Seasonal decorations, games, toys and seasonal clothes are just a few things that can be safely stowed away in storage totes, when they aren't being used. Some of these items will be stuffed into a closet and forgotten until next year, but what if there is something in one of the totes that you need? That's why it's a good idea to use handy stackable totes, which you can label, so you know exactly where everything is.
Plastic storage bins are much superior to the old means of storage, which mainly consisted of big old cardboard boxes. Plastic is more durable and will not allow moisture to get to your belongings. When you are storing things for long periods of time, you need to keep them dry. This is even more important if you store things in an attic or a basement. Mold can be grown with only a little moisture, and if you have items that get wet, they may not ever be usable again.
When you prepare a storage tote for use over the long term, you may be tempted to use your mother's storage helpers, mothballs. Over a period of time, mothballs emit chemicals in low levels that are deadly to larvae and insects. But this only occurs if your container is airtight. You may have clothes you can't use any more because they will smell like mothballs. Airtight storage totes are more worthwhile than mothballs, since pests won't be able to infest these containers.
If you have children, and you plan on having more, you may want to put away some of your older children's clothes to be used in the future as hand-me-downs. If there are items that are already well-worn, you might want to consider donating them, and only saving the best clothes that you have, that still have lots of wear in them.
Storage bins are a handy alternative to stuffing things away in boxes until they are needed again. You'll want to organize the space you have available for storage, and determine what you will store and what you will want to get rid of.
You can put items aside for charity donations, basically those clothes that don't have quite as much life remaining. There will also be some things that you just “toss”, even though you might be tempted to keep everything. As far as important papers go, you'll want to keep them as long as they are needed for tax purposes, but you probably don't need to save 20-year old paperwork that you haven't seen since it was stored. Seasonal clothes can be pulled from closets and dressers so that it's easier for you to find good outfits from the clothes that remain.
Keep your children's old remembrances and photos in their own special box, because there will be years in the future when they will want to see them. If you have an extra room, use it for organizing all your storage bins. Create storage totes for each room, too, so that when you pull them out, you'll know right where the contents will belong.