The Psychology of Self-Storage: How It Can Impact Your Life

At this point, you should be fully aware of what self-storage is and how it can be used. You might even be familiar with some of the more notable benefits it offers, like:

• Having a secure place to keep your belongings
• Decluttering your home
• Helping to transition between homes
• Acting as a storage space for a business

What you might not be familiar with is the relationship between psychology and self-storage. There’s more of a link than you could think. Using a self-storage unit boasts more psychological benefits than you could’ve thought.

Surprised? You’re not the only one, but these benefits could be larger and more appealing than you’d think. As dedicated self-storage providers, we’re keenly aware of what these psychological advantages are.

It’s worth diving into each of them. Your self-storage unit does more than just give you a safe place to keep your belongings. It could help you feel better than you might’ve thought. Let’s take a look at how it can help you.

Psychology and Self-Storage: How It Helps

1. Enhanced Mental Well-Being

Living in a cluttered space affects your mental health. It adds stress, a feeling of being overwhelmed, and even anxiety. Despite that, you might feel like you don’t want to get rid of any of your belongings. That’s why you could have too many of them in your home in the first place. In turn, that feeds back into your mental well-being.

With a self-storage unit, however, that’s far from a problem. You don’t have to throw anything out, so you don’t need to feel stressed about getting rid of something you love. Instead, you’ll be keeping it somewhere safe until you need to use it again. You’ll improve your mental well-being because of that, letting you have a clutter-free home without throwing out belongings you’re attached to.

2. Removing Distractions and Overwhelming Feelings

Clutter and an excess of belongings create a lot of visual noise, and this is one of the main reasons it affects your mental health. This proves to be distracting when you’re trying to get anything done at home. If you work from home, it can be even more distracting. You could feel like there’s nothing you can do, and you can’t pay attention to the important stuff.

Then there’s the fact you could end up feeling overwhelmed because of it all. If you’re trying to reorganise your home, that’s especially true. With a self-storage unit, however, this gets much easier. You’ll get rid of the overwhelming feeling, while also getting rid of the distractions and mental anguish you could be feeling. You’ll feel a greater sense of calm over it.

3. Improving Time Management

One of the more overlooked links between psychology and self-storage is it lets you manage your time a lot better. You’ll spend much less time stressing about all of the belongings you have in your home, and you shouldn’t have to spend a lot of time and effort rooting through them. You’ll save more time with a self-storage unit than you’d think.

Add in the fact you can find everything you need faster once you’ve decluttered and used a self-storage unit, and there’s nothing to worry about. Self-storage units are also quick and easy to use. You’ll be in and out faster than you’d think, especially when you go for a unit near you. You’ll have more extra time on your hands than you’d think.

4. Avoiding Decision Fatigue

How many decisions do you have to make during the day? The more there are, the more tired you could feel because of them. They impact your brain power, and you’ll feel this getting more and more tired every day. When you have a lot of belongings around your home, this doesn’t help.

Instead, it means you’ll have to make quite a few decisions about your belongings. While these can often seem small, they add up. You’ll need to figure out whether you should move anything, where you should put it, if you want it anymore, and much more. Once you have a self-storage unit, that isn’t an issue anymore.

5. Preventing Stress and Anxiety

When there’s a lot of clutter in a home – especially with unneeded belongings – people can feel stressed and even anxious. This starts off small, but it can quickly get worse and worse. A lot of this can be subconscious at first, but it gets more and more noticeable. Self-storage units help prevent that.

A lot of this stems from getting rid of the clutter so you can mentally get away from it all. Then there’s the fact self-storage units are easy and stress-free to use, making everything easy for yourself. Compared to trying to find places in your home to put everything, that’s especially true. You’ll feel less anxious and overwhelmed.

6. Enhanced Focus and Productivity

When you have a cluttered home, you’ll know how difficult it can be to get things done. You could feel overwhelmed at the prospect of doing anything, as there’ll be more than a few things getting in the way. Whether that’s trying to work from home or even getting the cleaning done, it can seem impossible.

By using a self-storage unit, however, you avoid that. You’ll enhance your focus, as there’ll be fewer belongings demanding your attention. You can even be more productive at home because of it. Instead of feeling overwhelmed at the clutter, you can focus on what actually needs to be done, and get it done.

7. Giving You Control Over Your Belongings

The right self-storage provider gives you as much control as possible over what you’re putting into your unit. They let you store quite a few things, as long as these aren’t illegal. This lets you relax a lot more than you’d think, and you should have much less to worry about with it. You could even add some extra security to your self-storage unit to help with this.

Some providers have no problem with you putting cameras into your unit. While there’ll always be a lot of security there in the first place, this could help you relax a bit more. You’ll have a lot more peace of mind once you know your belongings are completely safe. There’s no reason why you shouldn’t benefit from this. It’ll help with your mental well-being more than you’d think.

Minimalism and How It Affects Psychology

When most people choose to use a self-storage unit, it’s because they want to take a more minimalistic approach to their home. Despite that, they don’t always want to get rid of many of their belongings. That’s what leads to them being in a tricky position.

You could be in this position already, and feel like you’ve to choose between having a cluttered home or throwing it all out to have a more minimalistic approach. A self-storage unit helps with that a lot more than you’d think.

Minimalism is an approach that dictates having as few belongings as possible around your home. It creates a more open space that doesn’t leave you feeling visually overwhelmed by the sheer number of belongings there.

While this is usually seen as a design aesthetic, it offers much more than just visual appeal. It can impact your psychology and mental health, too.

With a more clutter-free home, you wouldn’t feel nearly as stressed and overwhelmed as you previously were. It removes any subconscious anxiety you have because of the excess of belongings around your home.

