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Welcome, welcome to Sorting Through Life with Colleen Watterson on AM950, the progressive voice of Minnesota.
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This is brought to you by Space by Space Organizing, my home organizing business here in the Twin Cities.
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And today we have an episode of Behind Closed Drawers with my former client and friend Katie and uh client-turned friend.
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Um, and Katie's episode, so behind closed drawers, is my attempt to help people understand what actually happens when you hire a home organizer.
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I think it's something that some people fully understand, and some people wonder, what is what is that?
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What do they do?
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What can I ask them to do?
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And so by having this behind closed drawers, it's really saying, let me pull back the curtain on what we do when we're in people's homes.
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And in your case, today we're talking about a storage facility, a storage unit.
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And so it's kind of behind closed garage door, an internal garage door.
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So, Katie, welcome to the show.
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Thank you.
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Thanks for having me, Colleen.
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So we met a couple years ago, and I had just gotten my unit at WareSpace, which is in Eden Prairie here in Minnesota, and it's a shared workspace for entrepreneurs.
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And we all have our own warehouse units, but there's loading docks in, there's loading docks out, there's mail pickup every day, there's conference rooms, there's a lunch room.
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I mean, it there's dumpsters, there, there are so many things that are amazing about that space.
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And in addition to it, you're surrounded by other people who are hustling, who are, you know, just busy doing whatever they're doing.
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And it's a very fun energy.
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It's always light.
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You show up at 10 o'clock at night, you know, and it's just as light as if it was three in the afternoon.
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So for me, that was a really big game changer for my business to be able to separate from my home and not be um not be as much like the cobbler's kids where you come home and I I'm always saying, like, I swear I'm a home organizer, you know, like, no, I say, I say um a home organizer, you say, because like sometimes it just doesn't look like it.
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And then I'll tell people, look in my drawers.
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Because like on the surface, there's a lot going on because there's just a lot going on in my life and a lot of coming and going of stuff.
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But in the drawers, I'm like, they're immaculate, you know, like open those.
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But the the warehouse for me was really just a place to bring the things, you know, products to bring things I need to sort post-house for where things would go for donation to hang on to something till I had time to donate properly.
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I had no idea that I would meet so many cool people.
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And, you know, fellow entrepreneurs have gotten a few jobs from being there.
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Um, I'm in the middle, we've got some remodelers there, and they've get uh introduced me to a client that they were doing work for.
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But so you and me, I'm I'm rolling a cart full of uh vintage lamps that I was selling for a client.
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And you're like, oh, are you selling those lamps?
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I'm like, yeah, do you want to buy one?
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And I'm like, no, I want to know if you can sell some of my stuff.
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Yeah.
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And so what was that situation that you were in when we ran into each other in the hallway a couple years ago?
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Yes.
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So I also I love Wearspace.
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It is a fantastic storage unit, slash small business owner, um, just little networking hub.
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Community.
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Yeah, it is a community.
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Um, and since I was I was in transition, I had just moved and I hadn't figured out kind of where my next roots were gonna be set.
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I knew they were gonna be um in a particular area, but I hadn't found a place yet.
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So I was living in furnished places that I was renting until I found that.
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So the storage unit was really just my holding area until I figure things out.
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But I did know that I was downsizing, so I didn't long term, I wasn't gonna need all that stuff.
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And I would say, just if someone's like, oh, I'm in that situation, I should contact Wear Space.
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You were one of the only people there using it for something like personal.
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I think one of my neighbors stores like their careers academic journals or something, you know, like something like that.
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But you were you were there, you do have a nonprofit, so it was important to have a permanent address.
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Correct.
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But where space is more, it costs more and it gives you more than going to any of the storage units around town.
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So and you were seeking that.
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And so you knew that you you didn't want the pressure of getting to that permanent address before you were ready to, but you needed a more permanent, a little bit higher amenities connected to where your stuff lived in between.
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100%.
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Yes, I actually I really needed that address.
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Um so my mail could go somewhere, I needed a one-stop shop.
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Yes, of course, I could get a P.O.
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box, I could get a UPS box, and then I could get a public storage unit.
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But I ideally, because I was making so many decisions at that time and so many things were in flux, I really it was it just took a lot off my like mental load to be like, this is my one stop.
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I only needed to go one place to get my mail to figure out you know the lay of the land with my stuff, and then I can set it and forget it.
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It was like a very haphazard living room.
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Like there were rugs, there was like like a it was my house, right?
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All in one.
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Sushed into one industrial environment.
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Yep.
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Like an unfinished basement almost for you.
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Yeah.
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So you so you say, I say, well, let me let me put these uh let me roll these lamps to my unit, and then I'll come to yours and see what we've got going on.
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So I get into your unit.
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Boxes to the ceiling, box cardboard, huge, yeah, huge boxes, yeah, huge and heavy.
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Like, what is this?
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And not really well labeled by the movers.
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Oh, not at all.
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And once we start going into it, it was like so poorly.
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It made no sense.
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Yep.
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Yep.
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It was like, oh, okay.
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So here's a microwave with nice dishes and a few books on top.
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Or something.
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It was like, what was this?
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What happened?
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But yeah, sometimes that happens in a move.
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And then I don't have the time to micromanage them, of course, while they're packing.
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For sure.
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And then once it got there, I kind of turned it off.
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And I went, I moved into my furnished living and was trying to kind of figure out my next steps in this transition.
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So there were just a lot of things that needed uh decisions that needed to be made.
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And unpacking and organizing my storage unit was kind of fifth on the priority list at the time, you know?
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Yeah.
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And then once I ran into you, I was starting to kind of get to the point where, okay, now let's start to figure out what's even in here.
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Well, what my biggest thing when I met you, I remember thinking, because you have a bigger unit than my business.
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And so I'm in a medium, you're in a large.
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And the nice thing is, I mean, now we're pretty full.
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Um, it's it's pretty rented out at that place, but it is that if you needed larger, you could up your lease or down your lease if you needed smaller.
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So it's like you you aren't buying into one exclusive amount of space.
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There is a flexibility of, oh, I'm growing, so I could, you know, they'll knock down a wall if they can to extend your space and give you two mediums or whatever it is.
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Exactly.
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So I go into yours and you're in a large, which means you pay more than me, you're in a big, and I'm like, whoa, I I know we could get you into a small.
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Like, if we did this better, you could, you know, the money that you would pay me to do this for you, you could recover in a few months of less rent.
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You know, there was there was that aspect.
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I think you ended up staying where you were, but just you you got you moved out and it was an easier move, and so it was easier to just stay there and not go smaller.
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But that was my first goal was just saying there's a better way to stack these boxes.
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Yes, and to repack them.
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To repack them, and start going through, and so I think that that was our first kind of, I don't know, like mini milestone of let's work towards something smaller.
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And so it gives us this kind of some sort of goal.
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Right.
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Whereas before we do this, right, right?
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Right.
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And although I didn't end up in that smaller unit, I did end up moving and it started the whole impetus of actually going through everything, organizing, getting rid of things, selling things.
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Um we unpacked every box and and you would come and just uh go through you know, it was it was interesting because uh you uh you didn't like being in there.
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No, I had it almost gave me some paralysis.
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Yeah, because it reminded me of everything I needed to do.
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So I would walk in and it was like I was flooded with freeze, you know, fight, flight or freeze.
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I was in freeze.
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And so I needed you to kind of help just give me the baby steps and have the kind of you had the separation emotionally from the huge mountain of things I needed to do to get out of there.
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I wasn't able to even see one step at a time at that point because it just was so overwhelming, it stopped me from taking any action.
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And so that's where you really came in and helped to get me moving.
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And I I'm thanks and I'm glad that we were helpful, but I I even say, you know, sometimes I'll have Alicia at my house if something, if there's something I can't I'm struggling to tackle, and I say, treat me like a client because I need to be able to see my stuff in the way that we put clients' stuff together for them to see.
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And so like this is when, you know, we have these this three-part process.
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There's the sort where we take everything out, we make it, you know, really easy to be seen.
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You know, we're putting, if we're putting, you know, coffee mugs next to each other, they're not like jumbled, there might be like an inch between each one so that you can see that as a separate entity, but everything like with like.
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So you can see, oh, I have 27 coffee mugs.
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And that's overwhelming.
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I'm never gonna have 27 people over.
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Right.
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Yeah.
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Maybe if I host a baby shower and I'm probably gonna get throwaway mugs.
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Like it's just like we start to think about the what we actually need.
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But that sort is when we do that.
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The the evaluation is when the client needs to tell us their relationship to to the mugs.
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And then the the rearrange after is when we put back together what stays better.
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Or we've identified, okay, this is the stuff that you wanted to resell, this is the stuff we want to donate.
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There was a lot of trash within it that we were bringing to the dumpster, which felt really good.
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And and if this is the stuff that needs to be shred, this is this, you know, just being able to analyze, you know, a house worth of belongings in one go before you went to that next place, so that when you got to the next place, you could just be there with what you wanted.
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But we often don't want clients around for the sort because when you start to do things one by one, it's it's slow even with a professional managing it.
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That's why, like, if you can let us do the sort and not be part of it and only come after it's been sorted, it's a whole different relationship.
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It's a whole different experience.
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And then also, that's usually like if someone pulls things out, you see all these things on Instagram where they're like, okay, I pulled out my closet and now I'm just gonna shove it all back in because I'm so overwhelmed I pulled out my closet, you know?
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I used all my energy just for I got step one of what these organizers do on the internet.
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I I should do this from here.
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But it's like to know, I love the feeling that for when my clients, when after they've gone through the stuff, that they get to walk away and we're gonna put it back together.
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And they don't it's because that's where so much overwhelm.
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Like, now what do I have to do?
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And like this is five more hours, if not ten, you know, like it just takes a lot of time to go through our stuff.
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That's why it piles up.
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Yeah.
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But it it the treat me like a client is because I'm asking Alicia in those times, only make me deal with the middle, you know, like you sort and you put it back together the way that we do for clients, but like help me see my stuff just spread out so that I can just make those decisions.
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So that's kind of like we did that little by little, you know, we do what we could in the space that we had.
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We brought, I brought shelves, you did, you know, and we had extra surface space to put that.
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A lot of boxes were taken apart, and then we got new boxes to be able to put things back together clear with labels and lifting capacity.
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Reusable bins, those were game changer.
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So, from that client experience, like talk to me about how you felt with the sort, the evaluation, and then like the rearrange.
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So I love how you guys separate it out where you handle the sort, because that's what was paralyzing me.
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The idea of opening every single box and then immediately being flooded with whatever memory emotions that is associated with whatever that item is is overwhelming.
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And then anticipating that, you're kind of like bracing yourself about what am I gonna find?
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I hope it's still like I hope it's not cracked, or you know, you had a lot of nice things that were decor.
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Yeah, a lot of antiques.
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Yeah, it's it's something that goes on a bookshelf and these movers packed it, and it's like, I don't know if I even want to think about what state it's in.
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Exactly.
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Yeah, so that was so nice, and that was exactly what I was looking for because actually, even previous to you, I had found a closet organizer.
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I remember this, who is phenomenal with clothes specifically, because she's kind of a stylist.
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Yeah, and then I I recall bringing her to the storage unit, and I think even she was overwhelmed.
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Oh, okay.
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So she almost wanted to freeze.
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So when I found you and you're like, oh, I got this, yeah.
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I've already I already have a vision for how we're gonna navigate this.
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Like you, it was just like autopilot for you in such a great way of like muscle memory.
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I do these things, I'm structured, organized in my mental clarity and how we approach these things.
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Um, and I've got this.
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Like that confidence is really what I needed of like you're in good hands, I know what we're doing.
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And I was so happy to give the sorting up to you.
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And then to just come in and be like, yes, no, maybe throw.
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Yeah.
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Right.
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We're gonna take a quick break, and when we come back, I want to pick up talking about um kind of like our emotional attachment to our stuff.
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Because I've talked about this a lot, but what we're bringing up is like to me, I always say that our our service is first and foremost like a mental health service.
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And I will say that when I started this business, I I wouldn't have like if you had shown me some of the before pictures of what I take on now, I don't think I would have told you four years ago that that was something I was comfortable with.
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But because I've gotten so much better at distancing myself from what's going on behind it and just seeing it as the stuff, and my job is to make sense of the stuff, but then to hold space for the person and what their main goal is and what I can, you know, that I need to get you there.
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And and to get you there is probably getting rid of a certain amount of stuff or you know, repackaging a certain amount of stuff.
