of the just in case clutter and provide step by step frameworks.
That we have seen work for reclaiming your square footage so it serves your current self and not your past fears. If you are new to the podcast, welcome. We're so glad that you're here. If this is the first time you're finding us, I'm, I'm so glad you're here. But just as a heads up this year. We are focusing on storage rooms.
So if you've been here for, for a while, you know that we try to do some themes every year, um, just to kind of help us through our organizing journeys and everyone's journey's a little different. So this year we're focusing on storage rooms. Today's episode is kind of decluttering your storage room when you have intention and how much better that process is when you do have intention.
But if you're not sure what your intention is, this episode is still super helpful because it'll get you to start thinking about. Some questions that maybe you have not been asked or you've haven't thought about yourself. Because when we're in it, right, like when you're in the space, in the stuff, you kind of get lost in your own thoughts, in your own sentiment.
In the own it could be maybe even trauma, and so you don't leave a lot of room for maybe questions that could be helpful that are coming from someone who has worked with a lot of people before in this, in this space, in in this industry. So that's what we are going to talk about today.
Welcome to the Organized and Cherish Podcast with the organized Flamingo. I am your host Stephanie, your compassionate and efficient 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. Okay, so why is the storage room so hard? It's most likely because it represents our, just in case lives. It's the camping gear for the trip. Uh, maybe the one that you haven't taken and you said you would, right, and or you know, you planned it 10 years ago and you acquired things for that camping trip and it's still taking up space.
It's a step that you inherited from your loved ones, that you had really good intention of displaying or repurposing, reclaiming, or just not throwing it away because it's part of your story and so you really wanted to keep it with good intention, or maybe it's to close that you're saving for a version of yourself that lived back in 2018.
Those are really hard things to let go of. Those are really hard moments in life. So when we declutter with intention. We kind of shift the question from, can I use this to, does this support the life I'm building today? Which may and probably is very different from back in 2018, back in the nineties, when you had a different plan for the stuff, right?
And if you've inherited a whole lot of suffering, your loved ones, that also applies because what they acquired had a plan for themselves. So they acquired it because it was maybe part of their trip, right? Like a, a lot of stuff, like a mementos, you know, things that are in memory of their own past life and they had intention for it, but it's not your intention and that was never the life that you lived.
You are now just the person who inherited the stuff. If your goal is a peaceful, minimalist home, and by minimalist, I guess. I should, I, should, I, I'm always very careful to use that word, and, and I, it almost slipped because minimalist sometimes is nowadays referred to as having almost nothing. Okay. That's not what we adhere to here at the organized Flamingo.
So if you're trying to live a more actual minimalist home with very little, um, we might not be the episode for you. We believe in a fine balance between minimalism and maximalism and enjoying the stuff that you have. The stuff that you have has a purpose. It's organized. You can easily find it when you need it, versus just throwing everything away, letting everything go and live, quote unquote, a simple life that is really just letting go of stuff because it's in the way, it's noise.
Totally valid. Um, but we don't think that that's the only answer. So if your goal is like, if to have that peaceful, simple life, but your basement is a warehouse of maybes, then there's a disconnect. So we need to bridge that gap, and that's kind of what we're talking about. And hopefully that you can, you can feel it, that you can feel that that is kind of the answer that needs to be answered.
The, excuse me, the question that needs to be answered for yourself. Now we here at the Organic Flamingo, we have this thing called Seven Steps of Organizing almost anything. It's actually a very, very, very, very first episode of the whole podcast three years ago. It's a framework we've lived by for a long time.
So there's seven steps, right? And. The first step and fifth and, and sixth and seven steps are, they don't move. They, they're, they're stationary. And the first step is assess, which is to plan. Think about what your intention is, which is what kind of we're talking about today, the middle step, so 2, 3, 4, and five.
The order depends on where you are in life. So if your, your big reason as to why you're decluttering is because you need to move out. You're selling your home, um, you're changing whatever it may be. So you're in a time constraint. Then your priority is probably not really decluttering, which can take a long time.
Yours is probably putting everything into category, seeing what you're going to take now, you're still going to declutter, like steps 2, 3, 4, and five. All need to be. Attacked, but it's probably not the priority because you're crunched for time. Now, if you have all the time in the world, you know that you're moving, you start, maybe you're getting ready to retire in the next five or five or 10 years.
So this is more of a, a little by little journey. Then your priority is different. So you're probably starting to declutter, um, starting to give things away, starting to be more thoughtful about your decisions. But you have time on your hands, right? As an asset to you versus somebody who needs to be out of their house in the next 30 days.
You need to just kind of really be honest. That's like my number one tip of being honest in this assess phase of where are you in life? How much time do you have in that space, in your storage space before you need to really start to clear it out, clean it out, and make very serious decisions about your stuff, whether you're keeping toss or tossing.
