The historic neighborhoods of Alhambra are a good indication we know how to keep and preserve the emblems of the past. The houses stand as monuments to our forbearers and imbue our city with a charm that can’t be recreated. It makes you feel good about living in a city with the wisdom to preserve rather than tear down. That doesn’t mean we don’t dispose of items of lesser value to make room for the new. We don’t live in the past, we just have an eye for knowing what is worth keeping. This is a good strategy for you when you store your belongings in an Alhambra self storage unit. You won’t feel any satisfaction knowing that you stored an item for five years only to throw it away. We feel that is a waste of space, the same as you feel. However, the opposite is equally unpleasant. You may think it is just a funny story but it is true; the day after you throw something away, you will find you need it. It happens too often to ignore. Does that mean you should keep everything—forever? No. Just don’t be in a hurry to start tossing things. Here is how you avoid both extremes. Step 1 Go through your home. Anything you don’t use regularly or at least once a month, should be stored in your storage unit. When you store items in your storage unit, you might want to put items that are the most valuable toward the back. You want to keep these items no matter what happens. Toward the middle are the items that are on the bubble. You aren’t sure you want or need to keep them but you are afraid that tossing them will be a regrettable event. There may even be sentimental items in this section. Do you keep your old love letters from past relationships or do you finally cut your ties to these items? You may also keep items that you think you might need at some point. The area in your storage unit closest to the door should be items you know you will use either every other month or at least annually. You don’t want have to retrieve these from the back of your storage unit whenever you need them. Step 2 Most people find the “middle section” of their storage unit is bigger than they thought. They are holding onto things they don’t need or want simply because they own them; and that is ok. When you realize that it is ok to let things go, by either selling them, giving them away, or just tossing them then you are ready for this step. Here are some helpful questions to ask about each item before you get rid of it. Do I plan to use this item within the next year? Does this item have significant sentimental value? Will my kids want this someday? If you answer no to any of these questions, close your eyes and get rid of it. Do this regularly with your possessions and you will find it is easier to negotiate your storage unit when you really need to find something valuable. Contact our self storage facility in Alhambra today: US Storage Centers 2500 West Hellman Avenue Alhambra, CA 91803 (626) 377-9111