Congratulations! Be careful! You’ve decided to dip your toes in the waters of digital nomadism and a life of intrepidation, transformation and transience awaits. For better and for worse, we might add.
Because the life of a digital nomad isn’t all liquid lunches, poolside emailing and spending more time on your tanline than your deadlines.
And as much as the romantic notion of digital nomadism depicts heading off into the world with nothing more than a laptop and a sense of adventure, the prep, planning and admin involved is actually pretty complex if you’re to do this thing right.
Perhaps the most important preparatory step concerns the life you lead behind when you set off to travel the world. Leading a life as a digital nomad is all about minimalism; you can’t travel the world with all your worldly possessions, after all. However one of the biggest challenges is figuring out what to do with all of the things you’re leaving behind. We’re here to help with that; here’s a short guide on how and where to store your belongings as a digital nomad.
Take Stock Of Your Belongings
First things first, before you consider where to store all your belongings, consider both the value of your items and their utility.
If you’re already considering hiring a self storage unit (more on that later), ask yourself if you might end up paying more for a long-term storage unit than your things are worth? If it’s cheaper to sell your old items before your trip and buy new ones later when you return, rather than putting them in storage, then that’s something well worth considering.
Life as a digital nomad offers a sense of liberation and now could well be the time to liberate yourself of your belongings. Which brings us to our next point…
Sell & Give Away
The nature of work as a digital nomad is unpredictable and unreliable, and income is rarely steady. Getting into debt can sharply and suddenly spell the end of this lifestyle, and it’s something you” have to avoid if you want longevity in this new life of yours. Selling your surplus items and putting the money in an emergency fund account is a way to kill two birds with one stone, in a sense; you don’t have to pay for excessive storage and you have a backup bank account if/when things go wrong.
Alternatively, you could invest your money in technology that will make your life as a digital nomad more comfortable and your work more efficient.
Make Use Of Your Family’s Attic & Basements
Sorry mums and dads, but we understand that it’s super hard to get rid of all of your belongings before your adventure. As Inc explains, “The objects you struggle to get rid of are likely tied to your self-worth, according to a 2011 study published in the Journal of Consumer Psychology. Rather than viewing those objects as “mine,” you may think of them as “me.”’’
This leads to a level of attachment disproportionate to the worth of the item involved. But if you’re attached to your belongings (like most of us are), then consider asking your close relatives if they have space to store things for you.
If you’re storing things in an attic, then there are two factors you should consider – temperature and humidity. Indeed, attics are exposed to extreme temperature fluctuations and humidity levels, so be sure to pack your items into plastic boxes with snug-fitting lids to prevent damage.
Read: How to manage your finances better as a digital nomad
A Storage Unit Can Make Sense
If we’ve worried you about those heat and humidity levels damaging your belongings, self-storage might be a useful option for larger items. Be assured that self storage offers more security than storing stuff in your parent’s attic or basement. By accessing a dedicated facility, you’ll have peace of mind when you’re travelling so you can fully embrace life as a digital nomad. You also won’t have to travel with that nagging concern that all your stuff is irritating your folks, either.
As mentioned before, the life of a digital nomad can be unpredictable and you may not know exactly how long you’ll be away for (if you bought a return ticket, are you even a digital nomad?). Most storage providers offer a heavily discounted introductory discount (50% of x amount of weeks). If you know how long you’re going to be away for, say, a year, then take advantage of long stay discounts offered by storage providers.
Ask Your Friends To Babysit
Perhaps you have a friend who loves plants and can actually keep them alive? Ask if they would be able to look after your plants. Or, maybe you have a friend who has just moved into a new flat that’s unfurnished or has bought a new house – perhaps they’d like to use your furniture for a while? It can be pretty costly to outfit a new home right away so you may be doing them a favour.
Maybe your buddy is an aspiring chef, and would love access to your treasure trove of old cookery books? Hey, this thing writes itself! We wish it did actually, then we could clock off for the day…
Digitise What You Can
Before you start boxing up your life, consider which of your belongings can be converted into digital format. Those photo albums gathering dust? Scan them. That collection of important documents, receipts, and warranties? Create a secure cloud backup. Your DVD and book collections? Many can be accessed through streaming services or e-readers for a fraction of the storage space and weight.
This isn’t just about reducing physical clutter – it’s about making your memories and important information accessible from anywhere in the world. Services like Dropbox, Google Drive, or external hard drives can store decades worth of photos, documents, and media in something that fits in your pocket. Plus, digitising reduces the risk of losing irreplaceable items to fire, flood, or simply misplacing boxes during moves. The initial time investment pays dividends when you’re halfway across the world and need to access that insurance document or want to show new friends those embarrassing childhood photos.
Create An Inventory System
Here’s something most digital nomad guides won’t tell you: you’ll forget what you stored and where you stored it. Six months into your travels, you’ll have a nagging feeling about that winter coat or wonder if you kept those hiking boots or sold them.
Create a detailed inventory of everything you’re storing, complete with photos and locations. Use a simple spreadsheet or apps like Sortly or MyStuff2 to catalogue your belongings. Note where each item is stored (Mum’s attic, storage unit B, friend Sarah’s garage), its approximate value, and when you might need it again. This isn’t just organisational busywork—it’s practical insurance documentation if anything goes wrong, and it helps you make smarter decisions about whether to keep paying for storage or finally let go of that bread maker you haven’t used since 2019.
Can You Sublet Your Flat?
If you own your home, great! Move on, there’s nothing to see here. You can rent your house out furnished and store big items like furniture there.
However, if you’re currently renting, you may be able to sublet your home with your landlord’s written permission, solving the storage problem in a single, simple swoop. Do be warned that if you sublet your home without permission, you are likely in breach of your tenancy agreement.
This is a bit of a murky area. Citizens Advice explains “You can’t lawfully sublet all of your home. If you do, you lose your status as a secure tenant and your landlord can evict you.”. In short, it’s not worth the risk, but if your landlord agrees to the process, then you won’t need to worry about storage while on your travels.
Check your tenancy agreement, speak to your landlord, and see if you can sublet your flat.
