From somewhere out of the blue comes a call from your parents telling you they have decided to downsize. At first you might wonder what that has to do with you. But then, they drop the bombshell. You have to come get your stuff out of "your" room, their basement and their attic.

Now that's a kicker. Where are you going to put that stuff? Why didn't they consult with you first? Why do they have to downsize right now? Help!

Help is available in the form of a self storage unit. Look for a facility in your area on Affordable Moves, call up a few places and talk with the professionals to get guidance on the size unit you need and the options you have. If your budget is tight, you may quickly discover that you don't need some of those things that have been gathering dust in your parent's basement.

Since this may be a sudden, life disrupting situation for you, you may find that you need to rent a unit, remove everything that's yours from your parent's house, store it and return to sort though it at a more convenient time. Events such as this have a way of occurring at some of the most inconvenient times.

At your leisure, go back to the storage unit, box up the items you really want to keep and sell or donate the remaining items. After you do this, you may be able to move your things to a smaller unit with lower rent. You can get the supplies you need such as sturdy boxes, packing material, labels, and tape at the storage facility. When you repack the items you are keeping, pack them carefully, label the boxes and store them in an organized way.

Once you get beyond the initial shock of having to remove your belongings from your parent's house and have the things you want to keep stored neatly in a storage unit, you may feel an exhilarating since of independence.