I gotta be honest with you. I used to think people who made lists of their storage stuff were kind of obsessive. Like, who has time for that? You throw your stuff in there, you close the door, you move on with your life. Right?
Wrong. So wrong.
Last year I spent forty five minutes digging through my unit looking for my grandma’s cast iron pan. Forty five minutes. In August. In Florida. I was dripping sweat, covered in dust, and legitimately angry at myself. Because I knew I had that pan somewhere. I remembered putting it in there. But which box? Which corner? No clue.
That’s when I finally caved and made a digital inventory. And I’m never going back.
The Thing Nobody Tells You
Here’s what nobody warns you about storage units. Your memory fades. Like way faster than you think. You pack that box in June and by December you’ve completely forgotten what’s inside. You think you’ll remember but you won’t. I promise you won’t.
I had this box labeled “office stuff.” Okay cool. But office stuff could be anything. Paper clips? A printer? My old tax returns from 2016? Who knows. I opened it last week and it was full of like, random cables. HDMI cables, USB cords, an old router. Stuff I definitely don’t need anymore. But I couldn’t remember that until I opened it.
So yeah. The inventory thing? It’s not for organized people. It’s for normal people who don’t want to waste their time playing storage unit roulette.
How I Actually Did It
Okay so I’m not gonna give you some complicated system because I don’t do complicated. I barely have my life together most days. So here’s what I did.
I grabbed my phone. I walked into my unit. And I just started taking pictures. Every single box got a picture. Every piece of furniture got a picture. If I had a stack of stuff in the corner, I took a picture of that too.
Then I went home and sat on my couch with a glass of wine and just started typing. Simple notes. Nothing fancy.
- Box 1 – Christmas decorations. In the front left.
- Box 2 – Winter coats. Behind the Christmas stuff.
- Box 3 – My old textbooks from college. I should probably get rid of these honestly.
- Box 4 – Kitchen stuff. Pots. Pans. That weird egg cooker thing I used once.
And on and on. I didn’t organize it perfectly. I didn’t color code anything. I just wrote stuff down. The whole thing took me like an hour. Probably less.
The Numbering Thing That Changed Everything
This one little thing made the biggest difference. I bought a pack of those big white labels from the drugstore. You know the ones that are like three by five inches. And I numbered everything.
Every single box. Every tote. Every bin. Just a number. 1 through whatever.
Then in my notes I wrote “Box 1” and what was inside. So now when I need something, I just look at my notes and it says “Box 8 – sleeping bags and camping gear.” I go to my unit. I find Box 8. I grab it and go. Done.
No more opening random boxes. No more moving stuff around for twenty minutes hoping to get lucky. Just boom. In and out.
I actually bought a big pack of those labels at the office supply store for like four bucks. Best four bucks I ever spent.
What I Wish I’d Done Differently
Okay so I made some mistakes along the way and you should learn from them so you don’t have to mess up like I did.
Mistake number one. I didn’t take pictures of the inside of the boxes. Just the outside. So yeah I had a box labeled “kitchen stuff” but it was actually like, ten random kitchen things. When I needed my measuring cups I had no idea if they were in box 4 or box 7 or box 12. I had to open three boxes before I found them.
Now I take a picture of the inside too. Quick snap of whatever’s in there. That way when I’m scrolling through my photos I can literally see the measuring cups sitting right there. Saves a trip to the unit half the time.
Mistake number two. I didn’t write down which side of the unit things were on. Like I wrote “box 12 in the back” but the back of a ten by twenty unit is pretty big. I still had to wander around a bit to find it.
So now I get specific. “Box 12 on the floor in the back right corner behind the blue chair.” Yeah it’s a little wordy but who cares. It works.
Mistake number three. I forgot to update it when I took stuff out. I pulled out my winter coats in November and then three months later I was looking at my list like “wait I still have coats in there?” Nope. I’d taken them out. But I didn’t update my notes.
Now I just open my phone when I’m standing right there and delete the line. Or add a new one if I’m putting something in. Takes thirty seconds.
The Real Reason You Should Do This
Okay let me be real with you about something. And this is the thing that actually matters.
When you have a digital inventory, you stop worrying. It’s weird but it’s true. You know exactly what’s in that unit. You know exactly where everything is. There’s no mystery. There’s no anxiety. It’s just… handled.
I used to get this nagging feeling sometimes. Like, did I put my important documents in there? Is my jewelry in that unit? Where’s my passport? But now I just check my phone. Oh yeah, passport’s in the fireproof safe in box 3. Cool. Moving on with my day.
That peace of mind is worth way more than the hour it takes to make the list.
Plus, if something ever happens. Like a theft or a flood or a fire. You’ve got proof of what you had. Insurance claims are way easier when you can show them photos and a list. You don’t have to guess. You don’t have to try to remember everything you owned. It’s just there.
How This Works With Our Units
We see people at our facility all the time who just kind of… throw stuff in. No system. No plan. And honestly, we get it. Most people aren’t professional organizers. You’ve got a move happening or a renovation or a life transition and you just need to get your stuff somewhere fast.
But here’s the thing. When you store with us, we want you to actually use your space well. We want you to know what’s in there. We want you to get your money’s worth.
I can’t tell you how many times people have come in asking if they can downsize their unit because they realized they don’t need all that space after all. And we say yeah sure. And then we move them to a smaller unit and they save money every month. That’s a win for everybody.
And the only reason they knew they didn’t need that bigger unit? Because they made an inventory and realized half their stuff was garbage they didn’t want anymore.
So yeah. Do it for yourself. Do it for your peace of mind. Do it so you can actually find your stuff when you need it. But also maybe do it so you’re not paying for space you don’t need. That’s real money in your pocket.
Some Random Tips
Here’s some random stuff I’ve learned along the way that might help you.
Keep a sharpie in your unit. Just leave one there. Because every time you go you’ll think of something you need to label and you won’t have a pen. Trust me on this. Buy a sharpie and just leave it in there.
Take photos of the unit itself too. Like wide shots. So you can see how everything fits together. Helps you remember the layout.
If you have valuable stuff, take close ups of the serial numbers. Really close. If something gets stolen you’re gonna need those numbers for the police report and the insurance.
Update your list right after you visit. Don’t wait til you get home. Don’t say “I’ll do it later.” You won’t. I never do. Just do it while you’re standing there or as soon as you get back to your car.
Share your inventory with someone. Your partner. Your roommate. Your adult kid if you’ve got one. That way if something happens to you, someone else knows what’s in that unit and can deal with it. Not a fun thing to think about but it’s important.
Just Start Already
Look, I know this seems like a hassle. I really do. I put it off for years. Years. And then I spent forty five minutes digging for a cast iron pan and I was like okay fine I’ll do the stupid inventory.
And honestly? I was mad I didn’t do it sooner. Because it’s just not that hard. It’s literally just taking pictures and writing stuff down. You can do it in pieces. You don’t have to do your whole unit at once. Just start with the stuff near the door. One row. One corner. Whatever.
Once you start you’ll probably just keep going anyway because it’s satisfying to see your progress. But even if you don’t finish, at least you’ve got something started. At least you’ve got some photos. At least you’ve got some notes. That’s more than you had before.
So next time you’re at your unit, just pull out your phone and take a picture. One picture. That’s all it takes to get going. And then next time, take another one. Eventually you’ll have them all.
You’ll thank yourself later. I promise.
0 Comments