I almost threw away six thousand dollars worth of rentals last month.
Not because I wanted to. Because a mouse got into my garage and decided my hand-painted signage made great nesting material.
That’s the thing about this business nobody warns you about. You spend years collecting the perfect props, the exact right linens, the vintage this and the custom that. And then nature just… takes it.
I’m sitting here typing this in my kitchen. My garage door is open because I’m airing it out after dealing with that mess. And I keep thinking about all the planners I know who are dealing with the same stuff. Maybe not mice. Maybe just chaos. Maybe just that feeling of never being able to find what you need when you need it.
The truth about your garage
Your garage is lying to you.
It looks like space. It feels like space. But it’s not safe space.
I learned this the hard way. Three years ago I stored a bunch of acrylic signs in my garage. Clear acrylic, you know? Looks so clean. Well, Texas summer hit and my garage hit 130 degrees. Those signs? Warped. All of them. Looked like modern art, not wedding signage.
Another time I stored fabric backdrops out there. Came back two months later and they smelled like… I don’t even know how to describe it. Like damp basement mixed with old gym socks. Couldn’t get the smell out. Had to toss them.
Your garage isn’t climate controlled. It’s just a room with a door that doesn’t seal great and walls that aren’t insulated. You wouldn’t store your wedding dress out there. So why are you storing your client’s wedding decor out there?
What I finally figured out about organizing
I’m not a naturally organized person. My brain doesn’t work that way.
For years I tried to force myself to be the person with color-coded bins and detailed spreadsheets. It never stuck. I’d do it for two weeks, fall behind, feel guilty, give up.
Then I realized something. The organization system doesn’t have to be perfect. It just has to work for you.
For me, that means clear bins with big labels. That’s it. Nothing fancy. Just bins I can see into and labels I can read from across the room.
I number the bins instead of describing them. Bin 1, Bin 2, Bin 3. On my phone I have a note that says what’s in each bin. When I need something, I check the note, grab the bin, go.
Takes me five minutes a week to maintain. That’s it.
The stuff you forget you have
Here’s a question. When’s the last time you actually looked at everything you own?
Not just glanced. Actually looked.
I did this last year and found:
- 47 mason jars I forgot I bought
- A box of candles that melted together into one giant candle blob
- Three identical silver trays
- A stack of menus from an event I did in 2019
- Someone’s lost phone
We accumulate so much without realizing it. We buy things for one event, use them, and then they just live in a box forever. We tell ourselves we’ll use them again. Sometimes we do. Usually we don’t.
Here’s my rule now. If I haven’t used something in a year, it goes. Sell it, donate it, give it away. I don’t care. Just get it out.
The less you have, the easier everything gets. It’s simple math but we make it complicated.
Why I finally gave up on garages and basements
I mentioned the mouse situation. That was the last straw.
But honestly, it wasn’t just the mouse. It was everything.
It was hauling stuff up and down basement stairs. It was pulling a muscle carrying a heavy box because I was trying to do it myself at 11 PM. It was the time my landlord decided to paint the garage and all my stuff got covered in paint dust. It was the summer my AC broke and I lost a bunch of chocolate favors.
At some point you have to admit that your home is for living in. Your business stuff belongs somewhere else.
That’s when I found Accent Self Storage. Not because I was looking for storage. Because I was looking for a solution.
What’s different about this place
I’m not going to pretend this is the most exciting place on earth. It’s storage. It’s boxes and bins and shelves.
But here’s what matters to me.
I can pull my car right up to the door. Not a loading dock. Not a parking lot where I have to carry stuff across. Right up to the door. Open my trunk, open the unit, move stuff. Done.
It’s climate controlled. All of it. Not just the expensive units. Every single one. So my candles don’t melt in July and my signs don’t warp in August.
I can come whenever I want. Late at night after breakdown. Early morning before setup. Sunday when everywhere else is closed. The door opens when I need it.
Month to month. No contract. No commitment. If my business changes, my storage changes with it.
The thing about sharing space
People ask me about sharing units sometimes. Splitting cost with another planner.
I always tell them the same thing. Be really careful.
I tried this once. A friend needed space, I had extra space, seemed perfect. Then she started storing stuff in my half when I wasn’t looking. Then I needed something and couldn’t find it because her stuff was in the way. Then we weren’t really friends anymore.
If you’re going to do it, treat it like a business. Written agreement. Clear boundaries. Photos of the space before anyone moves in. A plan for what happens when someone wants out.
Or just don’t. Get your own space. It’s simpler.
What I wish someone had told me years ago
I think about this sometimes. If I could go back and talk to myself when I was starting out, what would I say?
I’d say stop buying stuff. Just stop. You don’t need it.
I’d say rent what you can. Borrow what you can. Own as little as possible. Every thing you own is a thing you have to store, clean, transport, repair, replace.
I’d say your time is worth more than your stuff. If you’re spending hours digging through boxes looking for something, you’re losing money. If you’re storing things in five different locations and driving between them, you’re losing money. If you’re stressed and disorganized and it shows in your work, you’re losing money.
I’d say get a storage unit before you think you need one. Not after. Before. When you’re still managing okay but you can feel things getting tight. That’s the time. Not when you’re drowning.
The breakdown ritual that saved my sanity
I do the same thing after every event now. Every single time.
I sort as I pack. Clean stuff in one pile. Dirty stuff in another. Broken stuff goes straight in the trash. I don’t tell myself I’ll fix it later. I never fix it later.
When I get to storage, I deal with the dirty stuff right away. Linens come out. Glassware gets washed if it needs it. Nothing goes back on the shelf dirty.
It takes maybe twenty extra minutes. But it saves me hours later. And my stuff lasts longer. And I don’t open bins and find moldy surprises.
Future me is always grateful to past me for doing this. Past me is always tired and wants to go home. But future me wins.
What we actually are
Look, I’m not here to sell you something you don’t need.
If your garage is working for you and your basement is working for you and your stuff is safe and organized and easy to find, keep doing what you’re doing. Seriously. Don’t fix what isn’t broken.
But if you’re reading this and something feels familiar. If you’re tired of tripping over boxes. If you’re tired of losing things. If you’re tired of worrying about temperature and humidity and mice. If you’re tired of your stuff being everywhere except where you need it.
Come look at Accent Self Storage.
Walk through. See if it fits. Talk to us about what you need. Maybe it’s a 5×5. Maybe it’s a 10×20. Maybe you need a place to park your trailer. We’ve got options.
No contract. No pressure. Just space that actually works for people who do what you do.
Because you’ve got events to run. We’ll just be here holding your stuff.
0 Comments