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But to me, it's like the stuff is in the way of where my client wants to get.
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And so my job is actually to get them there, and and the stuff is not the most important.
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But in people's life, we have so much attachment to our stuff.
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And so I need to help people work through that in the process.
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So we'll come back and kind of talk about like our belongings and our our identity and how we're transitioning through life, you know, and and sometimes releasing some of that along the way.
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So we'll take a quick break break and feedback with Sorting Through Life on AM950.
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Welcome back to Sorting Through Life with Colleen Watterston, brought to you by Space by Space Organizing.
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And if you're listening to this and you think, I think I could use that girl's help, go to space by spaceorganizing.com or call 612-747-1331.
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I am Colleen, uh, the owner of Space by Space Organizing, and um just the honored gal who gets to help people through their stuff.
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And today I've got Katie who I've worked with through a very um large filled storage unit with everything that mattered to you, uh, and and other than you know what you needed at your furnished space during a transition time from where you were to where you were going.
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And we're kind of talking about that process.
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And so we talked about meeting and realizing that you know, this wasn't the most efficiently used space, that you didn't know what was in any of these boxes, but you also were a little hesitant to face it.
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You would go in, kind of search for what you needed.
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Like many people go into their basement, go into their storage, and it's like, I know where everything is kind of.
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Yeah, I know the general kind of corner.
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I I can find it within 10 minutes.
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And so that's good enough.
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But it's like also daunting.
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And you know you don't want it to be that way, but you're like, I can't even begin to think about making it any other way.
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I don't know where to start.
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Yeah.
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So talk about where you were mentally when you took on that storage space, and then where we got you, and and now you're out of the space, you're not renting anything from where space anywhere.
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You had transitioned to an office when you moved into a new home.
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And so kind of give us that story of what happened through your stuff.
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Through the journey of my stuff, the journey of the traveling pants.
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What is like yeah, sister.
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But yeah, the journey works, yeah.
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So, I mean, my mental state from moving um from St.
00:18:56.799 --> 00:19:11.920
Paul over to Eden Prairie at Wear Space Um was really, I just needed somewhere that one-stop shop, like I alluded to earlier, um, where I could just set it there, breathe, and kind of figure out my next steps in life.
00:19:12.160 --> 00:19:13.440
Where was I going now?
00:19:13.519 --> 00:19:23.039
I needed to make sure I was at least in a semi-stable place, a furnished rental, until I found something more permanent where I could move my stuff into.
00:19:23.359 --> 00:19:29.759
Um, but all those things take time, so you kind of have to look at it like sprints along the way, right?
00:19:30.079 --> 00:19:34.720
Um each having their own psychological hurdles, right, of getting there.
00:19:34.880 --> 00:19:42.079
And so, in a way, it was kind of nice that it put it into more manageable pieces that I could handle at the time.
00:19:42.319 --> 00:19:55.440
And so you're right, once it was all moved in and I got settled in my furnished place and started looking for more permanent places, I knew it was time to go back to the storage unit and start figuring that out.
00:19:55.599 --> 00:20:02.079
But like I said, and like you just mentioned, I just don't know where to start, right?
00:20:02.160 --> 00:20:08.079
And it's so exhausting to think about okay, now what do I do with this?
00:20:08.160 --> 00:20:09.599
What should I sell?
00:20:09.920 --> 00:20:18.480
Because I needed to be pragmatic about hey, this is a large expense that uh I'm spending, although it's a great investment and I need it right now.
00:20:18.720 --> 00:20:23.359
That's why I always talk myself off the ledge with whatever my monthly expenses were.
00:20:23.440 --> 00:20:23.680
Yeah.
00:20:23.920 --> 00:20:24.880
Because I needed it.
00:20:25.039 --> 00:20:28.319
I needed the peace of mind, but I also needed to take action.
00:20:28.640 --> 00:20:32.880
I even say that our storage unit is like the my mental health budget.
00:20:33.039 --> 00:20:33.119
Yeah.
00:20:33.359 --> 00:20:41.839
You know, because it's like just being able to go and drop something and not bring it home with me is really amazing.
00:20:42.240 --> 00:20:42.960
Absolutely.
00:20:43.119 --> 00:20:44.799
I needed to compartmentalize.
00:20:44.960 --> 00:20:45.359
Yeah.
00:20:45.680 --> 00:20:56.880
Because if I see it and it's around me, I am feeling more heavy and I'm not even able to get through the next step in my life chapter that I'm now creating, right?
00:20:57.039 --> 00:20:58.319
Kind of from scratch.
00:20:58.400 --> 00:21:00.640
It was a kind of an unexpected transition.
00:21:01.200 --> 00:21:03.039
Um, welcomed but unexpected.
00:21:03.119 --> 00:21:10.400
So I still needed to kind of think on the fly and you know, manage a lot of things that I hadn't had to manage before.
00:21:11.039 --> 00:21:18.559
Um, so once you came in and it was time to go through things, it was a huge weight lifted off of my shoulder.
00:21:19.119 --> 00:21:30.400
But there was also the piece of okay, let's start selling things, let's start deacquisitioning some of the stuff because wherever I'm moving is going to be a downsize.
00:21:30.640 --> 00:21:33.759
And so it's just not realistic for me to keep certain things.
00:21:33.839 --> 00:21:36.000
And a lot of the stuff I had were antiques.
00:21:36.720 --> 00:21:44.000
Um, and so it doesn't make sense for me to have that in the but you moved from a home where antiques made a lot of sense from the decor perspective.
00:21:44.240 --> 00:21:48.640
And so that was also when you left, you're like, of course I'm gonna take this with me.
00:21:49.119 --> 00:21:51.119
But maybe not forever.
00:21:51.279 --> 00:21:53.039
But I'm not leaving this, you know.
00:21:53.119 --> 00:21:54.240
I I need to take this.
00:21:54.400 --> 00:21:57.920
I need I need to take these things of value.
00:21:58.640 --> 00:22:04.640
And then you get into the And you're like, is it even of the value of what I'm paying on a monthly basis?
00:22:04.720 --> 00:22:05.440
You know, there's a lot.
00:22:05.599 --> 00:22:13.759
And then that even, you know, so many times people get frustrated with themselves for some like the situation that they're in.
00:22:14.000 --> 00:22:17.440
And then their stuff is like a reminder of it.
00:22:17.599 --> 00:22:21.039
It's like that little like, look at what you're doing to keep me, you know.
00:22:21.200 --> 00:22:24.000
And and then it's like, but I know you have value.
00:22:24.079 --> 00:22:30.319
So if I just, if I flipped you, you know, if I if I found the right buyer, then this would be keeping you is worth a month's rent here.
00:22:30.400 --> 00:22:32.480
And this month's rent has been really great for me.
00:22:32.640 --> 00:22:40.000
So it's like we're constantly playing that game, but that is a very time-consuming game for our brain to play.
00:22:40.319 --> 00:22:40.960
Absolutely.
00:22:41.119 --> 00:22:56.079
And that's really where you helped out immensely because as you were sorting and going through things and setting up those shelving units, that was actually a part for us to start categorizing things that we were going to sell.
00:22:56.240 --> 00:22:56.400
Yeah.
00:22:56.640 --> 00:23:08.160
And you, because you're detached emotionally from things and you have experience with this, you've sold things on marketplace, you've sold things online to other antique auctions and things like that.
00:23:08.400 --> 00:23:20.079
You had that like clarity and experience that helped me kind of, you know, get rid of the noise that was going on in my head with my head just spinning because I've never done this before and I don't know what to do.
00:23:20.319 --> 00:23:26.000
And so once you were able to lay things out, we were able to you listed some things for me.
00:23:26.160 --> 00:23:28.079
I also had like an open house.
00:23:28.240 --> 00:23:28.480
Yeah.
00:23:28.720 --> 00:23:32.480
Almost where we invited some designer over to buy some things.
00:23:33.359 --> 00:23:37.519
It went from like a dumping ground of boxes to like, I have pictures of it.
00:23:37.920 --> 00:23:40.319
Like, oh my gosh, this is a beautiful antique store.
00:23:40.480 --> 00:23:49.839
Like we had set it up with like rows that you could shop of the things, and then the things that you were gonna keep were so nicely up on the top shelf.
00:23:50.079 --> 00:23:53.440
One day you can go up and grab these, you know, these are things that you don't need.
00:23:53.599 --> 00:23:57.920
But yeah, it was this beautiful antique store in there for a few months.
00:23:58.000 --> 00:24:10.319
And you could have people come instead of saying, Oh, I think, you know, you kept saying, I know this person wants this lamp, and I know the person that wants these things for the bookshelf, and you know, these antique pottery things and stuff.
00:24:10.480 --> 00:24:14.640
But it was like you couldn't invite them in that space as it was.
00:24:14.880 --> 00:24:15.519
Oh no.
00:24:15.839 --> 00:24:17.519
And other high-level things too.
00:24:17.599 --> 00:24:22.160
So you can't be like, oh, let me show you my Hot Mess Express over here and pray it's not broken.
00:24:22.319 --> 00:24:22.559
Yeah.
00:24:22.960 --> 00:24:32.559
But then also give me the value that it's worth and not look like I just need you to take this off my hands and be like, hey, I've got this curated showroom for you to peruse.
00:24:32.799 --> 00:24:33.200
Exactly.
00:24:33.359 --> 00:24:46.960
And so that was kind of the process of I needed that slow, those slow baby steps too, because of the psychological unfolding of, you know, just everyone in their life transitions.
00:24:47.039 --> 00:24:47.119
Yeah.
00:24:47.440 --> 00:24:47.680
Right.
00:24:48.000 --> 00:25:03.519
And so the fact that that was a slower process and selling things as we were going and as we were packing, by the time I was ready to officially move into a permanent place and move things in, all the stuff fit into the new place.
00:25:03.680 --> 00:25:04.640
It was fantastic.
00:25:04.960 --> 00:25:08.880
I remember running into you when you had secured that new place.
00:25:09.440 --> 00:25:12.880
And you were just a different version of you.
00:25:13.039 --> 00:25:16.559
You were such a lighter, like you were so excited.
00:25:16.799 --> 00:25:19.119
And I'd never seen you excited.
00:25:19.359 --> 00:25:21.680
You know, I'd never seen me at my worst.
00:25:21.920 --> 00:25:22.720
No, no, no, no.
00:25:23.119 --> 00:25:24.079
Not your worst.
00:25:24.319 --> 00:25:29.759
And um, I mean, maybe, maybe, you know, I'm sure you never go, never go bad.
00:25:30.000 --> 00:25:32.720
Um, but just that overwhelm.
00:25:32.799 --> 00:25:38.319
And that I think I always saw you, you wanted to be there as minimally as you could.
00:25:38.559 --> 00:25:46.240
You know, it was like kind of like a magnetic force at the door of like, I really don't want to go in here.
00:25:46.400 --> 00:25:47.920
Yeah, you know, like pushing me away.
00:25:48.160 --> 00:25:48.640
Okay, cool.
00:25:48.720 --> 00:25:50.960
You kind of stand at the door, we say you got this, you're good.
00:25:51.119 --> 00:25:53.680
You know, like um, you know, you know what you're doing.
00:25:53.759 --> 00:25:55.119
Okay, go close up the door when you leave.
00:25:55.200 --> 00:26:01.200
And I'm like, yep, yep, you know, like I'll take a picture and show you what we what what we're at when we head out today.
00:26:01.440 --> 00:26:07.519
And um, and so that I had I respected that, I understood that.
00:26:07.599 --> 00:26:13.920
And so it was like, I didn't need to push you to be there any longer than you needed to, but I did need to ask you a few questions.
00:26:14.079 --> 00:26:16.880
Okay, so here's what we got out of this stuff.
00:26:17.039 --> 00:26:18.079
What stays, what goes.
00:26:18.240 --> 00:26:19.599
Okay, now we're gonna pack this up.
00:26:19.759 --> 00:26:24.640
And the next time you come, it's gonna be packed up and up on the top shelf, and you won't even have to think about it.
00:26:24.720 --> 00:26:28.480
I just need to have your direction in which goes where.
00:26:28.640 --> 00:26:34.640
Um, is this an everyday thing that as soon as you get your new place, you're gonna want to use and put in your kitchen?
00:26:34.880 --> 00:26:39.599
Or is this like a family item that you also will keep in a box when you get there?
00:26:39.759 --> 00:26:46.079
So it was like not just putting all kitchen in ready to unpack, but like kitchen heirloom type stuff.
