The Clutter Fairy Weekly #189

Deep-Storage “Solutions”: Why Forgotten Is Not the Same as Gone

People stash excess stuff in storage units, parents’ homes, second houses, backyard sheds, garages—anywhere that’s easy to ignore. But hideaways aren’t a practical solution to clutter issue because it wastes time, money, and effort to warehouse your deferred decisions. In episode #189 of The Clutter Fairy Weekly, Gayle Goddard, professional organizer and owner of The Clutter Fairy in Houston, Texas, discusses the problems with out-of-sight, out-of-mind caches and unpacks ways to get the deep-storage monkey off your back.

Some content in this episode is based on results of a survey of our audience.

Watch on YouTube

Listen to the Podcast

Click the Share button to share the podcast, download an MP3 file, or subscribe through your favorite podcast platform.


Weekly Tittle

The Weekly Tittle is an exercise designed to focus your attention on a specific space, aspect, or challenge of decluttering and organizing your home. We assign a new tittle in each webcast/podcast, then check on your progress the following week.

Minding the Store

This week’s assignment is to evaluate the status of an item or collection that you’re keeping in storage:

  • Identify an object or set of items that you’re keeping in storage, either off-site in a storage unit or remote location, or somewhere in the recesses of your home.
  • Answer the following questions about the item or collection:
    • Why is the item in storage, rather than in use or on display?
    • What conditions would have to change in order for you to bring the item out of storage to use or display?
    • What is your projected timeframe for taking the item out of storage?
    • Is there a decision that you’re deferring or avoiding by keeping the item in storage?
    • What emotions do you associate with making a decision about this item?
  • Now reflect on whether you still want to keep the item or collection in question in storage indefinitely.
  • If so, set a date on your calendar to revisit this choice in three months, six months, or a year.
  • If not, make a plan for retrieving the item and either putting it to use or letting it go.

For the full discussion of this week’s tittle, watch the Weekly Tittle segment on YouTube.

0 replies

Leave a Reply

Want to join the discussion?
Feel free to contribute!

Let us know what you think!

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.