64. The Big Three: How to Finally Tackle Your Garage, Basement & Attic

You know that feeling when you open the garage door, take one look inside, and quietly close it again? You're not alone — and you're not behind. You just haven't had a plan.

In this episode, we're tackling the three spaces that make or break a downsizing move: the garage, the basement, and the attic. These aren't just storage areas — they're emotional archives, decision graveyards, and (let's be honest) the places where "I'll deal with it later" goes to live forever.

We break down exactly why these spaces feel so impossible, how to approach each one differently, and the simple strategies that turn an overwhelming weekend project into something you can actually finish — one two-hour win at a time.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• Why garages, basements, and attics require a completely different approach than the rest of your home
• How to break each space into manageable micro-zones — and which to tackle first
• The emotional layers hiding in these spaces (and how to work through them without spiraling)
• Space-specific strategies: what to keep, what to donate, and what to finally let go of
• The attic item that will NOT survive long-term storage (and you've probably got one up there right now)
• How to keep these spaces clutter-free after you've done the hard work

Whether you're actively downsizing, thinking about it in the next few years, or just ready to finally park your car in the garage again — this episode is your permission slip and your action plan.

🏡 Thinking about a move as part of your downsizing journey? We specialize in helping people navigate the transition from a home full of memories to one that fits the life they're building now.

If you enjoyed this episode, don’t forget to leave us a review and Follow our show so you never miss a new episode. We’re here for your downsizing questions — on the podcast, in your community, and when you’re ready to move. As Realtors®, we can connect you with the right specialists to make your next chapter smoother. We’d love to hear from you!

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Let’s simplify, declutter, and create space for your next chapter—together!

Transcript

Jodi Rosko 0:01

Welcome back to another episode of the Downsizing Roadmap Podcast with your hosts Jody Roscoe and Heather Fisher. We're talking about all things downsizing, from our own experiences with clients to guest experts. Let's make downsizing easier, one conversation at a time.

Heather Fisher 0:17

Hi, welcome to Downsizing Roadmap Podcast. The big three that we're talking about today. The ones we all avoid.

Jodi Rosko 0:27

We're the ones with all the stuff.

Heather Fisher 0:29

Yes, the biggest to tackle. We're talking today the garage, the basement, and the attic. Some of us have all three. Some, you know, you might not have all three, but I think we're gonna talk about them in the way they tend to function. And you're gonna have similar spaces in your home that match these three categories. Might be a storage shed, might be a storage unit.

Jodi Rosko 0:56

Yes, I had both of those really.

Heather Fisher 0:58

Yes. Um still guilty of that one working on it myself. But yeah, we're gonna talk about, you know, how those become kind of giant clutter traps filled with big bulky items and things you don't touch on a day-to-day basis, and how we can we can get through them, tackle them, and finally get to the other side of letting them be a burden.

Jodi Rosko 1:22

Yeah. I'm Jordy Roscoe. I'm Heather Fisher. I think that um they're really just giant receptacles of of area, of decisions that we haven't made.

Heather Fisher 1:32

Yes.

Jodi Rosko 1:33

They're they're procrastination of the decisions, or you know, thinking I might need that someday, or I don't know what to do this with this right now, so I'm going to put it in the storage space, and we then let dust get on it and you know have it be forgotten, um, you know, out of sight, out of mind. And then if you continue to do that, you just end up with a space that just is so overwhelming. You're like, I just don't even know how to deal with all of that.

Heather Fisher 2:02

And so Yeah, our f our favorite Jerry Seinfeld video.

Jodi Rosko 2:06

Oh, so funny.

Heather Fisher 2:07

Uh, you know, I can't not hear it in my head now that you know, garage sounds a lot like garbage. And and I think that, you know, it starts out maybe, maybe ever, maybe not, but a little bit organized and not too much, and then it's the place where you just put the things you don't know where they go.