00:26:46.240 --> 00:26:53.680
So that, and then knowing that what we did would make your move so much easier.
00:26:53.920 --> 00:27:03.680
But then hearing like that move really was the right place, the you know, the right, I think the owner of the place lived next door, and it was just like this really fun, like you felt so supported.
00:27:03.839 --> 00:27:04.240
Yes.
00:27:04.480 --> 00:27:06.400
And I knew my job was done.
00:27:06.559 --> 00:27:09.920
It wasn't like, oh, I'll do you need help on the other side of it or anything.
00:27:10.000 --> 00:27:26.640
Like I knew that was gonna be part of the fun for you was being able to say, now this is I kind of I just got like total goose shivers saying it because I felt like it was such a repellent moment that you were in from that stuff.
00:27:26.880 --> 00:27:32.799
But then being able to get to the other side of it was like that was yours.
00:27:32.960 --> 00:27:39.119
Like you earned that, and that was what you got to do as slow or fast as you wanted to.
00:27:39.440 --> 00:27:46.319
Yeah, and it was ready once I moved to I know you're I mean, this isn't kind of like I was able to spread my wings and fly.
00:27:46.480 --> 00:27:46.720
Yeah.
00:27:46.960 --> 00:27:50.720
You know, as cliche as that is and corny as that is, it's so true though.
00:27:50.880 --> 00:28:04.799
Because thinking about like if you hadn't come into my life and helped me organize and go through everything, the idea of me having to do that once I did find a permanent place, horrible.
00:28:05.039 --> 00:28:07.519
I think it would have re-traumatized me.
00:28:07.759 --> 00:28:14.000
I you know, it would have just been so much more exhausting of like, oh, here we go, and just draining.
00:28:14.240 --> 00:28:22.160
And so, you know, although at the time, you know, it was tough to get through it, I needed you to kind of keep me going, right?
00:28:22.319 --> 00:28:22.880
And you did.
00:28:23.039 --> 00:28:26.240
And then once it was time to move in, you're right, it was really easy.
00:28:26.319 --> 00:28:26.559
Yeah.
00:28:26.720 --> 00:28:33.759
And those little things that you had mentioned, like, okay, what things do you use every day versus what things go in this room?
00:28:34.240 --> 00:28:37.359
At the time when you were asking me those, I was like, that's super specific.
00:28:37.519 --> 00:28:39.119
Why are you asking me these things?
00:28:39.279 --> 00:28:41.200
And it didn't make sense at the time.
00:28:41.440 --> 00:28:44.880
But hindsight, when it was time to unpack, I was so grateful.
00:28:44.960 --> 00:28:46.960
It was so easy and intuitive.
00:28:47.119 --> 00:28:47.359
Yeah.
00:28:47.519 --> 00:28:47.759
You know?
00:28:48.000 --> 00:28:48.559
Glad to hear that.
00:28:48.720 --> 00:28:50.400
I didn't need to do any more thinking.
00:28:50.640 --> 00:28:51.599
I don't think I'd heard that.
00:28:52.240 --> 00:28:57.359
So I'm glad to hear that because there was some times I think you were like, I think she's getting too into the case.
00:28:57.519 --> 00:28:59.359
I'm like, no, it's too many decisions.
00:28:59.519 --> 00:29:00.240
There's a reason.
00:29:00.319 --> 00:29:03.440
Just just trust, just trust, just let me guide you through this.
00:29:03.599 --> 00:29:08.960
Um well, thank you for letting me guide you through it and letting me in.
00:29:09.119 --> 00:29:17.200
I think that um, you know, I have a client coming up that we've had a couple conversations, and I know that just letting me in is the hardest part.
00:29:17.440 --> 00:29:17.920
Yes.
00:29:18.240 --> 00:29:24.720
And and we've had some really good conversations, and I'm so excited for the day that that door does open.
00:29:24.880 --> 00:29:30.799
Um, and I get to walk what sounds like, you know, kind of on the stuff in order to get in.
00:29:31.119 --> 00:29:49.359
But it's like she's ready, you know, and she and we've worked through things before I've even gotten to her space to be able to say, like, I'm not intimidated by this, and I can't wait to help you through it, you know, and like I'm excited too, because you know, I never want a client who doesn't want to work through their stuff.
00:29:50.000 --> 00:30:14.079
But I love a client that's like, I love, I loved what we did, I I love what I get to do, but I'm so appreciative of you coming and vulnerably sharing about this transition time because I think everybody, whether they have a storage unit through a transition or not, knows those times that they just can't face their stuff for what it is because it represents so much more.
00:30:14.960 --> 00:30:32.160
And so um I will say we're gonna um kind of wrap up for today, for for this segment, but when we come back, I want to talk about storage units in general because um, and and just kind of the storage industry at large.
00:30:32.319 --> 00:30:38.480
So, because I think you you had the right mindset about why you were going into that space.
00:30:38.640 --> 00:30:40.559
You needed it for that transition.
00:30:40.960 --> 00:30:54.720
And I'm gonna share in the the next segment all about um the storage unit industry in general in you know the United States, and we have just disproportionately, I think we have like 85% of the storage in the world is in the United States.
00:30:54.960 --> 00:31:01.920
So we just have a lot of stuff and we spend a lot of money to store it, and often indefinitely.
00:31:02.160 --> 00:31:19.920
So I would say that sharing this story has been a great example of when that space is still an expense, but it's serving a much larger purpose to get you to the other side, and then and then you eventually move everything out and are in that space, and you can look back at that and say, worth every penny.
00:31:20.160 --> 00:31:33.599
But there's a lot of people out there who have been paying for a storage unit for maybe decades, and the cost of that unit has well overvalued the items that are in it, even emotionally.
00:31:33.839 --> 00:31:39.279
Um, but many times, even if they're items that we keep in a storage unit that are of value.
00:31:39.359 --> 00:31:41.680
Um, so we'll come back and talk about that.
00:31:41.759 --> 00:31:45.359
But Katie, thank you so much for being here and for sharing your story.
00:31:45.680 --> 00:31:47.200
Thanks so much, Colleen.
00:31:48.160 --> 00:31:52.160
All right, we'll be right back on Sorting Through Life with Colleen Watston.
00:31:59.039 --> 00:32:04.400
All right, welcome back to Sorting Through Life with Colleen Watston on AM950.
00:32:05.039 --> 00:32:05.359
Okay.
00:32:06.559 --> 00:32:23.519
I had intended to come back to this episode, perhaps with even a guest within the storage unit industry or somebody who makes money off of buying and flipping things from storage units, but after listening back to the episode, I realized that I didn't want to.
00:32:23.680 --> 00:32:26.160
I didn't want to go there for 15 more minutes.
00:32:26.400 --> 00:32:28.480
I did look into some statistics.
00:32:28.640 --> 00:32:37.839
There are over 2.1 billion square feet of total self-storage space in the United States as of 2026.
00:32:38.240 --> 00:32:43.279
One out of three Americans is currently renting a unit in a storage space.
00:32:43.519 --> 00:32:48.720
Approximately 12% of US households are currently using storage units.
00:32:48.960 --> 00:32:51.759
So the US storage industry is huge.
00:32:52.000 --> 00:32:56.799
And the average storage tenant keeps their unit for 18 to 19 months.
00:32:57.039 --> 00:33:06.079
So this would be a person like Katie, who was in a transition, knew that they knew what they needed, and they wanted to hang on to their stuff.
00:33:06.319 --> 00:33:10.640
They didn't want to bring it all with them as they figured out where they were going next.
00:33:10.880 --> 00:33:15.839
So they needed to take that space and to put their stuff there for a little while.
00:33:16.079 --> 00:33:26.880
And it was more worth paying for the storage space than it was paying to bring it with them or having it in their space and being kind of this physical presence.
00:33:27.119 --> 00:33:32.960
You know, in some instances, we are in a smaller space and we can't hang on to that much.
00:33:33.039 --> 00:33:37.200
And in some instances, we just need to not look at those things.
00:33:37.440 --> 00:33:54.799
My sister recently moved from one house to another, and while it was only a couple months between when they bought their new house and when they closed on it and closed on the one they were in, they took on a storage space and brought boxes and bins and put them neatly in a line for the movers to come and take.
00:33:55.039 --> 00:34:12.480
But it really helped for when they were selling their house and taking the pictures and they have little kids and knowing that they didn't have to clean everything up and their stuff was in safekeeping so that they could simplify when they were selling their house and then figure it out on the other side.
00:34:12.719 --> 00:34:22.559
So within those transition moments, if you get your home renovated, if you have a temporary overflow of stuff, absolutely go to a storage unit.
00:34:22.800 --> 00:34:32.639
And if you need help getting ready to move into it, making sense of it, or getting ready to move out of it, by all means reach out to me.
00:34:32.960 --> 00:34:39.119
Space by spaceorganizing.com 612-747-1331.
00:34:39.440 --> 00:34:47.199
I am happy to connect and figure out if it would make sense for me and my team to come in and help you make sense of your stuff.
00:34:47.360 --> 00:34:53.920
But ultimately, I think what a storage unit represents is more about the cost of stalling.
00:34:54.239 --> 00:34:59.519
So there are a lot of people who rent storage units for an indefinite period of time.
00:34:59.760 --> 00:35:05.519
And it gives people the ability to have this delayed decision making on that stuff.
00:35:05.760 --> 00:35:12.400
And that delay, that monthly fee, uh, which the average monthly fee is$119.
00:35:13.360 --> 00:35:20.239
In someone's life, a lot of times$119 a month is something that comes out of their checking account.
00:35:20.400 --> 00:35:22.000
They stop thinking about it.
00:35:22.159 --> 00:35:29.760
And so they're not thinking about what that adds up to in a year, what that adds up in two up to in two years.
00:35:30.000 --> 00:35:36.159
And they're also not thinking about what the total value of the stuff even is in those boxes.
00:35:36.480 --> 00:35:50.159
So what I wanted to be able to put a little moment on is just if you are in a storage unit, if your stuff isn't a storage unit, make sure it's not becoming a black hole for you financially or for the stuff.
00:35:50.480 --> 00:35:54.800
And hopefully this moment, if you're listening, can help you think.
00:35:54.960 --> 00:36:00.880
You know, I don't want to tackle that, but would it be worth taking a weekend and getting myself out of that unit?
00:36:01.119 --> 00:36:24.880
And it might be a hard weekend and it might be annoying, but I think it would feel such a relief on Monday to know that I no longer have that stuff and that I've gone through it, and that oftentimes when you have, like Katie mentioned, you know, when you take a break from your stuff and you don't see it for a while, and when you see it again and you realize, I don't even think I need that.
00:36:25.119 --> 00:36:27.039
I don't even think I like that.
00:36:27.280 --> 00:36:40.960
So giving yourself that minute to pause and also that minute or hours or days, but taking that time to really re-evaluate what you have so that you can release yourself of the burden of storing your stuff.
00:36:41.760 --> 00:36:48.239
So at Space by Space, if you listen to this show, you know I am not anti-stuff.
00:36:48.800 --> 00:36:51.760
I am anti-stuff getting in the way of your life.
00:36:52.000 --> 00:36:54.320
And I'm a little bit anti-storage unit.
00:36:54.719 --> 00:37:02.400
I'm anti-storage unit if it is an extension of a space that you have enough of.
00:37:02.800 --> 00:37:10.800
If your home could contain the items that are in it, but it just needs to be packaged a little bit differently, I'm anti-storage unit.
00:37:11.280 --> 00:37:16.079
I have friends who live in New York City and I visited their storage units with them.
00:37:16.320 --> 00:37:26.079
I understand when we're in very small apartments in a big congested city, we have to have those extra spaces that are less expensive than the square footage in our homes.
00:37:26.320 --> 00:37:28.559
But I'm recording this from Minnesota.
00:37:28.960 --> 00:37:43.519
And most of my clients, with a little bit of wiggle room within their house, with a little bit of attention to an underutilized area within their house, we can find the space to keep the things that have been removed from the home to not deal with them.
00:37:43.760 --> 00:37:47.119
And that's what I actually want to close this episode out on.
00:37:47.519 --> 00:37:54.639
Over the last eight months, I've had this radio show and Katie was part of a series I call Behind Closed Drawers.
00:37:54.800 --> 00:38:01.679
And I always wanted to have this to be able to pull back the curtain on what happens when you hire somebody to help you go through your stuff.
00:38:01.840 --> 00:38:06.559
And you know, I'm coming from Minnesota, where we call ourselves Minnesota Nice.
