Alright, let’s have a real talk. That monthly charge for your storage unit hits your bank account, and you probably just wince and accept it. It’s the price for keeping your stuff, right? Sure. But I’m willing to bet you’re overpaying.

I’m not talking about haggling or finding a coupon. I’m talking about the fact that your unit is probably a time capsule of a life you aren’t living anymore. And we’re going to fix that in about 20 minutes, once a month.

This isn’t about being a minimalist guru. It’s about being a pragmatist. It’s about looking your past in the eye and deciding what’s worth paying rent on every single month.

Your New Monthly Ritual (It’s easier than you think)

Pick a Saturday. The first one of the month is good. Get a coffee. Drive to your unit. This is the key—you have to go. You can’t just think about it. The magic happens inside.

Step 1: The “Sniff Test” (Literally)

Unlock the door. Before you even step in, just pause. What do you smell? It should smell like nothing. Dusty cardboard, maybe. If it smells damp, or musky, or like something died, that’s your first red flag. That smell is the sound of money leaving your pocket because it means something is getting ruined. Catching it early saves you from replacing a moldy couch later.

Step 2: Play “What’s the Weirdest Thing in Here?”

I’m serious. Walk in and find the most ridiculous item you’re storing. That broken lava lamp from college. The box of 300 AOL free trial CDs. The single ski. It’s a fun game that does something important: it forces you to actually see what’s in there. You stop seeing “my stuff” and start seeing individual, often useless, items. This shifts your mindset instantly from “I need all this” to “…why on earth do I still have this?”

Step 3: The One-Box Rule

This is the money move. Every single month, you are going to fill one standard moving box with stuff to get rid of. Just one. It’s not overwhelming.

• That box of old clothes you’ll never fit into again? Gone.
• The mismatched pots and pans? Gone.
• The paperback books you’ll never reread? Gone.

Be ruthless. If it’s not seasonal (like Christmas decorations) or genuinely sentimental (like your grandma’s quilt), and you haven’t used it in a year, it goes in the box. On your way home, you drive to a donation center. Drop it off. That’s it. You just made your unit smaller without even moving to a smaller unit.

How Does This Save You Real Money?

Do this for three months. Three boxes gone. Suddenly, you can actually walk to the back wall. You can see the floor. All that empty air? You’re paying for that. Now you have a choice.

You can call your storage place and say, “Hey, I’ve consolidated my things. Do you have a 5×5 available?” That smaller unit might save you $30, $40, even $50 a month. That’s $600 a year. For what? For 20 minutes of work each month.

That’s a car payment. That’s a nice weekend away. That’s money you earned back.

We see this all the time at our place. Someone will come in, a little embarrassed, and say they need to downsize. I always tell them, “Don’t be embarrassed. Be proud. You’re being smart.” We’ll help them move their stuff to a smaller, cheaper locker because we’d rather have a customer who is happy and saving money than one who is stressed and overpaying. A happy customer sticks around.

The Bottom Line

The goal isn’t to get you to empty the unit. The goal is to make sure every single thing in that box is worth the monthly rent you’re paying for it. If it’s not, evict it.

So go on. This weekend. Get the coffee. Unlock the door. Find that weirdest thing. And start getting your money back.