Okay so you’re leaving for a year. A whole year. Europe, Asia, South America, wherever. Good for you. Seriously. Most people just talk about doing this and then they wake up at fifty wondering what happened.
But right now you’re probably staring at your apartment thinking “what on earth do I do with all this junk”
I’ve been there. Not the year abroad part sadly but helping friends pack up for theirs. And let me tell you something. The ones who did it right? They didn’t just throw everything in a storage unit and hope for the best. They thought about what actually matters.
So let me walk you through what you should actually keep. Not what some magazine says. What real life says.
The stuff you’d grab in a fire
Think about it. If your building caught fire tomorrow and you had five minutes, what are you grabbing? Not your couch. Not your plates. You’re grabbing photos. Maybe a box of letters from an old friend. Your grandmother’s ring. That ratty stuffed animal from when you were six.
That’s your storage list right there.
Everything else can be replaced. Those things cannot.
I had a friend store a box of handwritten letters from her dad who passed away. She almost threw them out because “they’re just paper.” Can you imagine? She still thanks me for telling her to keep them.
So here’s what goes into that pile:
- Old photo albums (yes even the ugly ones from the 90s).
- Kids artwork if you have kids.
- Wedding stuff like your veil or the guest book.
- Any letter or card that makes you emotional when you read it.
- That weird souvenir from a trip you’ll never take again.
Furniture but not all of it
Look I’m gonna be honest with you. Most furniture isn’t worth storing. That IKEA shelf you got for forty bucks? Let it go. That mattress you’ve had since college? No.
But some stuff is worth keeping.
A real wood dresser that belonged to your aunt. A dining table you actually love. A leather chair that cost you way too much money. That kind of stuff.
Here’s my rule. If you wouldn’t pay someone two hundred dollars to move it, don’t pay to store it. Because storage isn’t free. And a year adds up.
So walk around your place and ask yourself “would I miss this if it was gone forever” If the answer is no, sell it or donate it. If the answer is yes and it’s well made, store it.
Your winter stuff
This one gets people every time. You leave in summer. You’re thinking about shorts and sandals. But you’re coming back in a year and guess what. Seasons exist.
A good winter coat costs over a hundred bucks easily. Good boots even more. Ski gear? Forget about it. Rebuying that stuff hurts.
So store:
- Winter jackets and heavy coats.
- Snow boots or rain boots depending where you live.
- Gloves hats scarves (sounds small but buying all new is annoying).
- Sleeping bags or camping gear.
- Holiday decorations especially if they’re sentimental.
I watched a guy rebuy an entire camping setup after storing nothing. Tent, sleeping pad, stove, the works. He spent over eight hundred dollars. For stuff he already owned. Just sitting in his apartment. He almost cried when he realized it.
Your kitchen stuff but be picky
Here’s where people go wrong. They store every single pot and pan they own. Why. Why would you do that.
Store the good stuff. The cast iron skillet you finally got seasoned right. The nice knife set someone gave you for your birthday. The stand mixer if you have one because those things are expensive.
Do not store mismatched plastic containers without lids. Do not store chipped mugs. Do not store that weird appliance you used once and never again.
Be honest with yourself. You know which stuff you actually use.
Paperwork that’s a pain to replace
Boring I know. But important.
Your birth certificate. Social security card. Old tax returns. Car title. Lease agreements from previous apartments (yes you might need them). Medical records.
You don’t need to store these in a fancy way. Just get a small box. Put everything in there. And then put that box inside your storage unit.
But here’s a tip. Make copies before you go. Digital copies on your phone or a cloud drive. That way if something happens you’re not totally stuck.
Electronics that still work
Don’t store broken stuff. Please. I’ve opened storage units full of dead printers and old phones that don’t turn on. Why. Just recycle them.
But do store:
- Video game consoles you actually play.
- Speakers that sound good.
- Musical instruments especially if they’re nice ones.
- External hard drives with your backups.
And for the love of everything, label your cords. Take a piece of masking tape and write on it. “Xbox power cord” or “speaker cable for left speaker.” You will not remember a year from now. I promise you. No one remembers.
What to absolutely not store
Okay real talk. Do not store food. I don’t care if it’s canned. I don’t care if it’s sealed. Mice and bugs can get into anything and they will find it. I’ve seen it happen and it’s disgusting.
Also don’t store:
- Candles or wax melts (they melt and ruin everything around them).
- Cleaning supplies (they leak and smell).
- Paint or chemicals (fire hazard plus fumes).
- Wet clothes or anything damp (mold grows fast).
- Real cash or expensive jewelry (take that with you or use a bank).
One more thing before you lock it up
Take pictures. Seriously. Walk around your storage unit and snap a few photos of the boxes. Write a quick list on your phone of what’s in each box. Box one is kitchen. Box two is winter coats. Box three is photos.
A year from now you’ll be jet lagged and tired and you won’t remember anything. Those photos and that list will save you hours of digging through boxes.
Where we come in
Look you could store all this at a friend’s house. But friends move. Friends forget. Friends have basements that flood. And do you really want to ask someone to hold onto your stuff for a full year? That’s a lot to ask.
That’s why people use our storage unit service. It’s clean. It’s secure. You get your own lock and your own code. No one touches your stuff but you. And you can get to it whenever you’re back in town without feeling weird about bothering someone.
We’ve helped a lot of people pack up for a year abroad. We know what size unit you need. We know what boxes work best. We can even recommend which units stay cooler in summer if you’re storing things like photos or vinyl records.
So that’s it. That’s the real list. Not fancy. Not perfect. Just what actually works.
Sort your stuff. Keep the important things. Let go of the rest. Store what matters. And then go have the best year of your life.
When you come back, your stuff will be waiting. And so will we.
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