Love your attic stories, @amyb !
After my most recent purging, I decided a little re-organization was in order. Having a "rotation" of decor is important to me-- I love design, and vignettes, and I get bored with how things look after a while...
So, unlike some purgers, I do keep some "extras" in storage to swap out. Mostly ceramics ( vases)-- I'm insane about vintage pottery-- but a little glass too, including my small milk glass collection, and brass etc.
Had two separate shelf units in basement. One, is a handsome metal one, the other, a dilapidated small wood bookshelf.
I decided I want just the larger metal one in basememt for my rotation of vases and decorative bowls. It'll also keep me from acquiring too much more, since it's a finite amount of storage.
I have a few other "stash" places around the house, like part of the front closet, and two overflow bins. One of those bins, which I keep in the attic, holds decor that is in limbo-- it MIGHT be kept for future use, it might be given to loved ones, or it might just be donated. But it's a "cleaner" feeling for me to have it labeled, and stored out of sight.
In Cas, the 'Clutterbug''s school of de-cluttering, I'm a Ladybug-- I like a relatively "clean" decor system, most definitely not minimal-- but I like to keep the overflow behind closed doors or otherwise out of sight, where it's not causing visual "overload".