00:38:06.880 --> 00:38:11.440
And I've heard before that Minnesotans will give you directions to anywhere but their house.
00:38:11.679 --> 00:38:16.639
We're very nice people, we're very friendly, but we're a little bit more private.
00:38:16.960 --> 00:38:26.960
And launching this business in my home state and working with Minnesotans across the metro area, I am so grateful and honored to be let into people's homes.
00:38:27.199 --> 00:38:35.599
And I say when I'm let in, I'm led straight to the door and the drawer and the closet that you hope your friends don't open when they come over.
00:38:35.920 --> 00:38:44.400
You know it's that room that you've stuffed everything in and you've shoved it all away and you're embarrassed by it and you can't even deal with it.
00:38:44.639 --> 00:38:47.360
But as long as that door doesn't open, it's all good.
00:38:47.599 --> 00:38:53.840
Or that drawer that you know every time you try, it kind of jams up, but it's like I just can't even go through it.
00:38:53.920 --> 00:38:54.960
I can't even go there.
00:38:55.440 --> 00:39:08.800
I love being able to come in and have people lead me straight to that pressure point and lead me straight to that problem area and just invite me in, knowing that I am there to help them fix it.
00:39:09.119 --> 00:39:12.239
And so with Katie, you know, she was in a moment.
00:39:12.559 --> 00:39:18.719
She spoke about the paralysis that she felt when she walked into that unit and just didn't even know where to begin.
00:39:19.119 --> 00:39:21.679
So she knew what she was walking into the unit for.
00:39:21.920 --> 00:39:28.559
She went, she grabbed that thing, she looked around, okay, everything else is intact, I'm gonna head out.
00:39:28.880 --> 00:39:32.079
And a lot of people do that with spaces within their own house.
00:39:32.320 --> 00:39:42.159
They walk down to that basement storage unit, they walk to their kids' room, they walk to their own closet, they grab the thing they need, they think I have no time for this.
00:39:42.320 --> 00:39:47.280
And if you listen to this show, you often hear me talk about human hours.
00:39:47.760 --> 00:39:51.920
We have, and and we've also talked a lot about neurodivergence.
00:39:52.400 --> 00:40:09.920
So people who identify as having ADHD often know that they might maybe they might have maybe a little different relationship with time, maybe an ambitious relationship with time, where people think I can definitely get this done in an afternoon.
00:40:10.079 --> 00:40:13.760
And three hours go by and they've barely scratched the surface.
00:40:14.000 --> 00:40:23.840
Four or five hours go by, uh, they're exhausted, they're late to something else, but they started this, they want to get through it, and now they have to walk away from it.
00:40:24.079 --> 00:40:30.960
They're gonna go to this other thing that they have to go to, they come home, they don't have energy to keep going through it.
00:40:31.199 --> 00:40:38.000
And that's not just ADHD, that's everybody, because we often accumulate more than we realize.
00:40:38.239 --> 00:40:42.639
We often have piles that start to compress themselves.
00:40:42.960 --> 00:41:01.840
And once you actually start to pull one by one and pull things out and sort them by kind and give a little space in between so that you can look at everything one by one and evaluate what you own, it can be a daunting task because when we shove things, they compress.
00:41:02.400 --> 00:41:10.480
When we shove things, we can kind of designate a corner that we just stop looking at and and it becomes like the wall itself.
00:41:10.800 --> 00:41:29.519
And it's no longer there, but we know it's there, and that's where there's stress and anxiety within our homes because we don't want to have this mound of stuff, and we want to be able to tackle it, but we don't have the hours in a day or a weekend to tackle it because we have a life.
00:41:29.679 --> 00:41:30.719
We're all busy.
00:41:31.519 --> 00:41:37.440
And all of my clients that I've ever brought on this show thus far, all these clients are busy people.
00:41:37.679 --> 00:41:44.880
They are busy parents or busy children, or they've inherited a mess that wasn't even theirs to begin with.
00:41:45.599 --> 00:41:55.039
But now they find themselves in the middle of their own life as well as in the middle of trying to make sense of their messy parents' life.
00:41:55.440 --> 00:42:00.079
And they find themselves in this moment that they just don't really know what to do.
00:42:00.719 --> 00:42:03.280
And I love coming into that moment.
00:42:03.840 --> 00:42:50.079
I am so honored to come into that moment, and I'm so honored to bring people with me into that moment who can help my clients through it and who can help lighten their load and can come in with fresh eyes, and we come in with enthusiasm and excitement for what we can do on behalf of our clients and what we can do in a day or in a few days, because like I said, things take time and good work takes time, and doing something thoroughly takes time, and doing something in a way that doesn't just shove everything that we didn't get to back into a drawer takes time, and that's where these human hours come in.
00:42:50.639 --> 00:43:08.239
So when we from Space by Space Organizing come in, it might take 20 hours, it might take 30 hours, and we might spread that over a few days, or we might bring three or four of us and we come in for five hours and there's four of us, there's 20 hours.
00:43:08.639 --> 00:43:11.199
When are you ever going to make 20 hours?
00:43:11.679 --> 00:43:17.840
You don't have 20 hours in a day unless you sleep for four and take no breaks, and that is bonkers.
00:43:18.239 --> 00:43:26.880
But when we're on the clock, we are working hard and we are going through your stuff, and we are going through your stuff with intention and with a process.
00:43:27.119 --> 00:43:37.599
So you've heard me talk about this process before, but when you call us, when you email us, when you fill out our form on our website, you become part of the process.
00:43:37.920 --> 00:43:47.039
So if you're interested, if you are thinking, I've listened to Colleen talk about these different clients and I have a storage unit that I would love to get under control.
00:43:47.280 --> 00:43:49.679
And I would love to move out or downsize.
00:43:50.239 --> 00:43:59.519
Maybe you still need the storage unit, but you could move from a large space to a smaller space and have and save a significant amount of money.
00:44:00.239 --> 00:44:04.159
You might think, I don't know if my project is big enough for this.
00:44:04.559 --> 00:44:06.239
I love small projects.
00:44:06.559 --> 00:44:09.440
Small projects are quick wins for me.
00:44:09.760 --> 00:44:12.480
I love big, hairy, messy projects.
00:44:12.880 --> 00:44:18.880
I love every type of thing that I get to put my brain on solving on your behalf.
00:44:19.199 --> 00:44:40.880
So if you have an area in your house, an area in your parents' house, or perhaps your parents' entire house, or perhaps your entire house, whatever it is, the first step is you go to my website, space by spaceorganizing.com, and you can see more of what we do.
00:44:41.199 --> 00:44:45.679
You can go to our social media and watch videos of what we do.
00:44:45.920 --> 00:44:55.119
Tiffany edits all sorts of great before and afters where you can see what it looked like when we walked in, what it looked like when we left.
00:44:55.360 --> 00:44:59.039
And a lot of times we make sure that we also include the during.
00:44:59.280 --> 00:45:05.760
You can go to our process and we've created videos that are me talking about what happens along the way.
00:45:05.920 --> 00:45:16.239
And you can go to our social media and see what happens and see the messy middle and what we work through to get to the other side.
00:45:16.480 --> 00:45:22.639
There's the consultation where I'm going to show up at your house and I'm going to meet you and you meet me.
00:45:22.800 --> 00:45:36.239
We walk through things, we talk through things, we open drawers, I have my tape measure, I'm taking pictures, I'm sizing up what it is that you need support through so that I can figure out the best plan of action.
00:45:36.400 --> 00:45:50.159
From there, we come in, we pull everything out, we sort it, we evaluate with you, we give it a little freshen up in the meantime, we put it back together, and then there's that other part that we call the big sigh of relief.
00:45:50.320 --> 00:45:52.880
And Alicia has talked about this on the show.
00:45:53.039 --> 00:45:57.280
It's that moment where you can visually see our clients' shoulders just drop.
00:45:57.440 --> 00:45:59.519
They're able to breathe a little easier.
00:45:59.679 --> 00:46:01.519
And that is what is so rewarding.
00:46:01.760 --> 00:46:29.039
And for me, having the opportunity to bring clients like Katie on this show and actually sit across from them outside of their home or their storage unit and be able to talk through what we did and talk about being on the other side of it is so much fun for me and continues to be such an honor to have these clients who are willing to come and speak on my behalf about what we did on their behalf.
00:46:29.280 --> 00:46:34.000
And so I just appreciate you for listening to all of these stories.
00:46:34.239 --> 00:46:41.760
But I encourage you that if you feel that we could help you and that I could help you, please reach out.
00:46:42.000 --> 00:46:44.480
My business is space-by-space organizing.
00:46:44.639 --> 00:46:57.920
And when I worked at the cash registers at the container store, there was a day that I took a piece of paper from our little notebooks and I wrote this note, this little poem that still stands true, and I have framed in a pretty frame on my desk.
00:46:58.239 --> 00:47:04.159
Little by little, space by space, when it comes to organizing, give yourself grace.
00:47:04.400 --> 00:47:15.679
And when it comes to organizing and you feel like you are overwhelmed, you can hire me and my team or another organizer if I'm not in your area, go to NAPO, find one of us, and we can give you grace.
00:47:15.760 --> 00:47:20.559
And we will come in and we will do our best on your behalf to make your situation better.
00:47:20.800 --> 00:47:28.639
If this resonates, please reach out, visit our website, or by phone at 612 747 1331.
00:47:28.800 --> 00:47:35.599
This has been another episode of Sorting Through Life with Colleen Watterston on AM 950, the progressive voice of Minnesota.
00:47:35.840 --> 00:47:37.599
Thank you for listening.
00:00:02.240 --> 00:00:10.320
Welcome, welcome to Sorting Through Life with Colleen Watterson on AM950, the progressive voice of Minnesota.
00:00:10.560 --> 00:00:15.919
This is brought to you by Space by Space Organizing, my home organizing business here in the Twin Cities.
00:00:16.160 --> 00:00:25.199
And today we have an episode of Behind Closed Drawers with my former client and friend Katie and uh client-turned friend.
00:00:25.359 --> 00:00:35.280
Um, and Katie's episode, so behind closed drawers, is my attempt to help people understand what actually happens when you hire a home organizer.
00:00:35.520 --> 00:00:41.679
I think it's something that some people fully understand, and some people wonder, what is what is that?
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What do they do?
00:00:42.799 --> 00:00:44.479
What can I ask them to do?
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And so by having this behind closed drawers, it's really saying, let me pull back the curtain on what we do when we're in people's homes.
00:00:52.719 --> 00:00:57.200
And in your case, today we're talking about a storage facility, a storage unit.
00:00:57.359 --> 00:01:03.200
And so it's kind of behind closed garage door, an internal garage door.
00:01:03.439 --> 00:01:06.079
So, Katie, welcome to the show.
00:01:06.480 --> 00:01:06.799
Thank you.
00:01:06.959 --> 00:01:08.560
Thanks for having me, Colleen.
00:01:08.959 --> 00:01:21.760
So we met a couple years ago, and I had just gotten my unit at WareSpace, which is in Eden Prairie here in Minnesota, and it's a shared workspace for entrepreneurs.
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And we all have our own warehouse units, but there's loading docks in, there's loading docks out, there's mail pickup every day, there's conference rooms, there's a lunch room.
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I mean, it there's dumpsters, there, there are so many things that are amazing about that space.
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And in addition to it, you're surrounded by other people who are hustling, who are, you know, just busy doing whatever they're doing.
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And it's a very fun energy.
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It's always light.
00:01:47.840 --> 00:01:52.959
You show up at 10 o'clock at night, you know, and it's just as light as if it was three in the afternoon.
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So for me, that was a really big game changer for my business to be able to separate from my home and not be um not be as much like the cobbler's kids where you come home and I I'm always saying, like, I swear I'm a home organizer, you know, like, no, I say, I say um a home organizer, you say, because like sometimes it just doesn't look like it.
00:02:14.000 --> 00:02:16.479
And then I'll tell people, look in my drawers.
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Because like on the surface, there's a lot going on because there's just a lot going on in my life and a lot of coming and going of stuff.
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But in the drawers, I'm like, they're immaculate, you know, like open those.
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But the the warehouse for me was really just a place to bring the things, you know, products to bring things I need to sort post-house for where things would go for donation to hang on to something till I had time to donate properly.
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I had no idea that I would meet so many cool people.
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And, you know, fellow entrepreneurs have gotten a few jobs from being there.
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Um, I'm in the middle, we've got some remodelers there, and they've get uh introduced me to a client that they were doing work for.