Okay, so that's number one. So why is it that storage room organizing decluttering is so hard? Well, one of the reasons that we have found is because it represents our just in case lives. It's the camping gear for the trip you haven't taken in six years. It's the stuff that you meant to decorate with.
It's the items that you inherited from a loved one that you. With good intention, wanted to keep display, maybe pass on curate, do something with you're just not sure what, maybe upcycle some stuff, recycle some stuff. The one of the most common categories is clothes. So clothes that you're saving for a version of yourself that lived in 2018.
Those are categories become our safety net. It's the just in case vibes. When we declutter with intention, though, we shift the question from. Cannot I use this to, does this support the life I'm building right now today? Because if your goal is a peaceful, simple home, but your basement, your offsite warehouse, storage room is an actual warehouse of maybes, there is a disconnect there.
There is nothing peaceful about it unless it's intentionally left that way. If you're intentionally leaving an area in disarray. You're just not able to tackle it right now, but that's an intention. We actually have an entire episode that we did last year devoted to this that not every storage room that you're renting or occupying is a bad idea.
Sometimes we need it. We need it to function. We need it to be able to move on in other parts of our lives. That's an intention, and it does need some kind of deadline, some kind of timeline that gives you an idea of how long you're going to be. Putting that stuff in there. If you are intending to leave that stuff in disarray until the days that you no longer are on this earth, but you have a plan and you've left money behind for your family so that they can deal with it when you're gone, then that's an intention.
We have plenty of clients that have put money away because they don't want to deal with it. Some of it, it's because of trauma. Some of it is just time. They're just never around. They're, they're traveling. Life happened. They're just not in a place that they wanna go through it, but they also understand the responsibility that it takes and time that it takes.
So they've left money behind so that if and when something happens to them or they're no longer able to tackle the items themselves, that a loved one will have the money to pay someone to do it or take time to do it themselves. Okay? So that is intention right there. That is a goal of having a peaceful area that is intentional because your basement is not that warehouse of the maybes, right?
So we need to bridge that gap. Hi, cherish friends. Life can get overwhelming, especially when you're juggling caregiving, clutter and everything in between. That's why I created the Organizing 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. So as we do bridge this gap, I wanna give you a tactical approach, something that you can take action on right now, because that's the purpose of these episodes, that as you're listening, they're giving you some inspiration, some idea, some initiative to begin the process and be a doer here at the Organiz Swimming goal.
We don't believe that you have to make a full, you know, change and throw everything away to make drastic changes in your life when it comes to your space. But here's the thing. What we are not able to do with these episodes, and I'm, and I'm mentioning this for a reason, okay, so hang tight, is that if you go into your spaces right now, those storage spaces and you're not in an emotional, um, state where you can tackle it, then these episodes are not going to be as helpful because you're not ready to even open or tackle any of the space.
So I want you to think about maybe talk therapy, a mental health therapist, a friend, or journaling or first figuring out where you are. In this approach of tackling your storage areas. Like I said, storage rooms are, not that they're a bad idea, it's that I just don't want you to not have intention with them.
If your intention right now is where you are at a point that you're too, either you're fragile, you're, you're just, you don't have the time, you don't have the energy to tackle it, then the financial, um, commitment that it takes to upkeep, the storage rooms are worth it. They're worth it. I just want you to know that it comes at a price, okay?
And so what I'm about to give you the, to come up a couple of the tips that I have for you, about four or five that are coming up here, is if you are in a place where you're like over it, you're done, you're ready to actually take action, you know, make some momentum so that you can start clearing those spaces.
So here's the game plan for your next weekend session, or whenever you have time. Define the room's purpose, which we already talked about. So before you touch a box to decide what the room should be, not what it you want it to be. In an ideal world, those are two very different, um, decisions. This is not your Pinterest board per se.
This is what it could be with the resources you have right now. So if you don't have the budget to make this area a gym, a craft room, then it. What it is, it's, it's just going to be an organized utility room, an organized storage room, and that's it. Maybe you have an offsite storage room that you're renting and you really can't make it anything else because that's what you're paying for it to be, and you're not allowed to make it into anything else.
Right. So these are defining the room's purpose within the boundaries that you know, you can actually, or you already have money budgeted for to be. So if this is supposed to be a gym or maybe it is a gym already, but it's just been so messy and it, you just wanna bring it back to life, wonderful. Like that's a doable approach.
Making this into a Sauna Spa area slash pool table, game room. But you don't even know what you want. You don't have the budget there. There's no walls. That is a for the future project. We are not tackling that in this exercise. So define the room's purpose, then touch. All the boxes, open them up. So it's the touch at once rule.
Don't just move boxes around. Okay? We were gonna open them. If you haven't looked at it for years, be honest. You even know what's in inside. Open it up, write outside. Put a sticky note in this round of you going through everything. Take note of what's in there, look at it, touch it. I want you to know truly what you have in there.
