A survey reported on Canadian Newswire Toronto has revealed that 87 percent of Canadians want to simplify their lives. Combine this with the proliferation of Toronto storage rental units popping up across the city and it becomes clear that simplification begins at home.
It is easy for interior designers to talk about embracing minimalism, and with Toronto facing a housing crisis and high rise apartments becoming the norm, minimalism makes a lot of sense. But what are the practicalities to make it work in everyday life?
Using Toronto storage rental for non-essentials
There are a dozen online guides for minimalization that will tell you to clear out half of your possessions a room at a time. It sounds fine in theory, but it is completely impractical in practice, and this is why so many people fall at the first hurdle. Canadian homeowners can use a Toronto storage specialist to keep treasured but non-essential belongings safe in off-site storage and getting this in place is a vital first step.
Placing items into secure storage is not about moving clutter from one place to another. The idea is to move it out of your living space, but in such a way that you can retrieve anything you need.
Think twice about the location
Secure storage units that are environmentally and temperature controlled are available across Toronto, including Downtown, Scarborough, Yorkdale and Leaside. It is important to choose the location of your storage unit with care, as convenience is key to making your bid for minimalization work.
It is human nature to value possessions, especially for older generations. In short, we will try to convince ourselves to hold on to things, and “it might come in handy” is a convenient excuse. Choosing a storage unit in Toronto that is five minutes away is a great way to blow this argument out of the water. You can adopt the mindset of “if in doubt, put it out” – safe in the knowledge that if you suddenly need something you can retrieve it from storage in a matter of minutes.
Keep your storage unit organized
Of course, the above falls apart if it takes you five minutes to reach the storage location and you then spend two hours searching bags and boxes for a treasured possession. There is a simple five-step process to make sure you can place your hands on whatever you need without delay:
- Number your storage boxes – place a label on the top and on at least one side of each box containing the box number and a brief description of its contents.
- Create a master list – it might sound daunting but if you do it as you go, it will not add much time to the packing and it is key to easily locating anything you need. It is easiest to use a simple spreadsheet such as a Google sheet or Excel file that you can also quickly access from your smartphone. But you can also write out a list in a physical notepad if you prefer. Include the box number and list everything that is in the box.
- Draw a map – this doesn’t have to be detailed or to scale, but a simple sketch showing where everything is, even if it is just which box numbers are in which areas, means you can go straight to the box you need.
- Create an aisle – the last thing you want is to have to move 20 boxes to reach the one at the back. Leave an aisle down the middle of the storage unit, and all you need to move will be any boxes stacked on top of the one you need.
- Put items you might need at the front – things like seasonal clothes or festive decorations will definitely be needed from time to time, so place these near the front.
Anyone can follow the minimalist ethos that is becoming central to Toronto living. Renting a storage unit is the first step towards making it a reality.