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But so you and me, I'm I'm rolling a cart full of uh vintage lamps that I was selling for a client.
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And you're like, oh, are you selling those lamps?
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I'm like, yeah, do you want to buy one?
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And I'm like, no, I want to know if you can sell some of my stuff.
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Yeah.
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And so what was that situation that you were in when we ran into each other in the hallway a couple years ago?
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Yes.
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So I also I love Wearspace.
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It is a fantastic storage unit, slash small business owner, um, just little networking hub.
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Community.
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Yeah, it is a community.
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Um, and since I was I was in transition, I had just moved and I hadn't figured out kind of where my next roots were gonna be set.
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I knew they were gonna be um in a particular area, but I hadn't found a place yet.
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So I was living in furnished places that I was renting until I found that.
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So the storage unit was really just my holding area until I figure things out.
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But I did know that I was downsizing, so I didn't long term, I wasn't gonna need all that stuff.
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And I would say, just if someone's like, oh, I'm in that situation, I should contact Wear Space.
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You were one of the only people there using it for something like personal.
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I think one of my neighbors stores like their careers academic journals or something, you know, like something like that.
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But you were you were there, you do have a nonprofit, so it was important to have a permanent address.
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Correct.
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But where space is more, it costs more and it gives you more than going to any of the storage units around town.
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So and you were seeking that.
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And so you knew that you you didn't want the pressure of getting to that permanent address before you were ready to, but you needed a more permanent, a little bit higher amenities connected to where your stuff lived in between.
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100%.
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Yes, I actually I really needed that address.
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Um so my mail could go somewhere, I needed a one-stop shop.
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Yes, of course, I could get a P.O.
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box, I could get a UPS box, and then I could get a public storage unit.
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But I ideally, because I was making so many decisions at that time and so many things were in flux, I really it was it just took a lot off my like mental load to be like, this is my one stop.
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I only needed to go one place to get my mail to figure out you know the lay of the land with my stuff, and then I can set it and forget it.
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It was like a very haphazard living room.
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Like there were rugs, there was like like a it was my house, right?
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All in one.
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Sushed into one industrial environment.
00:05:42.160 --> 00:05:42.480
Yep.
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Like an unfinished basement almost for you.
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Yeah.
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So you so you say, I say, well, let me let me put these uh let me roll these lamps to my unit, and then I'll come to yours and see what we've got going on.
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So I get into your unit.
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Boxes to the ceiling, box cardboard, huge, yeah, huge boxes, yeah, huge and heavy.
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Like, what is this?
00:06:05.519 --> 00:06:08.079
And not really well labeled by the movers.
00:06:08.319 --> 00:06:08.959
Oh, not at all.
00:06:09.199 --> 00:06:11.920
And once we start going into it, it was like so poorly.
00:06:12.160 --> 00:06:12.959
It made no sense.
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Yep.
00:06:13.600 --> 00:06:14.000
Yep.
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It was like, oh, okay.
00:06:15.920 --> 00:06:19.600
So here's a microwave with nice dishes and a few books on top.
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Or something.
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It was like, what was this?
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What happened?
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But yeah, sometimes that happens in a move.
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And then I don't have the time to micromanage them, of course, while they're packing.
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For sure.
00:06:29.839 --> 00:06:33.360
And then once it got there, I kind of turned it off.
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And I went, I moved into my furnished living and was trying to kind of figure out my next steps in this transition.
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So there were just a lot of things that needed uh decisions that needed to be made.
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And unpacking and organizing my storage unit was kind of fifth on the priority list at the time, you know?
00:06:51.199 --> 00:06:51.439
Yeah.
00:06:51.600 --> 00:06:59.040
And then once I ran into you, I was starting to kind of get to the point where, okay, now let's start to figure out what's even in here.
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Well, what my biggest thing when I met you, I remember thinking, because you have a bigger unit than my business.
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And so I'm in a medium, you're in a large.
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And the nice thing is, I mean, now we're pretty full.
00:07:10.079 --> 00:07:19.040
Um, it's it's pretty rented out at that place, but it is that if you needed larger, you could up your lease or down your lease if you needed smaller.
00:07:19.199 --> 00:07:24.240
So it's like you you aren't buying into one exclusive amount of space.
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There is a flexibility of, oh, I'm growing, so I could, you know, they'll knock down a wall if they can to extend your space and give you two mediums or whatever it is.
00:07:33.920 --> 00:07:34.160
Exactly.
00:07:34.399 --> 00:07:43.839
So I go into yours and you're in a large, which means you pay more than me, you're in a big, and I'm like, whoa, I I know we could get you into a small.
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Like, if we did this better, you could, you know, the money that you would pay me to do this for you, you could recover in a few months of less rent.
00:07:57.120 --> 00:07:58.879
You know, there was there was that aspect.
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I think you ended up staying where you were, but just you you got you moved out and it was an easier move, and so it was easier to just stay there and not go smaller.
00:08:08.800 --> 00:08:14.240
But that was my first goal was just saying there's a better way to stack these boxes.
00:08:15.519 --> 00:08:17.759
Yes, and to repack them.
00:08:18.079 --> 00:08:28.160
To repack them, and start going through, and so I think that that was our first kind of, I don't know, like mini milestone of let's work towards something smaller.
00:08:28.240 --> 00:08:31.600
And so it gives us this kind of some sort of goal.
00:08:31.759 --> 00:08:31.839
Right.
00:08:32.000 --> 00:08:34.480
Whereas before we do this, right, right?
00:08:34.639 --> 00:08:34.799
Right.
00:08:35.039 --> 00:08:46.480
And although I didn't end up in that smaller unit, I did end up moving and it started the whole impetus of actually going through everything, organizing, getting rid of things, selling things.
00:08:46.799 --> 00:09:00.480
Um we unpacked every box and and you would come and just uh go through you know, it was it was interesting because uh you uh you didn't like being in there.
00:09:01.519 --> 00:09:04.639
No, I had it almost gave me some paralysis.
00:09:04.879 --> 00:09:09.120
Yeah, because it reminded me of everything I needed to do.
00:09:09.600 --> 00:09:15.919
So I would walk in and it was like I was flooded with freeze, you know, fight, flight or freeze.
00:09:16.000 --> 00:09:16.960
I was in freeze.
00:09:17.360 --> 00:09:31.840
And so I needed you to kind of help just give me the baby steps and have the kind of you had the separation emotionally from the huge mountain of things I needed to do to get out of there.
00:09:32.240 --> 00:09:39.679
I wasn't able to even see one step at a time at that point because it just was so overwhelming, it stopped me from taking any action.
00:09:40.000 --> 00:09:44.399
And so that's where you really came in and helped to get me moving.
00:09:45.039 --> 00:10:08.159
And I I'm thanks and I'm glad that we were helpful, but I I even say, you know, sometimes I'll have Alicia at my house if something, if there's something I can't I'm struggling to tackle, and I say, treat me like a client because I need to be able to see my stuff in the way that we put clients' stuff together for them to see.
00:10:08.399 --> 00:10:13.200
And so like this is when, you know, we have these this three-part process.
00:10:13.279 --> 00:10:18.159
There's the sort where we take everything out, we make it, you know, really easy to be seen.
00:10:18.240 --> 00:10:29.120
You know, we're putting, if we're putting, you know, coffee mugs next to each other, they're not like jumbled, there might be like an inch between each one so that you can see that as a separate entity, but everything like with like.
00:10:29.279 --> 00:10:31.840
So you can see, oh, I have 27 coffee mugs.
00:10:32.480 --> 00:10:33.679
And that's overwhelming.
00:10:34.080 --> 00:10:35.919
I'm never gonna have 27 people over.
00:10:36.080 --> 00:10:36.240
Right.
00:10:36.480 --> 00:10:36.639
Yeah.
00:10:36.960 --> 00:10:40.799
Maybe if I host a baby shower and I'm probably gonna get throwaway mugs.
00:10:41.039 --> 00:10:45.440
Like it's just like we start to think about the what we actually need.
00:10:45.600 --> 00:10:48.000
But that sort is when we do that.
00:10:48.080 --> 00:10:53.360
The the evaluation is when the client needs to tell us their relationship to to the mugs.
00:10:53.759 --> 00:11:00.879
And then the the rearrange after is when we put back together what stays better.
00:11:01.279 --> 00:11:06.399
Or we've identified, okay, this is the stuff that you wanted to resell, this is the stuff we want to donate.
00:11:06.480 --> 00:11:11.120
There was a lot of trash within it that we were bringing to the dumpster, which felt really good.
00:11:11.519 --> 00:11:26.720
And and if this is the stuff that needs to be shred, this is this, you know, just being able to analyze, you know, a house worth of belongings in one go before you went to that next place, so that when you got to the next place, you could just be there with what you wanted.
00:11:27.600 --> 00:11:39.039
But we often don't want clients around for the sort because when you start to do things one by one, it's it's slow even with a professional managing it.
00:11:39.279 --> 00:11:48.000
That's why, like, if you can let us do the sort and not be part of it and only come after it's been sorted, it's a whole different relationship.
00:11:48.080 --> 00:11:49.840
It's a whole different experience.
00:11:50.080 --> 00:12:01.200
And then also, that's usually like if someone pulls things out, you see all these things on Instagram where they're like, okay, I pulled out my closet and now I'm just gonna shove it all back in because I'm so overwhelmed I pulled out my closet, you know?
00:12:01.519 --> 00:12:07.279
I used all my energy just for I got step one of what these organizers do on the internet.
00:12:07.600 --> 00:12:09.200
I I should do this from here.
00:12:09.440 --> 00:12:19.200
But it's like to know, I love the feeling that for when my clients, when after they've gone through the stuff, that they get to walk away and we're gonna put it back together.
00:12:19.519 --> 00:12:22.320
And they don't it's because that's where so much overwhelm.
00:12:22.480 --> 00:12:23.840
Like, now what do I have to do?
00:12:23.919 --> 00:12:30.480
And like this is five more hours, if not ten, you know, like it just takes a lot of time to go through our stuff.
00:12:30.559 --> 00:12:31.919
That's why it piles up.
00:12:32.080 --> 00:12:32.480
Yeah.
00:12:32.799 --> 00:12:54.559
But it it the treat me like a client is because I'm asking Alicia in those times, only make me deal with the middle, you know, like you sort and you put it back together the way that we do for clients, but like help me see my stuff just spread out so that I can just make those decisions.
00:12:55.519 --> 00:13:01.919
So that's kind of like we did that little by little, you know, we do what we could in the space that we had.
00:13:02.080 --> 00:13:07.759
We brought, I brought shelves, you did, you know, and we had extra surface space to put that.
00:13:08.000 --> 00:13:17.440
A lot of boxes were taken apart, and then we got new boxes to be able to put things back together clear with labels and lifting capacity.
00:13:18.000 --> 00:13:20.879
Reusable bins, those were game changer.
00:13:21.279 --> 00:13:29.840
So, from that client experience, like talk to me about how you felt with the sort, the evaluation, and then like the rearrange.
00:13:30.399 --> 00:13:37.679
So I love how you guys separate it out where you handle the sort, because that's what was paralyzing me.
00:13:37.840 --> 00:13:50.159
The idea of opening every single box and then immediately being flooded with whatever memory emotions that is associated with whatever that item is is overwhelming.
00:13:50.240 --> 00:13:54.559
And then anticipating that, you're kind of like bracing yourself about what am I gonna find?
00:13:54.879 --> 00:14:00.320
I hope it's still like I hope it's not cracked, or you know, you had a lot of nice things that were decor.
00:14:00.559 --> 00:14:01.840
Yeah, a lot of antiques.
00:14:02.240 --> 00:14:10.320
Yeah, it's it's something that goes on a bookshelf and these movers packed it, and it's like, I don't know if I even want to think about what state it's in.
00:14:10.639 --> 00:14:11.120
Exactly.
00:14:11.279 --> 00:14:18.960
Yeah, so that was so nice, and that was exactly what I was looking for because actually, even previous to you, I had found a closet organizer.
00:14:19.200 --> 00:14:23.600
I remember this, who is phenomenal with clothes specifically, because she's kind of a stylist.
00:14:23.679 --> 00:14:29.279
Yeah, and then I I recall bringing her to the storage unit, and I think even she was overwhelmed.
00:14:29.440 --> 00:14:29.840
Oh, okay.
00:14:30.080 --> 00:14:31.600
So she almost wanted to freeze.
00:14:31.759 --> 00:14:34.240
So when I found you and you're like, oh, I got this, yeah.
