Storage, Tip and Tricks!
If you’ve already booked a storage unit, you need to double check that your belongings will fit before you start packing the storage unit. You don’t want to start packing and organizing your storage unit only to return home with half your belongings when they don’t fit.
Create a list of how much furniture you’ll be packing in your storage unit, plus a rough estimate of the number of boxes and other items that you’ll need to make fit. Consider how much space these items will take up, and then compare it to the space available. Will it all fit, or do you need to prioritize and get rid of some things. Remember, you can fit a lot in when packing and organizing a storage unit, you just have to plan well.
Before deciding how to pack your storage unit, make sure it’s clean and free of damage, it should be, but if not, just let us know. Examine the unit’s walls and roof for cracks, sharp edges, and leaks. Then, sweep the floor. If you want to be extra cautious, scrub the walls and floor with soap or a disinfectant. You may want to lay a tarp or wooden pallets on the ground to help protect your belongings from weather and pests.
If you store something while it’s dirty, you have the potential to attract bug and rodents, everything and everyone needs to eat, save yourself problems, clean, clean clean. Before you decide how to pack and organize your storage unit, don’t forget to scrub, wash, and dust your belongings. Here are a few tasks to keep in mind:
A. Wash clothes and remove any stains
B. Wipe down and wax wood furniture
C. Clean leather furniture with a leather cleaner or gentle soap
D. Scrub fabric-covered furniture with antibacterial cleaner and let it dry fully
E. Wipe the inside and outside of appliances, and if applicable, run a final wash cycle with bleach or vinegar
Before your belongings get lost forever in a sea of boxes, write down a list of what’s going into the storage unit. With your inventory list in hand, you won’t have to spend hours trying to remember if your favourite winter sweater is hiding in your closet or packed away in your storage unit. Before you decide how to pack and organize your storage unit, write down what’s being moved and include the details below on that inventory list.
A. Photos of serial numbers, model numbers, and brand logos, when applicable
B. A brief description of the item, including if there is any damage pre-move
C. For expensive items, their relative monetary value
D. How and where you packed the item (in a box, storage bin, or something else)
E. The name and location of the storage unit facility
5. Tips
The tips below will help you protect everything from your flat-screen TV to your winter coat.
Take extra care as you pack your furniture for storage. A good rule of thumb is to avoid plastic packing materials (unless you’re using bubble wrap for a lamp or picture frame) since it can suffocate the furniture and lead to mildew. Instead, drape furniture loosely with quilts, drop cloths, or old sheets.
When packing appliances for storage, drain any remaining liquid from the appliance, remove glass shelves or fragile pieces (to be packed separately), and do not plug the appliance in once it’s in your unit. You can place baking soda inside the appliance and prop the door open once the appliance has been moved into the unit.
When deciding how to pack a storage unit, pay special attention to your electronics. Storing them in their original packing supplies, read the manufactures recommendations on storing electronic items.
The best way to pack clothing for a storage unit is to use plastic containers with clip-on lids. This will protect clothes from dust, mildew, and moisture. You should also pack cedar balls with your clothes to prevent damage from moths and to ward off musty odours.
Now that you know how to pack for a storage unit, you need to know how to organize a storage unit. There are multiple ways to keep your storage unit organized, so choose the methods that are the best fit for your needs.
Remember the inventory list from earlier? Take a look at it again and highlight those items you think you’ll need most often from your storage unit.
If you want to have any hope of finding what you’re looking for in your storage unit, you’re going to need labels. For example, labels like “kitchen” are not very specific. You could easily end up with four or five different kitchen boxes and never be able to find the cookie cutters you need. Instead, label boxes with a simple list of contents: instead of “kitchen,” write “cookie cutters, pancake griddle, measuring cups, mixing bowls.”
Articles and information gathered from the experts in the storage industry and around the internet, there may be different and better solutions for what you may be storing.