It seems to be inescapable in the 21st century - we've got clutter and stuff everywhere! Let's face it, the mashup of our desire for the ideal lifestyle and the reality of how busy we are in actual life, is just a recipe for an accumulation of too many things that need to be managed. Could the humble storage shed really be the answer and not just fuel the problem?

These suggestions of how mini-storage can facilitate a low stress declutter might surprise you! It’s not just about getting hold of more space. It's about making a myriad of decluttering methods achievable. It’s about alleviating the main physical and emotional barriers to downsizing - like the fear of “what if I get rid of the wrong things”.

Let's start with one, nicely integrated approach. Marie Kondo has written a best-selling book “The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up”. Marie is one of those enviable people with a beautifully ordered house who offers her experiences for our learning. She has achieved a sort of nirvana level of semi-minimalism where even the way she displays her items is enjoyable to the eye.

A key premise is to review the items you own, category by category, in order to identify which ones bring you joy and which don't. Though a little over simplified, why hang onto something that doesn’t spark some joy in you or can’t be organised, arranged or displayed to bring you joy? So keep the joy givers. Jetison the rest.

As you begin to sort, Kondo also recommends you tidy by category not by room. The idea being, if you tidy by room, you end up shifting a lot of stuff from room to room, rather than dealing with it! So for example, deal with every item of clothing in the whole house, not just in one room. And clothing is a good place to start as it tends to be less emotionally charged than something like old photographs. In other words, try to group things together and then sort what to keep, not go room by room.

For some this is direction enough. Actions are obvious and efforts are well rewarded. But others face a number of paralysing problems.

Our first and perhaps biggest declutter buster is that things aren't always that black and white. Many will fear ditching an item that could bring joy again in future.

So why not try using a more achievable 3 rule system:

• Rule 1: keep things that definitely spark joy now
• Rule 2: ditch things that you're confident no longer bring you joy
• Rule 3: temporarily remove those items that you're not sure about but aren't ready to part with just yet.

Adding rule three's clever 'temporarily remove' middle-ground is a useful tool to reduce stress and help you achieve your de-clutter goals. It removes a barrier to progress. And it’s where a mini-storage shed or storage garage can really come into its own. You see, to make rule 3 effective, and not just a cop out, it needs one more clause. Rule 3 items have to leave the house - safely sent to your mini storage shed - and can only return when (if?) you end up deciding they really do bring you joy. And a periodic give away of items that you haven’t needed or missed, in say 6 or 12 months, will keep your local storage shed functioning as a valuable sorting space.

The second great barrier to achieving a house that is free of clutter is that sometimes things get so out of control that just laying your hands on all the 'stuff' you have in a particular category, in order to make critical ‘joy or not’ decisions, can be next to impossible. When you're overloaded with clutter, you don't have any sorting space.

Once again, gaining room to move in the form of a local Albury storage garage can provide a break through. Start by removing all the items in a particular category to your mini shed. If you can, choose a category that won't be missed. For example, if it’s winter, collect everything ‘summer sports’ related (swimming, surfing, tennis, camping, kite flying, seed propogating, etc.) and move it to your shed. The only real decision is which category to start with.

Once your home is emptied of that category, you will probably find you have enough clear space to start sorting. If not, just move another category to the mini shed. And the feeling of having started will spur you on.

Once your home is sufficiently de-cluttered, what you should have is an environment containing only items that bring joy. You can then work out, from what's stored, the items you want to bring back to complete the picture of only having items that bring you joy.

And the third major blocker to achieving a beautiful, welcoming minimalist space, to live a joyful life within, is that the average Aussie home has essential things that are both infrequently used and would not be worth arranging as a display.

We're talking camping gear used once a year in Spring, the collection of boating and water toys that really only need to surface in summer, the bundle of snow skis, toboggans, snow tyres and chains that only needs to be handy in winter. I’m sure you get the idea.

So once you’ve used your local Albury storage shed to help sort and declutter, why not continue to put it to good use housing all your ‘off season’ gear. Imagine the sense of light airy freedom your home will take on without being encumbered with all those items that you won’t really need again for many months.

So why live with clutter when you can enjoy so much more. Anyone can start their declutter by using these handy mini storage shed ideas. You probably don’t actually need a bigger house - just declutter - it’s far cheaper and easier. And how beautiful it will be when your home surrounds you only with things you love and that bring you most joy.