Jodi Rosko 2:27

Yeah. Yeah. So some of it may be an organizational problem. Um, and some, you know, some of it may be like you just literally don't have the space to keep things. But if that's the case, then you have too many things for where you're living. And so if you can't keep it inside the house, number one, is it out there because you don't really need it anymore, but you aren't letting it go? Or is it outside the house because you don't have enough storage in this inside the house and there's some things in the storage that's inside the house that needs to go away so that you can bring it in. But Jerry says, Jerry Seinfeld says, once it goes out, it never comes back in. Right, right. And so once it goes to the basement storage or the attic storage or the garage or the storage unit or whatever, it's rarely does come back in the house. And it's because once we put things out of our site, we live without them. We don't we genuinely probably don't need them. I mean, the only things that I can think of that are in my storage um that I really do use is like seasonal decor, you know, holiday, whatever, that I that it's there because I don't have my Christmas things out in June. And so it's okay for it to be there because I will be using it. But if you aren't putting all your things, your holiday things out, you know, think on that. But but otherwise you aren't it's not a part of your life, it's not becoming part of your memories, it's not a part of your legacy. Like, so if you want it to be then, it needs to be out.

Heather Fisher 3:54

Yeah, and I think organization is key. Um, you know, don't organize first. Yeah, don't go by bins. Don't buy bins, don't organize first, don't find, you know, different ways to stack the bins you have in a neater fashion. Um, but once you've gone through and reduced that, um, I think it is easier to maintain when you have some sense of sections or walls and like things together or things up off the ground when possible, so that you're defining space for things. Um, all three of these things are just big square footage wise. And so it's not like one drawer where you quickly realize when it's overstuffed and maybe you need to get rid of a few things. It's a big open space, and it gets uh to the point of overstuffed a long way down the road because it's just so much stuff, and then it's overwhelming.

Jodi Rosko 4:52

Right. And it holds it holds the highest concentration of all of our stuff in our house because it's packed in there, you know. It it it that's why it feels overwhelming. That's why these are like oh the garage or you know, whatever. Because it it it holds the most stuff per square foot, you know, of things.

Heather Fisher 5:12

Yeah, absolutely, absolutely. So um they they also feel impossible, I think, because you kind of fill them up from the back forward. Yeah, and you don't I don't know, uh growing up and then in the house I was in for a long time, you kind of get to the bottom of the steps and you finally got whatever it was to the bottom of the basement steps and you just set it down. Yeah, you don't go find that that area where you're gonna keep it and you think I'll organize that later, or I'll put that up on the shelf later.

Jodi Rosko 5:43

Yeah.

Heather Fisher 5:44

And it becomes because it's not a path you're you're walking through all the time. I think addicts that way too. You don't really want to go further than that opening. So you put the first thing up there and then the next thing pushes that back and pushes it back, and and you're not really organizing it.

Jodi Rosko 6:02

Yeah. So I mean, feeling impossible, there's so many reasons. One is it's just too it's it ends up being so many different kinds of things, right? There's paperwork down there, there's um your kids' toys down there, you know, there's there's all kinds of there's holiday decor, there's paint, there's you know, like what you know, it's like there's so many things of random shapes too.

Heather Fisher 6:27

It's not things that easily pack in a box in a lot of cases. It's appliances and sports equipment and exercise equipment and you know, all kinds of things that are heavy and bulky and random shapes, and so it doesn't organize neatly and nicely.

Jodi Rosko 6:45

Right, right. So um, and it also it holds things, your identity things, right? Like um, you put it down there because it meant something to you, but you don't want it in your main room, you know. But so that's that's a message, actually, to yourself. So think on that. It means something to you, but not enough to you that you want to look at it all the time. Hard truths. Yeah, we're gonna spit out the hard truths. And so that means there's probably some guilt attached to it or some something attached to it where you feel like you shouldn't get rid of it, not because you love it so much that you have it out.

Heather Fisher 7:27

That often happens with um hobby and activity um items too. You m maybe move them to the basement or the back corner of a garage or or the attic because you're not quite doing it at the same level, or you've gotten new equipment and haven't gotten rid of the old, and you're keeping that. Well, maybe I'll need that. Um and then time passes and all of those questions are answered. Like, no, you're not interested in that hobby anymore, but you didn't make that original decision and never circled back to to make that final decision and move it out of the house.

Jodi Rosko 8:05

Yeah, I think the layer of dust on it, the amount of dust, it probably tells you when it was last used and whether you're actually you know using it. So you have to kind of be honest with yourself. This this episode's a like, let's be honest with ourselves. So, you know, what uh why are we keeping that stuff? So um, I think you get a lot of decision fatigue in these areas because everything is so different and everything needs different thought processes, right? What you're doing with your paperwork is not the same as what you're doing with your holiday decorations and your kids', you know, toys and your pictures and your you know, whatever else is all down there. And so every box or area that you kind of uncover, um, if it's your basement or in your garage, you know, if it's sports equipment, all the things like it's all different, right? There's tools, there's sports equipment, there's things for the car, there's you know, things that you don't use and you just stuck out there.

