Storage advice- spring cleaning

I think most of us out there (espically those of use who live in large cities in apartments with limited closet space) suffer from how to store things and the issue of spending money on expensive storage units. What are we filling these storage units with? Do we even know what is in our storage units? I was interviewed in this recent article that appeared in the Chicago Tribune a few weeks back about storage and cleaning and this whole topic. Miles Redd was also interviewed for this article and I am honored to be in the same article with one my favorite design stars!

One of our best clients that we have been working with for a few years now had a storage unit filled with items that they didn't even know where stored. They were paying close to $1000 a month for this. My office worked for weeks on sorting and organizing and donating all of the contents of the storage unit. It was a long process and lots of "work day clothing" as it was dusty and dirty. When we turned over the keys to the storage unit- my client jumped for joy at saving around $12,000 a year in just storage fees!

So what's in peoples storage units? What's tucked up in your own house closets and basements and garages?

Spring is just around the corner and it's a great time to sort and clean things up.
(I am actually having an office spring cleaning day today and am so excited to return samples, recycle old out of date paperwork and put out of date paperwork in our storage archives).
I guess that I could also take some of my own advice and go to my own storage unit and clear out things that I just don't need anymore (that great couple of yards of fabric that I have been saving, that lamp that I shipped from the flea market in Paris, that old table that I keep meaning to polish and fix up).


Why do we hold on to these things? Do we really think that we will end up using these things someday? Is there guilt with hanging on to family pieces?

I totally believe in pieces in your house being functional. I often look around at my own place and ask myself - When was the last time that I used that? I do this with clothing and kitchen gear all of the time.

I find it SO rewarding at the end of a big clean up to see everything organized and it always feels fresh and new.

What are your own spring cleaning stories? What do you do? Have fun!