If you're tired of using your garage as a storage unit, it's time to take matters into your own hands. It's time to rent a self-storage unit and take back your garage. There are far better things you could be using your garage for, such as a safe space to park your car. If you enjoy home projects, you could also be using your garage as a workshop. The possibilities are endless once you clear out the clutter and rent a storage unit. Once you rent your storage unit, you'll want to make the most of it. Here are some tips that will help you get the most out of your storage unit.

Don't Store Things You're Not Going to Use

When you're using your garage for storage, it's easy to toss things out there that you're not using. However, now that you'll be paying for your storage space, you don't want to fill it up with useless items that you'll never use again. Before you start loading up your storage unit, rent a dumpster and toss out all the useless items you've collected over the years. By doing that, you may find that you don't need to rent such a large storage unit. Not only that, but you'll save yourself the expense of storing items you no longer need.

Make Your Containers Easy to Read

When you place your belongings in storage, remember that you might want to retrieve something later on. It can be stressful to rummage through all your storage containers looking for one specific item. Eliminate the stress by making your storage containers easy to read. One way to do that is to write out a list of contents and tape them to the outside of each container. That way, you know exactly what is stored in each container. Another simple way is to use a permanent marker to label each container.

Give Yourself Some Space

When you're placing items into your new storage unit, it can be tempting to just start loading from the back until it's filled. However, that's going to leave you with a cluttered mess. When you're placing items into your storage unit, make sure you leave yourself some space to move around. The best way to do that is to leave a path down the center of the unit.

Hide a Spare Key

Finally, when you place the lock on your storage unit, avoid placing both keys on your key ring. That's a good way to lose your keys. Unfortunately, once you lose the keys to your storage unit, it's going to be costly to get back inside. To prevent that, place one key in a safe location. That way, if you lose one key, you still have a spare.