Heather Fisher 9:04

Yeah. Well, and there's a layer of, you know, the invisibility trap that some of these areas you don't go to daily. And so it doesn't become an urgent need to make your daily life better. It's a distant I should clean out the garage, or I know there's things in the attic that I should have someone take away. And but it doesn't have that urgency because you're not seeing it or walking through it every day, it's just kind of pushed to the corners or filling up a space that you just shut the door and yeah, for basements and attics and storage areas, that's that's so true.

Jodi Rosko 9:42

For your garage though, you know, if you're trying to park in there and you're squeezing your car in between all the stuff, you are feeling the weight of that, even if you don't realize it. You are feeling the weight of that daily. Um and if you can't even get into the garage, you know, that's a whole nother um hardship, especially depending on where you are in the country. You know, if it's cold and it's snowing or icy, this morning, you know, there was ice on the windshield. Like if your car was in the garage, you wouldn't have that. If you're if your car is outside the garage, you are having that. And so those are choices that you're making, sometimes even safety choices, honestly, um, of you know, not parking it in the garage and having using that as a storage space. And I will say we might say this later again too, but it's not a good place to store things. It's uh it's you know, wet, it's not temperature controlled. So if you have put things out there to keep them, um is not a good place to keep them in good condition.

Heather Fisher 10:46

Well, yeah, and back to that safety, if you've just been accumulating things by piling on top of other things, um, you know, those stacks of boxes might not be on proper shelves or things too heavy, too high. Um, all of that can just add up to not a great situation that's hard to handle later on.

Jodi Rosko 11:07

Right. So start with a plan. How are we gonna how are we gonna tackle it, right? Because we all know it feels heavy and we want to shut the door and walk away. So um it would be better to not tackle it as one giant project. I mean, if you need to and you're timing, you're like, okay, I have to do it, then I would probably get a bunch of people over to help you um do it so it doesn't feel like that. But if it's something that you can tackle and you have a little bit more time, I would break it into little micro zones. So if that's the garage, it's the sports stuff, and we're only doing sports stuff, then we're only gonna do tools. You know, then we're only gonna do, you know, holiday bins or whatever else is out there. Um and just try to keep the things that you're working on that day similar things because that uh helps with your decision fatigue and it also can show you, like if you if you if it's scattered all over the garage, you can take it all to the middle of, you know, only I'm gonna grab only sports things out of all this stuff, right? That's all I have to look for. I don't have to try to filter through all of these different things. And I'm gonna take all the sports things and I'm gonna put them in the middle of the you know garage, and then we're gonna decide what to do with them. And you'll see, oh look, I have four basketballs that are flat.

Heather Fisher 12:20

They're always flat.

Jodi Rosko 12:21

Every ball in the garage is always flat. But you might not even know you had four because you couldn't find the one and you bought another one or somebody got one for their birthday, or you know, whatever it is. So when you put when you take all of the same like things and you put them together, then you can make better choices. And it's easier to make the choices than if you're just going around and picking one thing and then something totally different category and then something totally different category. Your brain is like, I can't do this.

Heather Fisher 12:47

Yeah, it's back to that this or that um we've talked about m plenty of times. When you have, you know, five or six of something, you can pick the best two and get rid of the rest. But if you're looking at each one on its own merit at different times, you're making a decision, you might end up keeping all five because you've already even forgotten that you just said yes to the other one. Right. So you really need to gather it together and pick the best of the best.

Jodi Rosko 13:16

Yeah. Yeah. And so same, same in the basement or whatever storage area you have, um attic for that, but you might have memory boxes, you might have bins of the kids' old clothes or toys, you might have um appliances that you don't use as often or never that you think you're gonna use. Um ice cream, I can.

Heather Fisher 13:36

I think if you're finding a lot of the things in these spaces are just household overflow, um that if you had more room inside, they would logically be stored inside, then that's an indication. Maybe, you know, I'm there's different amounts of storage at every house. Sometimes the garage or somewhere else is the best storage spot. But if it's just because you already have, you know, two toasters upstairs and you've come across a third and it's just overflow, you know, let's start getting rid of that as well.

