How to Clean Out a Storage Unit

All My Sons Moving & Storage helps customers with life’s many transitions, including moving in or out of self-storage units. At All My Sons, we understand that what you choose to store matters to you. When the time comes to move out of storage, All My Sons wants to be there with you every step of the way. 

Whether you’re finally purchasing your dream home after years of living a downsized life or preparing for a cross-country move, the time has come for you to empty your self-storage unit. This is an exciting and bittersweet moment. Some of your items in storage hold immense sentimental value, and unearthing them again will raise precious memories. 

You can prepare to move out of storage by enlisting help from friends, family, and professional movers. All My Sons Moving & Storage has a five-step plan to recommend to anyone thinking about clearing out a storage unit.

First, open up your storage unit and take stock of what is inside. If this is the first time you’ve visited your storage unit in some time then you will want to explore what’s stored before you call for professional movers to come help you move out. 

If you know without a doubt that everything is coming with you, then skip to step four. Otherwise, move your boxes and furniture until you have a clear area for sorting and staging.

Begin sorting your items into four major categories: Sell, donate, discard, and keep. You should start with your largest items like furniture and appliances. Work your way down to sorting through your boxes. As you decide what to do with an item, move it out of your storage unit. If this process takes several days, then anticipate making a run to offload items after every sorting session to ensure more clear space the next time you visit the unit.

• Sell: Items in excellent condition could fetch you a few extra dollars, if you have the time and the energy to try and sell them. Keep in mind you will have to store the items somewhere until they can be sold. Facebook Marketplace and OfferUp can connect you to people looking to buy in your local area. Specialty items like vintage furniture and antiques might be a fit for a buyer on eBay. Some items like books, clothing, and electronics can be sold to local thrift and consignment stores.

• Donate: Items in good condition that you do not desire to keep could benefit someone in need. You can take the item to a nationwide charity like Goodwill or the Salvation Army, or find a local cause in your area that you want to support. Freecycle and Buy Nothing allow you to list items for free in your area, and these groups are often monitored by local people looking to reduce their carbon footprint, save money, and find something pre-loved to love again.

• Discard: Items that are not in good condition should be discarded responsibly. Recycle materials that are salvageable like plastic, glass, paper, cardboard, scrap metal, and scrap wood. Throw items that you cannot recycle away in your household garbage or ask about the rules for using your storage facility’s dumpster. If the item is large, you may have to call for junk removal to ethically dispose of the item.

• Keep: Your most treasured possessions should come with you to your next home or continue to live in this or another storage unit.

After every sorting session, you should immediately make a run to offload your items that you are not keeping. This opens up space in your storage unit for more sorting and also helps prevent you from second-guessing yourself later.

Take your donations to the local drop-off station, or call for a donation pickup from your favorite charity if they offer pickups. If you have hired professional movers such as All My Sons Moving & Storage to help with your move, they may be able to make a donation run on your behalf. Be sure to check with your professional movers if this is an option for you.

If you have bulky items to dispose of, you can call for junk removal to come take those items off your hands, sometimes as soon as same day. Junk.com prioritizes sustainable disposal methods like donation and recycling before responsibly taking out the remaining garbage. No need to do any sorting yourself.

Now that everything left in your storage unit is something that you intend to keep, it’s time to organize and pack what’s left for its next journey. If you still intend to rent storage space after this move, you might be able to move your items into a smaller unit. Be sure to organize your storage unit well so that you can locate items easily during the next phase of their life in storage. 

Here are some tips for packing the items you intend to keep.

• Use Different Colored Tape: You can color-code your boxes by item or room so that you can tell at a single glance what a box contains and where it needs to go. For instance, you can put all your books in green-taped boxes to go to your next home’s beautiful new library, or put all your kitchen items in blue-taped boxes to go straight to your kitchen cabinets when you arrive at your next home.

• Create a Moving Inventory:  If you have time before your move, you can create a full moving inventory in an app or in a notebook to document what items went into what boxes. A moving inventory may even come in handy later as a record of the condition and value of your items in the event of a home disaster that leaves you needing to make an insurance claim.

• Label Boxes Clearly: In lieu of a full moving inventory, always label your boxes with as much detail as possible. This will help you find items more easily later when you are setting up your next home.

Once all the items you are keeping are re-packed and sorted, you can start moving out of your storage unit in earnest. Load your truck or ready the storage site for the arrival of your professional movers. 

As your storage unit empties, pick up any extra debris that may fall on the floor. Once all the boxes, furniture, and appliances that you are keeping are safely loaded onto your moving truck, take a broom and sweep the interior of the storage unit.

Leave nothing behind, not even trash. Your self-storage unit manager should be able to immediately clean or sanitize the unit after you leave. Should you leave garbage behind you might find yourself charged with a disposal fee, depending on the terms of your self-storage contract.

Alert the storage manager that you have moved out. If you are unable to alert the manager in person then call the facility after you leave to let them know you have vacated the unit. Most self-storage facilities have an employee on site that performs daily walkthroughs of the units to ensure they are all locked and secure, and this employee will likely record your move-out as well. 

The facility should be able to email or print a move out receipt once you have vacated the unit.

All your treasured possessions now journey with you to your next home. The items you kept preserved in storage will help you re-establish your routines during your next beautiful chapter in life. Happy moving, and don’t forget to sweep up your storage unit so that it can safeguard the next renter’s precious memories.

All My Sons Moving & Storage provides full-service moving and storage solutions across the nation. Local or long-distance, All My Sons is ready to help support your next move no matter the distance.