Cut the Clutter, Cut the CO$T

We keep talking about how you need to organize your stuff and start a catalogue. You’ve probably heard it a hundred times. But, what about the stuff that you don’t want to organize? The stuff that is old, broken, damaged, indistinct? The things that don’t have memorabilia value. These are things that aren’t as important as your iconic costumes, Grammys or records. These are the everyday things that might be left over from a tour that are still sitting in storage, or old clothing that is no longer worn. It may not seem to be taking up that much space, but remember you are still paying to hold onto it, especially if it’s in a storage facility where you are probably paying rent by the square foot.

Since it's officially 2018 and we're all set on New Year's resolutions, we’re helping you start the New Year out right by cutting out the clutter. Where to start? We’re thinking your storage facility because you are paying to store things there, so let’s cut the clutter and the cost.

But remember this is also NOT a quick fix or an easy project. It takes time and patience, just like cataloguing your collection. We think it’s best to break your things up into categories. Below are a couple suggestions to get you started.

Things to KEEP - Your gear. Your memorabilia (see below). Basically anything of value that you honestly think has importance and you may want to use again. Keep ALL of that.

Things to CATALOGUE - All your costumes, awards, records, historical photos, documents, papers, film, footage, smaller set pieces, or specialty items. Basically anything that is interesting, memorable, or important to you or your career. Catalogue ALL that stuff.

Things to TOSS - If you find pieces that are broken, permanently damaged, have no use, are old, or taking up a lot of square footage and will never be used again (ie…an old set piece) - toss them. Damaged items can go to the garbage, but if you have broken computers that have material on them, make sure they are wiped clean before they get disposed of at a speciality waste drop. Sadly custom set pieces often go in the garbage as well because it’s hard to find them a new home. It can happen, but it takes a lot of time and usually the size of these pieces makes that prohibitive. Another option is to have large set pieces picked up for the metal. You may make some money in the deal, or break even with the cost of the trucks, but in the end you will be saving money because you will reduce the square footage of the storage space you are paying for.

Things to SELL / NEW HOME - As we said, set pieces can be sold or given a new home, but this takes a lot of time to implement, especially if you are spending a lot of money to store these items on a monthly or annual basis. The benefit of selling may outweigh the cost (literally). If you aren’t going to wear old clothing, it’s in good condition, and it is still valuable, you should try to sell it online. There are so many online resale and clothing consignment sites that make it easy to sell and ship from wherever you are (usually domestic shipping only).

Things to DONATE - You may find things that are in good condition, but you still don’t want to keep them. This often includes items from tour that are technically of use, but are “throw away” pieces, or won’t be in good condition by the time the next tour rolls around. You could have a garage sale, but this is often a lot of work for the financial rewards, so we suggest you donate. It’s easy to schedule a Good Will pickup to come to your location. And don’t forget to get a donation slip, and to take pictures to coincide with the documentation.

These simple steps can help you drastically reduce clutter, and storage fees in the process. We hope this can help get you started!

Until next month!

Your Friends

@ My ARTIST ARCHIVE

P.S... Have questions? Wanna hear more about our services or speak to someone regarding scheduling an appointment. Send us an email @ info@myartistarchive.com or fill out the form on our CONTACT page!

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