Jodi Rosko 14:14

Yeah. And and some of it might be extra paper towels or extra toilet paper or whatever. And so um, that's okay. Like figure out what the amount is that you, you know, need to feel safe and comfortable after COVID. And you know. Um but don't ask my husband, my comfort levels. I need lots, lots, Jody. But also put it all in the same place so you know how much you actually do have, right? Yeah, because we can start shoving things like there's toilet paper in the basement, and there's some toilet paper in the you know, closet, in the linen closet, and then there's some under the sink, and like it's everywhere. Um so also, you know, again, putting like things together. So um use like a two-hour win approach because um this you can do 15 minutes like we say on some of the other stuff, but you're probably not gonna get very far because this there's such a density of stuff. So if you can have a two-hour feeling motivated, get your coffee, you know, whatever that is, um two-hour approach and choose a zone that can be pretty much you know completed in one focused time frame.

Heather Fisher 15:13

I would layer on that too, have a plan for um what's happening at the end of that two hours to get rid of this stuff because it will tend to be bigger and bulkier things. Um, you know, do you have adult kids nearby that you could schedule? Hey, could you come over Saturday afternoon and help me get this to the donation center or wherever it needs to go, or could you put a donation pickup on the calendar and do your session, you know, right before that? However, that needs to work because if you're pulling things to the center of your garage and sorting through it, you don't want to then not be able to park and then you have to, you know, it starts you get frustrated that you want to park in the garage and you start spreading it back to those corners and your work goes for naught.

Jodi Rosko 16:04

Yeah. Garage sales are really not my favorite, but we did do them um when the kids were little and taught them how to, you know, give change and sell their things and all the things. Um but Mark always was like, none of that's coming back in the house. Like he would pack it, like he like when the garage sale was over, he was like, I'm here with the boxes, it's going straight to donation because you'll also start to like second guess your choices and like pick stuff back out. Honestly, at that point, you didn't want it and nobody else wanted it.

Heather Fisher 16:34

But you're second guessing both of those decisions and thinking maybe it should come back.

Jodi Rosko 16:39

So trust yourself, it's good, it's gotta go. Um I yes, I love that. Make sure you have that it's going. And it's either you know in the garbage or it's uh donation drop-off or pickup.

Heather Fisher 16:51

Yeah.

Jodi Rosko 16:51

Make sure that's happening.

Heather Fisher 16:53

Yeah, but make that part of your plan.

Jodi Rosko 16:55

And also, if let's say you're doing a rack of shelves, you know, maybe you just need some sorting of it because again, you might you don't it's you you might not want to make decisions on the bunch of different things that are in the shelves. So don't make it be, you know, start putting your things, sorting them, but you don't have to uh how am I saying this? You don't have to do that category, the whole all the different categories in a day. So put them still start going the into the like places together, but don't get distracted by that, right? If we're doing sports and we're doing like a wall, but there's gardening stuff on that wall too, pick a spot in the garage, put all the the gardening stuff. That doesn't mean every gardening thing's in there today, but you know, starting that pile and then don't get distracted by the sport stuff that you're doing today.

Heather Fisher 17:42

Yeah, and work your way around the garage. You'll see that progress start to go, like, okay, two walls are done, I just have one more. However, that looks, you know, start seeing that progress as you do each category.

Jodi Rosko 17:56

Yeah. So uh clarifying your goal for the space. What what do you want it to look like at the end, right? Are we are the kids gone and we don't even need a sports area anymore? I mean, um, you know, are we still gardening? Do we need those tools? Are we not do we not need those? Um, you know, do you need a workspace? Do you need better storage? Is do you actually need to keep your holiday stuff out in the garage because that's the only place for it, and we need some better shelves and bins for it? Like it's okay once you've actually you know, we we don't want to to buy all the bins before you start and start putting everything in a bin, but once you've determined, yeah, that is what I need and I need it to be organized in this space, then that's okay.

Heather Fisher 18:36

I think these spaces too are spaces that don't naturally have um furniture or cabinets or things like that. So um you can really make it easier once you've condensed it down by getting things up off the floor, and you know, any of the big box stores will, you know, sell the things you can have attached to the wall to have rakes and brooms and and all of that up off the floor. And then it once that happens, it's much easier to to notice when it things start creeping again. You have a spot for everything, and then if there's not a spot, you don't want to clutter up the corners and the floor again.

