Home is where the heart is. It's also where your most valuable items and personal documents reside. Sometimes, however, you may have a little more than expected, meaning that you'll need to store them away properly between those occasional moments you make use of them. In today's article, we're offering some tips on storage options and what you need to do if you simply have too much stuff.

Know what you're putting in storage

Before choosing where you'll store all your additional items, first list what it is exactly that you will be storing away. What is being put in storage can dictate the type of storage you will need. For example, if you're looking to store away tools and/or car parts, then you may be looking at storage in a shed, garage or even a storage locker depending on the size of the items. Items such as work or financial documents will be more suited filed away at home.

Do you have an unused room?

When it comes to storage, a room that is currently unused (e.g. a spare bedroom or study room) could be a good area to make use of. That said, you should only do this if you genuinely don't see the room being used for any other purposes in the near future. And if you do use it as storage, how you store your items should not be disorganised. Shelving, plastic storage boxes, etc. are worth purchasing and placing into the room. Then, store items relative to what they're in relation to - tax information, work documents, personal items, additional kitchenware, etc.

Purchasable storage

As mentioned in the above, you still need actual storage solutions in the form of shelving, filing cabinets, plastic storage books, and so on. Just having piles and piles of documents or toys and other goods strewn across the floor is simply chaotic. While there is organised chaos, it's chaos nonetheless. There are plenty of storage options out there, many of which focus on height as opposed to width. This type of storage is great, especially if you don't have much actual floor space to work with.

Again, what you go with depends on what you're looking to store. Paper documents will be fine in some plastic boxes/shelving, whereas heavy-duty tools need to be put in something equally heavy-duty (e.g a metal tool chest).

Declutter or rent

While storage areas are a must for any home, it's almost important to know when you're storing what you need and when you simply have too much gratuitous stuff. People who have an overabundance of items to the point where it has become out of control are classified as "hoarders". Sometimes hoarding can be the result of a mental disorder/illness or a coping mechanism against personal trauma, but sometimes it can also result from someone not fully realising just how much stuff they've brought in over the years.

If you believe you could be hoarding in items that you'll never use, then you should seriously consider throwing these items out or selling them to remove needless clutter. In the event that you're hoarding behaviour has been triggered by a confronting personal event or is due to a mental disorder, professional therapy may assist you in being able to progressively declutter.

For those of you who may have an abundance of items that are necessary but can't fit inside your home, you need to consider renting out a storage locker as a place to hold them for now.