28 Apr Keep, Store, or Donate? 8 Questions to Help You Decide
Whether you’re in moving mode, spring cleaning, or just cleaning out your closet on a Friday night (cheers to you!), it feels so good and freeing to declutter and get organized! Unfortunately, it probably won’t take long before you find items that have you a little torn about what to do with them. But wait — before you just shove the things that you’re undecided on back where they came from, remember why you started this process in the first place, and make a conscious decision about if you should store, keep or donate them. When you are unsure of whether you should keep, store or donate items in your home — or even your office or business — here are 8 questions to help you decide what to do.
1. Does it have emotional significance? Just because something isn’t the most practical or functional for you anymore doesn’t mean you need to force yourself to get rid of it. Maybe it just doesn’t need to take up space with your everyday items though. That T-shirt from when you saw your favorite band at your first-ever concert when you were 12? Photos from your high school prom? Box ’em up and store them where you can access them when you want to take a trip down memory lane. Store it.
2. Does it just need a good cleaning? If you come across something you know you could use but it’s seen better days, give it a second, deeper look. Can you avoid paying for a replacement — and keep your original out of a landfill — if you just give it a good cleaning? If so, then you should keep it.
3. Would you buy it if you saw it on the rack at your favorite store today? If you’ve got articles of clothing that you still love and are in style but just aren’t going to fit you anytime soon, send them on to someone else to love and You’ll probably feel better once those items are out of your closet. You can embrace the clothes that make you feel great and stop feeling guilty staring down the ones that no longer fit. Donate it.
4. Will you need it in the next six months? In all your decluttering euphoria, sure to look past the current moment. If the item is something you don’t need now but will need down the road, store it. It doesn’t need to be in front of you every day, but it will be nice to have it at the ready when you want it!
5. Could it be of value in the future? This might require a bit more foresight, but is the item you’re considering getting rid of rare, or something that your children, grandchildren, or someone else in a future might be able to make some money on? If so, you should store it!
6. Who would benefit from this most? So maybe you could use that item or wear that top, but do you want to? Do you need to? Will someone else get more use out of it than you will? If yes, donate it. If you can best benefit from it, decide whether you want to keep or store it.
7. Do you have something else that does the same thing? There’s a gadget, tool or app for literally every task these days. If the item you’re considering does the same thing as something else you have, donate it where someone else can put it to better use. If it’s the only thing you’ve got that does what it does, then you should keep it.
8. Does it just need to be altered? Whether it’s an article of clothing that you love but never fit quite right, a chair that’s so comfy but doesn’t match anything or a nice piece of art in an ugly frame, there are countless things that could be perfect for your life with just a little TLC. This would be an item you may want to keep or donate. First, decide whether the item would work better for you with some doable adjustments. If so, keep it. If not, donate it. It might be just right as is for someone else!
Once you’ve got all your items sorted and know what you want to store, give Binefit Storage and Moving a call. Our valet storage service may be the perfect solution to help you declutter your home while keeping the items you want to store safe and sound, and ready for you anytime. Contact us today at 313-312-9815 to learn how we can help.
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