Jodi Rosko 19:19

Right, right. So um while you're doing this, you might get hit with some um some emotional bombs. Yeah. Right? Because um we put a lot of stuff that we uh feel attached to, but we don't really want to make decisions on in these storage areas. And so that might be your kids' artwork or um old furniture souvenirs that um represent different times in your life. Um, you know, someday guilt projects like I started that project, woodworking, you know, you were gonna strip your dresser, you were gonna, you know, whatever that is, half-finished crafts, exercise equipment that you were gonna use and you don't. Um, but then you feel terrible that you haven't done what you promised yourself you were gonna do, so then you just keep it. Um so again, we're gonna be brutally honest with ourselves in these. Like if you have not used it, you know, you're probably not going to unless you have some really true plan to create a habit around that thing, and then it shouldn't be in the storage, it should be somewhere where you're gonna use it.

Heather Fisher 20:23

So yeah, and I think it's okay to enjoy the discovery of a box of something random that's a nostalgia item, and and take that time and look and you know, tell the story if there's someone else there with you, but then it can still go.

Jodi Rosko 20:40

Yeah. And if it's like let's it let's say it's your photos, um, I would just put those all in one place and then maybe you have a family day where you, you know, you have dinner and everybody looks through the photos. Or you know, you you don't have to you can get derailed easily in your two hours by finding a photo box and sitting down and looking through the photo box and you know, not necessarily getting through the things. And it's still getting through them, but are you doing that in a purposeful way or are you just kind of reminiscing and then you're putting them all back and you're still have the exact same situation that you had two hours ago? So exactly. Um Yeah, so um I I think that we just have to realize uh, you know, is this are these things uh again about the life that you're building? Are they part of your legacy? Are they just things that are down there because you didn't make a decision on them at some point in your life and that time has passed and you don't need them anymore? Are they down there because uh they were your pom moms and now you don't know what to do with them, you don't love them, you feel guilty. Um, you know.

Heather Fisher 21:43

I think you can get some clarity for yourself before you even start by trying to think through what is uh in the basement, what is in the attic. And if you're discovering things that you didn't even know were there, and then you're feeling Feeling a sudden need to keep them, you know, being honest with yourself of I didn't even know I owned this anymore before I started, right? Um can give some clarity around that.

Jodi Rosko 22:13

Because remember that I own it and I'm responsible for it's gonna kick in when you see it.

Heather Fisher 22:18

Yeah.

Jodi Rosko 22:19

Um, and so knowing that you haven't looked at it for you know, I mean, we've had clients who've moved like 10 years ago, and when they go to move again, they're like, oh, those boxes we never even opened from our move from before. That is many people. That is not like one person. That is many people that have three or four boxes that they never did open from when they moved. And they probably don't need that stuff. So um, you know, you can look at it just to make sure it's not, you know, a hundred bollar, you know, five hundred dollars in there or something. But it's I'm sure it's not. I'm sure it's just things that you don't need to do.

Heather Fisher 22:57

And if you're if you're brave enough, you really don't need to look. Yeah. You really don't.

Jodi Rosko 23:02

Yeah, you probably have an idea of what it is and you just haven't used it. Yeah. You don't need it.

Heather Fisher 23:06

Yeah. If if there was something really valuable, you would have been looking for it.

Jodi Rosko 23:12

Remembering it between the ten years that you did.

Heather Fisher 23:16

Yeah, it might be better to go with that maybe box theory. Yes. If I haven't needed it, I can let it go.

Jodi Rosko 23:22

Right, right. So garage, you it's function first, right? Garages are for parking your car. That is what garages are for. I know. Crazy thought process. Um, they're for parking your car and having it be safe and having you be safe and you know, away from the the weather and you know, not icy and chipping it all off when you're trying to go to work and all the things, or you know, go out to do something. Um and and then they're also for, you know, maybe garden tools, you know, things that you if you have a shed, maybe that's what you have where you have that. But if you don't, your mower, if you mow, you know, those kind of things. Um that's pretty much all that needs to be in the garage. I mean, if you have a little work area there of tools, um that can be in the garage.

Heather Fisher 24:08

Yeah, I'm trying to think what's in our garage. Sports equipment if you have kids. I've always parked in the gar I've always you know, I've had clutter in different areas, but I've always been able to park. I think we have not a lot, garden rakes and shovels and things and bikes. Yeah, yeah, bikes. And you know, there's a lot of space usually up. So if you can get that that stuff up out of the way, that's great.