Minimalism promotes a greater sense of well-being and simplicity. Practitioners argue they have greater levels of contentment around their house, thanks to the fact there are fewer belongings trying to grab their attention.

Usually, taking this approach means getting rid of quite a few belongings and only focusing on the necessities. As appealing as the benefits are, doing this mightn’t be an appropriate option for everyone. They simply don’t want to throw everything out.

Thankfully, that’s not something you need to settle for. With a self-storage unit, you can remove and store any items you don’t want in your home for the time being. You’ll create a minimalistic design without needing to throw anything out.

Anything you’re not using now can simply be kept in your self-storage unit. This offers more benefits than you’d think, outside of helping you live a more minimalist lifestyle.

You can swap out your belongings whenever you see fit. If you have a couch you don’t plan on using for the time-being, for example, you can store it and keep the one you are using. When you feel like having a change, you can simply swap the couches relatively easily.

Add in the link between psychology and self-storage, and there’s no reason why you shouldn’t take this approach. You’ll end up improving your mental well-being a lot more than you’d think. There’s no reason not to give it a try.

Designing Your Space For Better Well-Being

Once you’ve decided to use a self-storage unit, you’ll need to start figuring out exactly what you want to keep in it. For many people, this can be relatively easy, but it might be trickier for others. You’ll want to take full advantage of the relationship between psychology and self-storage, after all.

That means designing your home to improve your mental well-being, and then putting anything that isn’t involved in this into your self-storage unit. By taking the right approach, you shouldn’t have much to worry about.

Thankfully, this doesn’t need to be too complicated. Taking a minimalist approach helps, but you can do more than that. Some of the more notable methods to take advantage of include:

1. Use the Right Colours – Colours have a significant impact on psychology, with some being more relaxing than others. With how much they can influence your mood, there’s no reason not to put the effort into this. Blues, for example, can often be a depressing colour, so it could be worth avoiding.
2. Lay It Out Properly – If your home isn’t properly laid out, you could feel more stressed because of it. Performing certain tasks could take more time and involve more work. By laying it all out properly, however, you can create a more harmonious home environment. You’ll avoid more stress with it. The same goes for when you’re laying out your self-storage unit.
3. Incorporate Natural Elements – Nature is always relaxing, especially when it comes to flowers and plants. The more these are incorporated into a design aesthetic, the more relaxed you’ll end up being. Even adding one or two to your self-storage unit could help you relax when you’re going through your stored belongings. Have as many as you’d like around your home.

These can help you take full advantage of the relationship between psychology and self-storage. You’ll design your home décore in a way that improves your mental well-being, while not needing to stress about keeping your belongings somewhere safe.

Ways to Choose a Self-Storage Unit Without the Stress

Once you know about the relationship between psychology and self-storage, you could be a lot more tempted to go and get a unit for yourself. Add in the other benefits these units offer, and it’s easy to see why you’re in that position.

You’ll need to know how to choose a self-storage unit to do that. If you don’t know what you’re doing, you could end up being a lot more stressed because of it. Since you’re trying to avoid and remove that stress, that’s naturally not something you’ll want to go through.

Thankfully, finding the best self-storage unit for your needs is much easier than you’d think. It’s just a matter of focusing on a few notable factors.

The location is the most obvious of these, as you’ll want to make sure it’s relatively close and doesn’t take a lot of time and effort to get to. Pick an option that’s convenient for you to get to, and you’ll be in a better position to make a decision.

Outside of this, there are multiple other factors to keep in mind when you’re looking for the best self-storage unit for you. Some of the more notable of these are:

• Cleanliness – Nobody wants to store their belongings somewhere that’s filthy. It could end up leading to issues with the belongings you’re keeping there. Check the units for how clean it is, and avoid anything that looks filthy. You’ll have a greater peace of mind because of it.
• Rodents – Speaking of cleanliness, you naturally wouldn’t want a load of little critters running around your self-storage unit. If you can’t spot them outright, look for any droppings or other signs there are rodents. You could want to give the entire complex a look when you’re focusing on this.
• Security – How secure the self-storage unit is plays a large role in how relaxed you’ll be keeping your belongings there. If there isn’t much – or any – security, you could stress about whether your belongings are actually safe. Check the security measures your options have, and only go with the ones you feel comfortable and safe with.
• Customer Service – Nobody wants to be treated poorly, especially when they’re paying for a service. See what kind of customer service you can expect for the options you’re considering. This is relatively easy to figure out, even without visiting the premises. Checking online reviews gives you an accurate idea of what you can expect, and you can narrow down your options with it.

Then there’s the price of the unit, as you wouldn’t want to stress out about the overall cost of keeping your belongings safe. Once you’ve put some time into considering these factors, you’ll be in a better position to find the best self storage unit for you.

Once you do, you’ll see the link between psychology and self-storage much more than you’d think. It’s just a matter of putting the time and effort into it.

Psychology and Self-Storage: Wrapping Up

Psychology and self-storage are more intrinsically linked than many people might’ve thought. You’ll see more than a few benefits by using them than you could think, making them more and more appealing.

Then there are the multiple other benefits a self-storage unit offers:

• Letting you keep belongings safe when you don’t need them
• Helping you declutter and organise your home
• Being able to keep seasonal items out of the way

There’s no reason not to consider using a self-storage unit, especially when your home is already a bit cluttered. When you do, it’s worth making sure you go with the best option out there.

At Wallaby Storage, we specialise in helping people find the best unit for their needs. From document storage all the way up to storing a vehicle, we have plenty of options for you. We’re sure you’ll be satisfied with the one you pick. 

By working with us, you’ll get professional-grade security, 24/7 access to your unit, no lock-in contracts, and much more. Call us today on (03) 9045 6229, and we’ll set you up with the perfect self-storage unit for your needs. Wallaby Storage will be elevating your storage experience in Moorabbin