00:14:34.399 --> 00:14:38.080
I've already I already have a vision for how we're gonna navigate this.
00:14:38.159 --> 00:14:42.720
Like you, it was just like autopilot for you in such a great way of like muscle memory.
00:14:42.799 --> 00:14:49.840
I do these things, I'm structured, organized in my mental clarity and how we approach these things.
00:14:50.000 --> 00:14:51.519
Um, and I've got this.
00:14:51.679 --> 00:14:57.039
Like that confidence is really what I needed of like you're in good hands, I know what we're doing.
00:14:57.279 --> 00:15:00.480
And I was so happy to give the sorting up to you.
00:15:01.039 --> 00:15:04.480
And then to just come in and be like, yes, no, maybe throw.
00:15:04.639 --> 00:15:04.879
Yeah.
00:15:05.039 --> 00:15:05.440
Right.
00:15:05.919 --> 00:15:12.960
We're gonna take a quick break, and when we come back, I want to pick up talking about um kind of like our emotional attachment to our stuff.
00:15:13.279 --> 00:15:24.159
Because I've talked about this a lot, but what we're bringing up is like to me, I always say that our our service is first and foremost like a mental health service.
00:15:24.480 --> 00:15:39.120
And I will say that when I started this business, I I wouldn't have like if you had shown me some of the before pictures of what I take on now, I don't think I would have told you four years ago that that was something I was comfortable with.
00:15:39.440 --> 00:15:57.440
But because I've gotten so much better at distancing myself from what's going on behind it and just seeing it as the stuff, and my job is to make sense of the stuff, but then to hold space for the person and what their main goal is and what I can, you know, that I need to get you there.
00:15:57.600 --> 00:16:06.000
And and to get you there is probably getting rid of a certain amount of stuff or you know, repackaging a certain amount of stuff.
00:16:06.159 --> 00:16:11.039
But to me, it's like the stuff is in the way of where my client wants to get.
00:16:11.200 --> 00:16:16.960
And so my job is actually to get them there, and and the stuff is not the most important.
00:16:17.679 --> 00:16:21.840
But in people's life, we have so much attachment to our stuff.
00:16:22.000 --> 00:16:26.080
And so I need to help people work through that in the process.
00:16:26.159 --> 00:16:36.879
So we'll come back and kind of talk about like our belongings and our our identity and how we're transitioning through life, you know, and and sometimes releasing some of that along the way.
00:16:37.039 --> 00:16:43.360
So we'll take a quick break break and feedback with Sorting Through Life on AM950.
00:16:50.639 --> 00:16:56.240
Welcome back to Sorting Through Life with Colleen Watterston, brought to you by Space by Space Organizing.
00:16:56.320 --> 00:17:07.440
And if you're listening to this and you think, I think I could use that girl's help, go to space by spaceorganizing.com or call 612-747-1331.
00:17:07.839 --> 00:17:16.319
I am Colleen, uh, the owner of Space by Space Organizing, and um just the honored gal who gets to help people through their stuff.
00:17:16.559 --> 00:17:34.319
And today I've got Katie who I've worked with through a very um large filled storage unit with everything that mattered to you, uh, and and other than you know what you needed at your furnished space during a transition time from where you were to where you were going.
00:17:34.480 --> 00:17:37.359
And we're kind of talking about that process.
00:17:37.440 --> 00:17:49.519
And so we talked about meeting and realizing that you know, this wasn't the most efficiently used space, that you didn't know what was in any of these boxes, but you also were a little hesitant to face it.
00:17:49.680 --> 00:17:52.400
You would go in, kind of search for what you needed.
00:17:52.559 --> 00:17:57.440
Like many people go into their basement, go into their storage, and it's like, I know where everything is kind of.
00:17:58.160 --> 00:18:00.240
Yeah, I know the general kind of corner.
00:18:00.559 --> 00:18:02.720
I I can find it within 10 minutes.
00:18:03.119 --> 00:18:04.480
And so that's good enough.
00:18:04.720 --> 00:18:08.000
But it's like also daunting.
00:18:08.160 --> 00:18:16.000
And you know you don't want it to be that way, but you're like, I can't even begin to think about making it any other way.
00:18:16.319 --> 00:18:17.359
I don't know where to start.
00:18:17.599 --> 00:18:17.920
Yeah.
00:18:18.160 --> 00:18:32.000
So talk about where you were mentally when you took on that storage space, and then where we got you, and and now you're out of the space, you're not renting anything from where space anywhere.
00:18:32.240 --> 00:18:35.119
You had transitioned to an office when you moved into a new home.
00:18:35.440 --> 00:18:41.759
And so kind of give us that story of what happened through your stuff.
00:18:42.559 --> 00:18:46.319
Through the journey of my stuff, the journey of the traveling pants.
00:18:46.400 --> 00:18:47.680
What is like yeah, sister.
00:18:48.079 --> 00:18:50.160
But yeah, the journey works, yeah.
00:18:50.480 --> 00:18:56.559
So, I mean, my mental state from moving um from St.
00:18:56.799 --> 00:19:11.920
Paul over to Eden Prairie at Wear Space Um was really, I just needed somewhere that one-stop shop, like I alluded to earlier, um, where I could just set it there, breathe, and kind of figure out my next steps in life.
00:19:12.160 --> 00:19:13.440
Where was I going now?
00:19:13.519 --> 00:19:23.039
I needed to make sure I was at least in a semi-stable place, a furnished rental, until I found something more permanent where I could move my stuff into.
00:19:23.359 --> 00:19:29.759
Um, but all those things take time, so you kind of have to look at it like sprints along the way, right?
00:19:30.079 --> 00:19:34.720
Um each having their own psychological hurdles, right, of getting there.
00:19:34.880 --> 00:19:42.079
And so, in a way, it was kind of nice that it put it into more manageable pieces that I could handle at the time.
00:19:42.319 --> 00:19:55.440
And so you're right, once it was all moved in and I got settled in my furnished place and started looking for more permanent places, I knew it was time to go back to the storage unit and start figuring that out.
00:19:55.599 --> 00:20:02.079
But like I said, and like you just mentioned, I just don't know where to start, right?
00:20:02.160 --> 00:20:08.079
And it's so exhausting to think about okay, now what do I do with this?
00:20:08.160 --> 00:20:09.599
What should I sell?
00:20:09.920 --> 00:20:18.480
Because I needed to be pragmatic about hey, this is a large expense that uh I'm spending, although it's a great investment and I need it right now.
00:20:18.720 --> 00:20:23.359
That's why I always talk myself off the ledge with whatever my monthly expenses were.
00:20:23.440 --> 00:20:23.680
Yeah.
00:20:23.920 --> 00:20:24.880
Because I needed it.
00:20:25.039 --> 00:20:28.319
I needed the peace of mind, but I also needed to take action.
00:20:28.640 --> 00:20:32.880
I even say that our storage unit is like the my mental health budget.
00:20:33.039 --> 00:20:33.119
Yeah.
00:20:33.359 --> 00:20:41.839
You know, because it's like just being able to go and drop something and not bring it home with me is really amazing.
00:20:42.240 --> 00:20:42.960
Absolutely.
00:20:43.119 --> 00:20:44.799
I needed to compartmentalize.
00:20:44.960 --> 00:20:45.359
Yeah.
00:20:45.680 --> 00:20:56.880
Because if I see it and it's around me, I am feeling more heavy and I'm not even able to get through the next step in my life chapter that I'm now creating, right?
00:20:57.039 --> 00:20:58.319
Kind of from scratch.
00:20:58.400 --> 00:21:00.640
It was a kind of an unexpected transition.
00:21:01.200 --> 00:21:03.039
Um, welcomed but unexpected.
00:21:03.119 --> 00:21:10.400
So I still needed to kind of think on the fly and you know, manage a lot of things that I hadn't had to manage before.
00:21:11.039 --> 00:21:18.559
Um, so once you came in and it was time to go through things, it was a huge weight lifted off of my shoulder.
00:21:19.119 --> 00:21:30.400
But there was also the piece of okay, let's start selling things, let's start deacquisitioning some of the stuff because wherever I'm moving is going to be a downsize.
00:21:30.640 --> 00:21:33.759
And so it's just not realistic for me to keep certain things.
00:21:33.839 --> 00:21:36.000
And a lot of the stuff I had were antiques.
00:21:36.720 --> 00:21:44.000
Um, and so it doesn't make sense for me to have that in the but you moved from a home where antiques made a lot of sense from the decor perspective.
00:21:44.240 --> 00:21:48.640
And so that was also when you left, you're like, of course I'm gonna take this with me.
00:21:49.119 --> 00:21:51.119
But maybe not forever.
00:21:51.279 --> 00:21:53.039
But I'm not leaving this, you know.
00:21:53.119 --> 00:21:54.240
I I need to take this.
00:21:54.400 --> 00:21:57.920
I need I need to take these things of value.
00:21:58.640 --> 00:22:04.640
And then you get into the And you're like, is it even of the value of what I'm paying on a monthly basis?
00:22:04.720 --> 00:22:05.440
You know, there's a lot.
00:22:05.599 --> 00:22:13.759
And then that even, you know, so many times people get frustrated with themselves for some like the situation that they're in.
00:22:14.000 --> 00:22:17.440
And then their stuff is like a reminder of it.
00:22:17.599 --> 00:22:21.039
It's like that little like, look at what you're doing to keep me, you know.
00:22:21.200 --> 00:22:24.000
And and then it's like, but I know you have value.
00:22:24.079 --> 00:22:30.319
So if I just, if I flipped you, you know, if I if I found the right buyer, then this would be keeping you is worth a month's rent here.
00:22:30.400 --> 00:22:32.480
And this month's rent has been really great for me.
00:22:32.640 --> 00:22:40.000
So it's like we're constantly playing that game, but that is a very time-consuming game for our brain to play.
00:22:40.319 --> 00:22:40.960
Absolutely.
00:22:41.119 --> 00:22:56.079
And that's really where you helped out immensely because as you were sorting and going through things and setting up those shelving units, that was actually a part for us to start categorizing things that we were going to sell.
00:22:56.240 --> 00:22:56.400
Yeah.
00:22:56.640 --> 00:23:08.160
And you, because you're detached emotionally from things and you have experience with this, you've sold things on marketplace, you've sold things online to other antique auctions and things like that.
00:23:08.400 --> 00:23:20.079
You had that like clarity and experience that helped me kind of, you know, get rid of the noise that was going on in my head with my head just spinning because I've never done this before and I don't know what to do.
00:23:20.319 --> 00:23:26.000
And so once you were able to lay things out, we were able to you listed some things for me.
00:23:26.160 --> 00:23:28.079
I also had like an open house.
00:23:28.240 --> 00:23:28.480
Yeah.
00:23:28.720 --> 00:23:32.480
Almost where we invited some designer over to buy some things.
00:23:33.359 --> 00:23:37.519
It went from like a dumping ground of boxes to like, I have pictures of it.
00:23:37.920 --> 00:23:40.319
Like, oh my gosh, this is a beautiful antique store.
00:23:40.480 --> 00:23:49.839
Like we had set it up with like rows that you could shop of the things, and then the things that you were gonna keep were so nicely up on the top shelf.
00:23:50.079 --> 00:23:53.440
One day you can go up and grab these, you know, these are things that you don't need.
00:23:53.599 --> 00:23:57.920
But yeah, it was this beautiful antique store in there for a few months.
00:23:58.000 --> 00:24:10.319
And you could have people come instead of saying, Oh, I think, you know, you kept saying, I know this person wants this lamp, and I know the person that wants these things for the bookshelf, and you know, these antique pottery things and stuff.
00:24:10.480 --> 00:24:14.640
But it was like you couldn't invite them in that space as it was.
00:24:14.880 --> 00:24:15.519
Oh no.
00:24:15.839 --> 00:24:17.519
And other high-level things too.
00:24:17.599 --> 00:24:22.160
So you can't be like, oh, let me show you my Hot Mess Express over here and pray it's not broken.
00:24:22.319 --> 00:24:22.559
Yeah.
00:24:22.960 --> 00:24:32.559
But then also give me the value that it's worth and not look like I just need you to take this off my hands and be like, hey, I've got this curated showroom for you to peruse.
00:24:32.799 --> 00:24:33.200
Exactly.
00:24:33.359 --> 00:24:46.960
And so that was kind of the process of I needed that slow, those slow baby steps too, because of the psychological unfolding of, you know, just everyone in their life transitions.
00:24:47.039 --> 00:24:47.119
Yeah.