Jodi Rosko 24:39

Yeah, vertical storage is good. Um hooks, uh pegs, shelves. Yeah. I mean, if you get to a place where you're like, I I ride my bike and I, you know, I mean, be honest, if you don't ride your bike, maybe it's time for the bike to go. But if you do ride your bike, there's some great um things that you can get at the your local big box store, you know, that has that will hold the tire of the bike so you can put it up, you know, or pull the bike up. Like there's some there's some great storage things for that. Um our golf clubs, I think, were out there, although Ryan I think keeps them now in his room because he doesn't want them to be cold, because you know, again, it's not you know, it's not the best place to store things if you want to keep them nice.

Heather Fisher 25:21

Yeah. Um you know, some cabinets, if you've got like we have like f fertilizer and different plant food and that kind of stuff out there, but if you can organize that on shelves and um like things together in a you know cabinet, they sell freestanding little cabinets you can buy um just to kind of keep it f feeling neat and tidy when you pull in at the end of each day. It's like coming home to your bed being made, like you're not coming into chaos, you're coming into everything in its place.

Jodi Rosko 25:54

Which you don't think bothers you, but when you get it cleaned, you will realize it did bother you and it was heavy and it irritated you as you walked in and it caused it causes a little chaos in your brain every time. Yeah, yeah. Um basements or storage areas um uh usually hold uh sentimental stuff. You know, things that you've been given that you or or that you've outgrown but you weren't ready to let go of them. And so um be ready to just spend some extra time in there um reminiscing through whatever. And sometimes you can look at those things and reminisce and let them go. And sometimes you're like, nope, this is really part of my past and you know, whatever. And give yourself um, you know, one or two bins for your memory, whatever. Give yourself uh a limit because every time we we do give the limit, then it it's easier for you to make decisions about it, right?

Heather Fisher 26:54

Yeah, that's it.

Jodi Rosko 26:54

This or that, because like it's not all fitting in that box. So what is it that I can keep that really it it helps you determine what's really important.

Heather Fisher 27:03

Yeah, you're not making a yes or no on each item on its own, you're ranking what is the you know, what are the things that fit into this parameter I gave myself, whether that's predefining what categories you want to honor as part of your legacy, or if it's you know, one bin per kid of their school memories, if it's you know, four bins for holidays and you know, no more than that, you're giving yourself a boundary to fit inside, and it makes those decisions easier because it doesn't mean you don't love or didn't love the things you give away, it just means you loved something else more.

Jodi Rosko 27:43

Right. It just helps you figure out what you love the most. Yeah. Um, so and then if you have old paperwork, you have expired pantry items, you have, you know, outdated appliances, like you got the new toaster and you put the old toaster in the basement instead of giving it away right away, you know, whatever. Um, all of that stuff, easy decisions to let that stuff go. Um so uh and Easter's on its way, right? Spring is coming. Um, so I'm switching out my holiday. So just like we did, we did a Christmas one. And if you want to go listen to that one about what to do with your holiday stuff, same for any of the um any of the holiday or or even spring, fall, you know, if you are somebody who changes out your decor a little bit, make sure that you're emptying out those bins entirely, and whatever's still left in the bottom of those bins is something you don't want to put out, then it's time to let that go.

Heather Fisher 28:35

Yeah, for sure, for sure. Um I I think that um the other thing to be aware of is that oftentimes we put collections down there and then time goes by and when you put it down there, it might have had more value or more perceived value, and then markets change, times change, what had some value may not. So if you're just keeping something because you always have, it's a collection of fill in the blank, you know, check on that value. There's estate sale people that could help tell you whether it's something sellable or you know, something worth preserving for your family b because of the monetary value. Um, but don't fool yourself. Uh some of those things have just changed and they're not as valuable as they once were.

Jodi Rosko 29:27

Yeah, the antiques market unfortunately has gone down. I think there's a slight resurgence of people who um don't want things to be wasted or wasteful and they're starting to kind of, you know, thrift a little bit. Um, but the amount of things that we have, like that it's not it's not resurged in a way that's to equal to the amount of things that we have. So and really it doesn't matter. Like if you end up letting it go somewhere, um, the person who wants it will find it, and it's okay that it isn't you. You don't need to keep it and stored it and you know usher it through any further if you're all you're doing is leaving it in a box in in a storage area.

Heather Fisher 30:07

Yeah, yeah, exactly. So um talking about the attics, I've never been an attic storage person myself.

Jodi Rosko 30:17

I told you my attic story.

Heather Fisher 30:18

Yes.