Again, if you are. Going through, um, like if some of them are just bringing up old feelings, traumatic feelings, I want you to just step back for a minute and make sure that you are ready mentally to tackle it. Because if you're not, then this might not be a good exercise for you. It might actually backfire, so I don't want you to tackle it if you're in that place.
But if you are, we're gonna touch it. We're going, we're gonna look at them, we're gonna, and physical notes of what's inside Number three. Take note of the cost of what is, what's, what's it costing you to store all this stuff? Because remember, everything you keep has a rent cost. Even if you own your home outright, you are still paying in some way, shape, or form for that stuff to live there.
It costs you mental energy, it costs you physical space, and it costs you time to clean around it. Do the upkeep, ensure it, all of that. So is that old printer worth the $50 in real estate that it's occupying and or that you need to do to clean it, letting go of the someday? So the hardest part is the sentimental stuff.
And so my advice, like I mentioned, is to, if you're, if you're not ready to tackle this is going to be, is separate subject. Okay? We're gonna step back and, and approach it differently. But if you're take a photo. If the memory is in the object, the photo preserves the memory without taking up the cell. The, the actual shelf space keep the best of the best within a boundary.
So what I, I always like to tell people is maybe have a quarter or a couple boxes of the best of the best, and then release the rest to someone who can actually use it. Um, sell it, or let's go ahead and start exiting those items. But do keep the best of the best for the next round when you're trying to figure out what you're actually going to keep intention.
Uh, is, is just really about being a good steward of your resources. And that's what we're doing with, with these exercises. So you've got define the room's purpose, you know, touch at one's rule, which is a very common rule and, and it works great in your storage areas. Figure out the cost of storage. What is it really costing you?
The fourth tip, but it's kinda like a side tip, is keep a best of the best section area. We're going to come back to that, those spaces again. Okay. But at least so that you can do almost like sprint decluttering. We're gonna keep them separate. Like the stuff that you, if you have like 10 trophies, if you have a hundred trophies and medals and flags and things from your, your youth or your loved one's youth, let's keep the best of the best and then let go of the rest within a boundary, within a section that, you know, you can, it's doable, but it's not occupying that entire space.
Okay. Okay, so that's what we're gonna work on for this week. Just remember that your areas, we just kind of advocate here to, to have your home and spaces be a living space and not a storage locker or a museum. Okay? Those are very different ways of organizing and different tactics and tips if you're looking for your space, the one that you live in to be calm, and a place that where you can breathe and be inspired in.
By the stuff that you have around you, then that these exercises will help you get there and create that, those areas to be living, calm, inspiring spaces for you and your family and your loved ones. Okay? So this week I challenge you to go into that storage area, find those items, open up the boxes, have some intention.
If you're looking to make a big impact, pick three big items that don't fit your current intention and get them out of the house. So if you've got that big brown furniture that you have good intention, you want to keep it because it just feels like you don't want to send it to the landfill. But if you're being honest, it doesn't match.
It doesn't go with who and who you are and, and it's just too bulky or whatever. Whatever the reasons are for that furniture piece. Or maybe it's like the really modern one, right? Let's go opposite, I think. I think brown furniture and old furniture always gets the. The ugly looks, if you will. I, a lot of people love them, and I think sometimes they're just so beautiful in so many homes.
Um, so let's do the modern, let's do the other side. Let's say you have a, a lot of modern things and they're just not fitting you, who you are. Like you're just more of a creative, uh, maximalist person who loves character in your home. And these eighties, nineties, simple pieces are not doing it for you.
Let's get them out of the house unless you have a plan to do something about it. Upcycle it. You have an actionable plan, like you have a pretty good idea that you can get this done within about six to eight, nine months. Okay? If, if it's going to take you more than a year, that one to two year mark. Uh, it's our take as organizers here at the are gonna spend go is just not to keep it, because you can probably find it somewhere else.
You can probably, you will probably change as a person in the next one to two years. So we want you to have room for that growth. So we're gonna let go of that stuff that you quote unquote, intend to change or do or whatever. So let's go ahead. Go ahead and get rid of that. And of course, I'm not talking to all of you who have sentimental stuff.
We're treating that a little separate. We have our own podcast episodes for sentimental stuff. Look for it in our library. But this is just for you to get some momentum on the general stuff you're keeping. Let's clear some stuff, clear our minds, and have some peace in our area. You will be amazed at how much lighter you feel.
I know I feel way lighter doing my project, my basement. Um, if you've been following along the journey, I'm also going through my storage areas, one of them being our basement. And I feel so much lighter when I can see empty boxes or just intentional labels that I know what's in there. It feels really good.
And the people that I work with, clients and community members that I'm in with, in helping them with their storage areas, they just feel so much better. A sigh of relief is done and made once we're done with those areas. So I want you to have that same feeling. I will see you next week and 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.