00:24:47.440 --> 00:24:47.680
Right.
00:24:48.000 --> 00:25:03.519
And so the fact that that was a slower process and selling things as we were going and as we were packing, by the time I was ready to officially move into a permanent place and move things in, all the stuff fit into the new place.
00:25:03.680 --> 00:25:04.640
It was fantastic.
00:25:04.960 --> 00:25:08.880
I remember running into you when you had secured that new place.
00:25:09.440 --> 00:25:12.880
And you were just a different version of you.
00:25:13.039 --> 00:25:16.559
You were such a lighter, like you were so excited.
00:25:16.799 --> 00:25:19.119
And I'd never seen you excited.
00:25:19.359 --> 00:25:21.680
You know, I'd never seen me at my worst.
00:25:21.920 --> 00:25:22.720
No, no, no, no.
00:25:23.119 --> 00:25:24.079
Not your worst.
00:25:24.319 --> 00:25:29.759
And um, I mean, maybe, maybe, you know, I'm sure you never go, never go bad.
00:25:30.000 --> 00:25:32.720
Um, but just that overwhelm.
00:25:32.799 --> 00:25:38.319
And that I think I always saw you, you wanted to be there as minimally as you could.
00:25:38.559 --> 00:25:46.240
You know, it was like kind of like a magnetic force at the door of like, I really don't want to go in here.
00:25:46.400 --> 00:25:47.920
Yeah, you know, like pushing me away.
00:25:48.160 --> 00:25:48.640
Okay, cool.
00:25:48.720 --> 00:25:50.960
You kind of stand at the door, we say you got this, you're good.
00:25:51.119 --> 00:25:53.680
You know, like um, you know, you know what you're doing.
00:25:53.759 --> 00:25:55.119
Okay, go close up the door when you leave.
00:25:55.200 --> 00:26:01.200
And I'm like, yep, yep, you know, like I'll take a picture and show you what we what what we're at when we head out today.
00:26:01.440 --> 00:26:07.519
And um, and so that I had I respected that, I understood that.
00:26:07.599 --> 00:26:13.920
And so it was like, I didn't need to push you to be there any longer than you needed to, but I did need to ask you a few questions.
00:26:14.079 --> 00:26:16.880
Okay, so here's what we got out of this stuff.
00:26:17.039 --> 00:26:18.079
What stays, what goes.
00:26:18.240 --> 00:26:19.599
Okay, now we're gonna pack this up.
00:26:19.759 --> 00:26:24.640
And the next time you come, it's gonna be packed up and up on the top shelf, and you won't even have to think about it.
00:26:24.720 --> 00:26:28.480
I just need to have your direction in which goes where.
00:26:28.640 --> 00:26:34.640
Um, is this an everyday thing that as soon as you get your new place, you're gonna want to use and put in your kitchen?
00:26:34.880 --> 00:26:39.599
Or is this like a family item that you also will keep in a box when you get there?
00:26:39.759 --> 00:26:46.079
So it was like not just putting all kitchen in ready to unpack, but like kitchen heirloom type stuff.
00:26:46.240 --> 00:26:53.680
So that, and then knowing that what we did would make your move so much easier.
00:26:53.920 --> 00:27:03.680
But then hearing like that move really was the right place, the you know, the right, I think the owner of the place lived next door, and it was just like this really fun, like you felt so supported.
00:27:03.839 --> 00:27:04.240
Yes.
00:27:04.480 --> 00:27:06.400
And I knew my job was done.
00:27:06.559 --> 00:27:09.920
It wasn't like, oh, I'll do you need help on the other side of it or anything.
00:27:10.000 --> 00:27:26.640
Like I knew that was gonna be part of the fun for you was being able to say, now this is I kind of I just got like total goose shivers saying it because I felt like it was such a repellent moment that you were in from that stuff.
00:27:26.880 --> 00:27:32.799
But then being able to get to the other side of it was like that was yours.
00:27:32.960 --> 00:27:39.119
Like you earned that, and that was what you got to do as slow or fast as you wanted to.
00:27:39.440 --> 00:27:46.319
Yeah, and it was ready once I moved to I know you're I mean, this isn't kind of like I was able to spread my wings and fly.
00:27:46.480 --> 00:27:46.720
Yeah.
00:27:46.960 --> 00:27:50.720
You know, as cliche as that is and corny as that is, it's so true though.
00:27:50.880 --> 00:28:04.799
Because thinking about like if you hadn't come into my life and helped me organize and go through everything, the idea of me having to do that once I did find a permanent place, horrible.
00:28:05.039 --> 00:28:07.519
I think it would have re-traumatized me.
00:28:07.759 --> 00:28:14.000
I you know, it would have just been so much more exhausting of like, oh, here we go, and just draining.
00:28:14.240 --> 00:28:22.160
And so, you know, although at the time, you know, it was tough to get through it, I needed you to kind of keep me going, right?
00:28:22.319 --> 00:28:22.880
And you did.
00:28:23.039 --> 00:28:26.240
And then once it was time to move in, you're right, it was really easy.
00:28:26.319 --> 00:28:26.559
Yeah.
00:28:26.720 --> 00:28:33.759
And those little things that you had mentioned, like, okay, what things do you use every day versus what things go in this room?
00:28:34.240 --> 00:28:37.359
At the time when you were asking me those, I was like, that's super specific.
00:28:37.519 --> 00:28:39.119
Why are you asking me these things?
00:28:39.279 --> 00:28:41.200
And it didn't make sense at the time.
00:28:41.440 --> 00:28:44.880
But hindsight, when it was time to unpack, I was so grateful.
00:28:44.960 --> 00:28:46.960
It was so easy and intuitive.
00:28:47.119 --> 00:28:47.359
Yeah.
00:28:47.519 --> 00:28:47.759
You know?
00:28:48.000 --> 00:28:48.559
Glad to hear that.
00:28:48.720 --> 00:28:50.400
I didn't need to do any more thinking.
00:28:50.640 --> 00:28:51.599
I don't think I'd heard that.
00:28:52.240 --> 00:28:57.359
So I'm glad to hear that because there was some times I think you were like, I think she's getting too into the case.
00:28:57.519 --> 00:28:59.359
I'm like, no, it's too many decisions.
00:28:59.519 --> 00:29:00.240
There's a reason.
00:29:00.319 --> 00:29:03.440
Just just trust, just trust, just let me guide you through this.
00:29:03.599 --> 00:29:08.960
Um well, thank you for letting me guide you through it and letting me in.
00:29:09.119 --> 00:29:17.200
I think that um, you know, I have a client coming up that we've had a couple conversations, and I know that just letting me in is the hardest part.
00:29:17.440 --> 00:29:17.920
Yes.
00:29:18.240 --> 00:29:24.720
And and we've had some really good conversations, and I'm so excited for the day that that door does open.
00:29:24.880 --> 00:29:30.799
Um, and I get to walk what sounds like, you know, kind of on the stuff in order to get in.
00:29:31.119 --> 00:29:49.359
But it's like she's ready, you know, and she and we've worked through things before I've even gotten to her space to be able to say, like, I'm not intimidated by this, and I can't wait to help you through it, you know, and like I'm excited too, because you know, I never want a client who doesn't want to work through their stuff.
00:29:50.000 --> 00:30:14.079
But I love a client that's like, I love, I loved what we did, I I love what I get to do, but I'm so appreciative of you coming and vulnerably sharing about this transition time because I think everybody, whether they have a storage unit through a transition or not, knows those times that they just can't face their stuff for what it is because it represents so much more.
00:30:14.960 --> 00:30:32.160
And so um I will say we're gonna um kind of wrap up for today, for for this segment, but when we come back, I want to talk about storage units in general because um, and and just kind of the storage industry at large.
00:30:32.319 --> 00:30:38.480
So, because I think you you had the right mindset about why you were going into that space.
00:30:38.640 --> 00:30:40.559
You needed it for that transition.
00:30:40.960 --> 00:30:54.720
And I'm gonna share in the the next segment all about um the storage unit industry in general in you know the United States, and we have just disproportionately, I think we have like 85% of the storage in the world is in the United States.
00:30:54.960 --> 00:31:01.920
So we just have a lot of stuff and we spend a lot of money to store it, and often indefinitely.
00:31:02.160 --> 00:31:19.920
So I would say that sharing this story has been a great example of when that space is still an expense, but it's serving a much larger purpose to get you to the other side, and then and then you eventually move everything out and are in that space, and you can look back at that and say, worth every penny.
00:31:20.160 --> 00:31:33.599
But there's a lot of people out there who have been paying for a storage unit for maybe decades, and the cost of that unit has well overvalued the items that are in it, even emotionally.
00:31:33.839 --> 00:31:39.279
Um, but many times, even if they're items that we keep in a storage unit that are of value.
00:31:39.359 --> 00:31:41.680
Um, so we'll come back and talk about that.
00:31:41.759 --> 00:31:45.359
But Katie, thank you so much for being here and for sharing your story.
00:31:45.680 --> 00:31:47.200
Thanks so much, Colleen.
00:31:48.160 --> 00:31:52.160
All right, we'll be right back on Sorting Through Life with Colleen Watston.
00:31:59.039 --> 00:32:04.400
All right, welcome back to Sorting Through Life with Colleen Watston on AM950.
00:32:05.039 --> 00:32:05.359
Okay.
00:32:06.559 --> 00:32:23.519
I had intended to come back to this episode, perhaps with even a guest within the storage unit industry or somebody who makes money off of buying and flipping things from storage units, but after listening back to the episode, I realized that I didn't want to.
00:32:23.680 --> 00:32:26.160
I didn't want to go there for 15 more minutes.
00:32:26.400 --> 00:32:28.480
I did look into some statistics.
00:32:28.640 --> 00:32:37.839
There are over 2.1 billion square feet of total self-storage space in the United States as of 2026.
00:32:38.240 --> 00:32:43.279
One out of three Americans is currently renting a unit in a storage space.
00:32:43.519 --> 00:32:48.720
Approximately 12% of US households are currently using storage units.
00:32:48.960 --> 00:32:51.759
So the US storage industry is huge.
00:32:52.000 --> 00:32:56.799
And the average storage tenant keeps their unit for 18 to 19 months.
00:32:57.039 --> 00:33:06.079
So this would be a person like Katie, who was in a transition, knew that they knew what they needed, and they wanted to hang on to their stuff.
00:33:06.319 --> 00:33:10.640
They didn't want to bring it all with them as they figured out where they were going next.
00:33:10.880 --> 00:33:15.839
So they needed to take that space and to put their stuff there for a little while.
00:33:16.079 --> 00:33:26.880
And it was more worth paying for the storage space than it was paying to bring it with them or having it in their space and being kind of this physical presence.
00:33:27.119 --> 00:33:32.960
You know, in some instances, we are in a smaller space and we can't hang on to that much.
00:33:33.039 --> 00:33:37.200
And in some instances, we just need to not look at those things.
00:33:37.440 --> 00:33:54.799
My sister recently moved from one house to another, and while it was only a couple months between when they bought their new house and when they closed on it and closed on the one they were in, they took on a storage space and brought boxes and bins and put them neatly in a line for the movers to come and take.
00:33:55.039 --> 00:34:12.480
But it really helped for when they were selling their house and taking the pictures and they have little kids and knowing that they didn't have to clean everything up and their stuff was in safekeeping so that they could simplify when they were selling their house and then figure it out on the other side.
00:34:12.719 --> 00:34:22.559
So within those transition moments, if you get your home renovated, if you have a temporary overflow of stuff, absolutely go to a storage unit.
00:34:22.800 --> 00:34:32.639
And if you need help getting ready to move into it, making sense of it, or getting ready to move out of it, by all means reach out to me.
00:34:32.960 --> 00:34:39.119
Space by spaceorganizing.com 612-747-1331.
00:34:39.440 --> 00:34:47.199
I am happy to connect and figure out if it would make sense for me and my team to come in and help you make sense of your stuff.
00:34:47.360 --> 00:34:53.920
But ultimately, I think what a storage unit represents is more about the cost of stalling.
00:34:54.239 --> 00:34:59.519
So there are a lot of people who rent storage units for an indefinite period of time.
00:34:59.760 --> 00:35:05.519
And it gives people the ability to have this delayed decision making on that stuff.
00:35:05.760 --> 00:35:12.400
And that delay, that monthly fee, uh, which the average monthly fee is$119.
00:35:13.360 --> 00:35:20.239
In someone's life, a lot of times$119 a month is something that comes out of their checking account.