Jodi Rosko 30:19

I can tell you briefly again. So we were moving and um I thought we were done, and then I realized there was some stuff up in the attic, and I was so annoyed because like I was mad at myself for having shoved stuff up there, and I'm bringing stuff down like why is this? I don't want this, I don't why is it up here? I don't want it. And um and when you are on a deadline like that, it actually does make you see it more clearly too. Like like, you know, I only have this hour and this is the stuff I'm dealing with, meaning I don't want it, right? Um and so um, but also think it's hot up in the attic, and so um things again, not a good place to store photos or candles will melt. Like, I mean it's not a good place. Um stuffed animals, electronics, like it's not a you know, a safe place to store that stuff. And again, if you are carrying it upstairs to the attic, it's probably not something you need, honestly. Like, you know, and if it's just if it's uh paperwork um that you think you need to keep for a certain amount of time, put that paperwork in a box, label the year that you can get rid of it, if it's taxes or something like that, and then you know, that year, you can just take it and get it shredded and you don't even have to open it or look at it. So just be a little bit organized about it. If you have to keep, you know, we have to keep stuff for our business for seven years, you know, for our taxes and stuff. So so there's some stuff you do have to keep. But I mean when I clean up my mom's garage, there was like tax returns from 1972, and I see how that happens because you keep it when you need to keep it, but then you never go back and look at it, and so then it just kind of accumulates and accumulates. So um, but those papers in the garage were totally useless. They were damp and you know, yeah, it wasn't not good.

Heather Fisher 32:02

So yeah, when we cleaned out um the attic at the house we just moved from, you know, the condition of things that we pulled down, even if they would have been wanted at a time, it just was not stored properly and just deteriorated so much.

Jodi Rosko 32:21

Yeah, stuffed animals, like all of that stuff. Your kids can't get rid of them yet because you know, they're just it's just that time, but they feel like they don't want them in the room, but they don't want them. Um, but those, I mean, little mice love those. And you know, if it's humid and then it's cold and it's just it's not like it's leaking in there, but it's just not a good environment for that kind of stuff. So mold can grow and all of that.

Heather Fisher 32:44

So yeah, it's not designed to be um the same as the interior rooms of your of your house. So it's just different.

Jodi Rosko 32:52

Yeah. So when you're disposing of things or donating things, um, some of it you you do have to dispose of responsibly, right? So um some of the chemicals and the paint and um if it's oil, paint, and some of those things you have to be careful with. So um and electronics, some of the electronics.

Heather Fisher 33:10

So um you can most cities or counties um somewhere local to you will have some kind of a hazardous waste drop-off. It looks different, different places. Um, some might be a free drop-off, some might be a limited, you know, you can only bring five paint cans at a time. There it there'll be limitations, but cities don't want all of that in the water system either. So there are places and ways to dispose of that. So that's just Googling, you know, hazardous. Yeah, in your county or city, you know, hazardous waste drop-off or hazardous materials drop-off. And um, usually it's a pretty simple process. Drive up in your car and unload it, or someone unloads it for you and it's taken care of, and it's much better for the environment than just throwing it in your regular trash.

Jodi Rosko 34:02

Yeah. I mean, household stuff, the holiday stuff, bikes, all that stuff, they l the donation people love that. So though that kind of stuff can easily be donated. I mean, think about if a person um doesn't have a home or you know needs to fit up their house, um, anything, dishes, you know, sheets, uh furniture, um, upholstered furniture if it has any kind of stains or you know, you can't do that, and bedding beds, not bedding, beds um can be problematic. And if you have bedding that is a little bit frayed, um you can send that to like your humane society or any kind of a pet place um and they give that. And it's stuffed animals too, because some of the um some of the uh donation places don't want to take stuffed animals um but the pet places.

Heather Fisher 34:48

Yeah, animal shelters will use um all of that bedding and towels and things for the cages and for you know, toys and and comfy places for those pets to sleep.

Jodi Rosko 34:59

Yeah. So if you're feeling a little shaky or you know not as strong as you used to be, be careful, don't get on the ladder, you know, get some help. Um there are definitely um people, uh state sale people if you're if you have stuff to sell, or junk people that can clean out, you know, areas, organizers. There's definitely um people that can help businesses that can help you um get that stuff done, and like if you don't have family in the area or your family can't help you with that.

Heather Fisher 35:24

Yeah, and then just be careful. Once you're you're done with that process, just keeping um these spaces clutter-free, especially if you're doing this early, which we always advise getting started on your house early. Um, you want to keep it that way. So when you are ready to move in the future, those big areas are already tackled. So one in, one out rule always.

Jodi Rosko 35:48

New toaster, old toaster donate.

Heather Fisher 35:49

Yes, you got it. Uh seasonal uh a sweep of those areas. I know in the winter our garage gets um, you know, just more cluttered because it's cold outside. We don't want to be out there organizing it. But then spring comes and you're kind of getting out the yard tools more and you're switching, you're tucking the snow shovels away. Um so just seasonally kind of reevaluate, sweep out the leaves and the dust and dirt and make it clean and fresh.

Jodi Rosko 36:18

Yeah. Yeah. Label your bins with dates, um, especially like when I was talking about the paperwork, if it's ready to let that go. Um, so you they just don't outlive their purpose. Um and then, you know, put these, put it into your annual maintenance routine. You know, don't you don't wait until it gets really bad before, you know, you do it. So this was like me as a kid growing up with my room, right? Me too. For sure. Let it get really bad and then it would take me all day long to, you know, you know why it took us all day long because we had too much stuff. Right. I was a collector as a kid. So same, yeah. Same. So don't do that. That's that makes you just it just feels, you know, exhausting. So if you just pick it a little bit at a time, you know, just kind of sweep around it and and look at things that you might not need, or like I said, one in, one out, you can keep it that way.

Heather Fisher 37:12

Yeah, yeah. So um, yeah, once you've cleaned those, you're just gonna have that relief. You'll not be m man mentally managing all of those spaces at all times.

Jodi Rosko 37:24

Yeah, yeah. And especially your garage, I will tell it really is a heavier thing than you think when you pull in there and you just kind of see all that stuff and you're like, what am I doing with all that stuff? You know, you don't think the thought like you don't, you you kind of stop looking at it, but it still passes through your brain without like that that thought. Because when it's clean, it just feels totally different. Like I feel like it's like, you know, when you when you go to the beach all day and you know, and then you take a shower and it just like feels so amazing, like you just kind of rinse off that. Well, that's what it feels like when the whole thing is clean, right?

Heather Fisher 37:57

Yeah, and for many of our listeners, we know the stats from our class on how many people can't park their cars in the garage. So if you get to that point and you've done all this and now you can park, like what an amazing feeling for that square footage you've gained to get your car inside, uh, you know, maybe for the first time in a long time. Yeah. That's amazing.

Jodi Rosko 38:17

Well, and that will help you um with some of the harder things, right? You get the ball rolling, and once you get that ball rolling, you kind of feel that joy about it, and then you can start working on things that might be a little bit harder for you.

Heather Fisher 38:29

Yeah. Um, I know when we tackled um our attic, um, we knew you know we were moving, you know, within the calendar year, and we tackled it months before um we actually put our house on the market and sold and moved, and just knowing it was done, uh there's with the amount of work it took right at that finish line of of selling the house and moving. If we would have not done some of those big spaces ahead of time, I mean, what an emo a relief that that we already had some of that done. So definitely.

Jodi Rosko 39:06

Yeah, I ended up moving a bunch of stuff that because I ran out of time. I got it like probably 80% done, and then I had 20% that I just moved. So that don't do that. That was a bad idea. It was bad. So, you know, get gets just get started on. So this week, pick a micro zone, schedule it, you know, an hour and a half or two hours to do it. If you can get a family member or neighbor to help you pick up heavy things if you need to, and then go celebrate with them. Go get ice cream or go get dinner or whatever afterwards and pat yourself on the back that you started and you know, just get it going.

Heather Fisher 39:38

Always celebrate those wins. And if there's anything that we can help you with, our website, uh downsizingroadmap.com, and uh on the website you can get our free downsizing guide uh and reach out to us if there's any topics or rooms or spaces you want us to cover. We would love to help you.

Jodi Rosko 39:55

Yep, check out the guide, uh downsizingroadmap.com backslash guide.

Heather Fisher 39:59

Yes.

Jodi Rosko 40:00

Talk to you soon.

Heather Fisher 40:01

Thanks for joining us on the Downsizing Roadmap Podcast. If you found this episode helpful, be sure to subscribe, leave us a review, and share it with someone who might need a little downsizing inspiration. Have questions or ideas for future episodes, reach out to us on our website, www.downsizingroadmap.com. Until next time, let's keep simplifying and moving forward.