00:35:20.400 --> 00:35:22.000
They stop thinking about it.
00:35:22.159 --> 00:35:29.760
And so they're not thinking about what that adds up to in a year, what that adds up in two up to in two years.
00:35:30.000 --> 00:35:36.159
And they're also not thinking about what the total value of the stuff even is in those boxes.
00:35:36.480 --> 00:35:50.159
So what I wanted to be able to put a little moment on is just if you are in a storage unit, if your stuff isn't a storage unit, make sure it's not becoming a black hole for you financially or for the stuff.
00:35:50.480 --> 00:35:54.800
And hopefully this moment, if you're listening, can help you think.
00:35:54.960 --> 00:36:00.880
You know, I don't want to tackle that, but would it be worth taking a weekend and getting myself out of that unit?
00:36:01.119 --> 00:36:24.880
And it might be a hard weekend and it might be annoying, but I think it would feel such a relief on Monday to know that I no longer have that stuff and that I've gone through it, and that oftentimes when you have, like Katie mentioned, you know, when you take a break from your stuff and you don't see it for a while, and when you see it again and you realize, I don't even think I need that.
00:36:25.119 --> 00:36:27.039
I don't even think I like that.
00:36:27.280 --> 00:36:40.960
So giving yourself that minute to pause and also that minute or hours or days, but taking that time to really re-evaluate what you have so that you can release yourself of the burden of storing your stuff.
00:36:41.760 --> 00:36:48.239
So at Space by Space, if you listen to this show, you know I am not anti-stuff.
00:36:48.800 --> 00:36:51.760
I am anti-stuff getting in the way of your life.
00:36:52.000 --> 00:36:54.320
And I'm a little bit anti-storage unit.
00:36:54.719 --> 00:37:02.400
I'm anti-storage unit if it is an extension of a space that you have enough of.
00:37:02.800 --> 00:37:10.800
If your home could contain the items that are in it, but it just needs to be packaged a little bit differently, I'm anti-storage unit.
00:37:11.280 --> 00:37:16.079
I have friends who live in New York City and I visited their storage units with them.
00:37:16.320 --> 00:37:26.079
I understand when we're in very small apartments in a big congested city, we have to have those extra spaces that are less expensive than the square footage in our homes.
00:37:26.320 --> 00:37:28.559
But I'm recording this from Minnesota.
00:37:28.960 --> 00:37:43.519
And most of my clients, with a little bit of wiggle room within their house, with a little bit of attention to an underutilized area within their house, we can find the space to keep the things that have been removed from the home to not deal with them.
00:37:43.760 --> 00:37:47.119
And that's what I actually want to close this episode out on.
00:37:47.519 --> 00:37:54.639
Over the last eight months, I've had this radio show and Katie was part of a series I call Behind Closed Drawers.
00:37:54.800 --> 00:38:01.679
And I always wanted to have this to be able to pull back the curtain on what happens when you hire somebody to help you go through your stuff.
00:38:01.840 --> 00:38:06.559
And you know, I'm coming from Minnesota, where we call ourselves Minnesota Nice.
00:38:06.880 --> 00:38:11.440
And I've heard before that Minnesotans will give you directions to anywhere but their house.
00:38:11.679 --> 00:38:16.639
We're very nice people, we're very friendly, but we're a little bit more private.
00:38:16.960 --> 00:38:26.960
And launching this business in my home state and working with Minnesotans across the metro area, I am so grateful and honored to be let into people's homes.
00:38:27.199 --> 00:38:35.599
And I say when I'm let in, I'm led straight to the door and the drawer and the closet that you hope your friends don't open when they come over.
00:38:35.920 --> 00:38:44.400
You know it's that room that you've stuffed everything in and you've shoved it all away and you're embarrassed by it and you can't even deal with it.
00:38:44.639 --> 00:38:47.360
But as long as that door doesn't open, it's all good.
00:38:47.599 --> 00:38:53.840
Or that drawer that you know every time you try, it kind of jams up, but it's like I just can't even go through it.
00:38:53.920 --> 00:38:54.960
I can't even go there.
00:38:55.440 --> 00:39:08.800
I love being able to come in and have people lead me straight to that pressure point and lead me straight to that problem area and just invite me in, knowing that I am there to help them fix it.
00:39:09.119 --> 00:39:12.239
And so with Katie, you know, she was in a moment.
00:39:12.559 --> 00:39:18.719
She spoke about the paralysis that she felt when she walked into that unit and just didn't even know where to begin.
00:39:19.119 --> 00:39:21.679
So she knew what she was walking into the unit for.
00:39:21.920 --> 00:39:28.559
She went, she grabbed that thing, she looked around, okay, everything else is intact, I'm gonna head out.
00:39:28.880 --> 00:39:32.079
And a lot of people do that with spaces within their own house.
00:39:32.320 --> 00:39:42.159
They walk down to that basement storage unit, they walk to their kids' room, they walk to their own closet, they grab the thing they need, they think I have no time for this.
00:39:42.320 --> 00:39:47.280
And if you listen to this show, you often hear me talk about human hours.
00:39:47.760 --> 00:39:51.920
We have, and and we've also talked a lot about neurodivergence.
00:39:52.400 --> 00:40:09.920
So people who identify as having ADHD often know that they might maybe they might have maybe a little different relationship with time, maybe an ambitious relationship with time, where people think I can definitely get this done in an afternoon.
00:40:10.079 --> 00:40:13.760
And three hours go by and they've barely scratched the surface.
00:40:14.000 --> 00:40:23.840
Four or five hours go by, uh, they're exhausted, they're late to something else, but they started this, they want to get through it, and now they have to walk away from it.
00:40:24.079 --> 00:40:30.960
They're gonna go to this other thing that they have to go to, they come home, they don't have energy to keep going through it.
00:40:31.199 --> 00:40:38.000
And that's not just ADHD, that's everybody, because we often accumulate more than we realize.
00:40:38.239 --> 00:40:42.639
We often have piles that start to compress themselves.
00:40:42.960 --> 00:41:01.840
And once you actually start to pull one by one and pull things out and sort them by kind and give a little space in between so that you can look at everything one by one and evaluate what you own, it can be a daunting task because when we shove things, they compress.
00:41:02.400 --> 00:41:10.480
When we shove things, we can kind of designate a corner that we just stop looking at and and it becomes like the wall itself.
00:41:10.800 --> 00:41:29.519
And it's no longer there, but we know it's there, and that's where there's stress and anxiety within our homes because we don't want to have this mound of stuff, and we want to be able to tackle it, but we don't have the hours in a day or a weekend to tackle it because we have a life.
00:41:29.679 --> 00:41:30.719
We're all busy.
00:41:31.519 --> 00:41:37.440
And all of my clients that I've ever brought on this show thus far, all these clients are busy people.
00:41:37.679 --> 00:41:44.880
They are busy parents or busy children, or they've inherited a mess that wasn't even theirs to begin with.
00:41:45.599 --> 00:41:55.039
But now they find themselves in the middle of their own life as well as in the middle of trying to make sense of their messy parents' life.
00:41:55.440 --> 00:42:00.079
And they find themselves in this moment that they just don't really know what to do.
00:42:00.719 --> 00:42:03.280
And I love coming into that moment.
00:42:03.840 --> 00:42:50.079
I am so honored to come into that moment, and I'm so honored to bring people with me into that moment who can help my clients through it and who can help lighten their load and can come in with fresh eyes, and we come in with enthusiasm and excitement for what we can do on behalf of our clients and what we can do in a day or in a few days, because like I said, things take time and good work takes time, and doing something thoroughly takes time, and doing something in a way that doesn't just shove everything that we didn't get to back into a drawer takes time, and that's where these human hours come in.
00:42:50.639 --> 00:43:08.239
So when we from Space by Space Organizing come in, it might take 20 hours, it might take 30 hours, and we might spread that over a few days, or we might bring three or four of us and we come in for five hours and there's four of us, there's 20 hours.
00:43:08.639 --> 00:43:11.199
When are you ever going to make 20 hours?
00:43:11.679 --> 00:43:17.840
You don't have 20 hours in a day unless you sleep for four and take no breaks, and that is bonkers.
00:43:18.239 --> 00:43:26.880
But when we're on the clock, we are working hard and we are going through your stuff, and we are going through your stuff with intention and with a process.
00:43:27.119 --> 00:43:37.599
So you've heard me talk about this process before, but when you call us, when you email us, when you fill out our form on our website, you become part of the process.
00:43:37.920 --> 00:43:47.039
So if you're interested, if you are thinking, I've listened to Colleen talk about these different clients and I have a storage unit that I would love to get under control.
00:43:47.280 --> 00:43:49.679
And I would love to move out or downsize.
00:43:50.239 --> 00:43:59.519
Maybe you still need the storage unit, but you could move from a large space to a smaller space and have and save a significant amount of money.
00:44:00.239 --> 00:44:04.159
You might think, I don't know if my project is big enough for this.
00:44:04.559 --> 00:44:06.239
I love small projects.
00:44:06.559 --> 00:44:09.440
Small projects are quick wins for me.
00:44:09.760 --> 00:44:12.480
I love big, hairy, messy projects.
00:44:12.880 --> 00:44:18.880
I love every type of thing that I get to put my brain on solving on your behalf.
00:44:19.199 --> 00:44:40.880
So if you have an area in your house, an area in your parents' house, or perhaps your parents' entire house, or perhaps your entire house, whatever it is, the first step is you go to my website, space by spaceorganizing.com, and you can see more of what we do.
00:44:41.199 --> 00:44:45.679
You can go to our social media and watch videos of what we do.
00:44:45.920 --> 00:44:55.119
Tiffany edits all sorts of great before and afters where you can see what it looked like when we walked in, what it looked like when we left.
00:44:55.360 --> 00:44:59.039
And a lot of times we make sure that we also include the during.
00:44:59.280 --> 00:45:05.760
You can go to our process and we've created videos that are me talking about what happens along the way.
00:45:05.920 --> 00:45:16.239
And you can go to our social media and see what happens and see the messy middle and what we work through to get to the other side.
00:45:16.480 --> 00:45:22.639
There's the consultation where I'm going to show up at your house and I'm going to meet you and you meet me.
00:45:22.800 --> 00:45:36.239
We walk through things, we talk through things, we open drawers, I have my tape measure, I'm taking pictures, I'm sizing up what it is that you need support through so that I can figure out the best plan of action.
00:45:36.400 --> 00:45:50.159
From there, we come in, we pull everything out, we sort it, we evaluate with you, we give it a little freshen up in the meantime, we put it back together, and then there's that other part that we call the big sigh of relief.
00:45:50.320 --> 00:45:52.880
And Alicia has talked about this on the show.
00:45:53.039 --> 00:45:57.280
It's that moment where you can visually see our clients' shoulders just drop.
00:45:57.440 --> 00:45:59.519
They're able to breathe a little easier.
00:45:59.679 --> 00:46:01.519
And that is what is so rewarding.
00:46:01.760 --> 00:46:29.039
And for me, having the opportunity to bring clients like Katie on this show and actually sit across from them outside of their home or their storage unit and be able to talk through what we did and talk about being on the other side of it is so much fun for me and continues to be such an honor to have these clients who are willing to come and speak on my behalf about what we did on their behalf.
00:46:29.280 --> 00:46:34.000
And so I just appreciate you for listening to all of these stories.
00:46:34.239 --> 00:46:41.760
But I encourage you that if you feel that we could help you and that I could help you, please reach out.
00:46:42.000 --> 00:46:44.480
My business is space-by-space organizing.
00:46:44.639 --> 00:46:57.920
And when I worked at the cash registers at the container store, there was a day that I took a piece of paper from our little notebooks and I wrote this note, this little poem that still stands true, and I have framed in a pretty frame on my desk.
00:46:58.239 --> 00:47:04.159
Little by little, space by space, when it comes to organizing, give yourself grace.
00:47:04.400 --> 00:47:15.679
And when it comes to organizing and you feel like you are overwhelmed, you can hire me and my team or another organizer if I'm not in your area, go to NAPO, find one of us, and we can give you grace.
00:47:15.760 --> 00:47:20.559
And we will come in and we will do our best on your behalf to make your situation better.
00:47:20.800 --> 00:47:28.639
If this resonates, please reach out, visit our website, or by phone at 612 747 1331.
00:47:28.800 --> 00:47:35.599
This has been another episode of Sorting Through Life with Colleen Watterston on AM 950, the progressive voice of Minnesota.
00:47:35.840 --> 00:47:37.599
Thank you for listening.
