People choose to use short term storage for a variety of different personal or business reasons. Perhaps you’re a business in the process of moving into a new office or perhaps you are going through some renovations at home.
Short term storage can be easily defined as anything less than 3 months
To help you out in the short-run, we’ve put together some great tips for you below…
1) Plan Ahead Before You Move
Planning is one of the most important steps when it comes to moving into self storage, especially if you are only moving in for a short period of time.
If you are moving to a rented property, you need to decide what you want to store, and what you don’t. Most self storage companies will have a list of items that you aren’t allowed to store as well, so it’s probably worth checking that list out.
It’s also important to plan where you are going to store everything inside your unit. We recommend putting the most important items, or the items you’ll need first at the front of your unit, for easy access.
You should make sure to stack boxes from heaviest to lightest, otherwise all of your valuables will get crushed, which is not part of the plan!
2) Use Quality Packing Materials
If you cheap out on packing supplies, you could end up paying the price.
If your belongings aren’t properly stored, they could get easily damaged, which would be far from ideal.
All the items you are looking to store that are easily breakable should be well wrapped. Things like glass, china, ceramics etc. Bubble wrap is the best option to use, but if you can’t get hold of that, then some newspaper could be just as sufficient.
3) Pack Properly
Packing poorly is one of the biggest mistakes anyone can make when putting their belongings into self storage.
You want to make sure the boxes you are putting into storage are not too heavy. Too much weight can cause damage to your stuff, that can be easily avoided.
Any glass items should be wrapped separately before being placed in your boxes. You don’t want them rattling and banging into each other during transit. It would also be wise to stick a load of “Fragile” stickers on your boxes that need a bit of extra handling care.
Make sure to correctly label all of your boxes before you put them into storage. That way, you’ll be able to easily find what you are looking fore when you come to emptying your unit in a couple of weeks!
4) Prepare Large Appliances
Are you moving into rented accommodation?
You often find many rented properties already come with furniture and various appliances. The question is where are you going to store the appliances you already have? One of the safest options is a secure self storage unit.
Before putting your large appliances into storage, you should take necessary steps to make sure they are stored properly and won’t get damaged.
Make sure to defrost your fridge, and completely drain all the water from it, you don’t want any damp or condensation to get into your storage unit and cause unnecessary damage.
We also suggest you tie down all the doors to your various appliances during transport, to avoid them breaking or hitting into other items.
5) Clean + Prepare Your Furniture
Depending on the size of the storage unit you are renting, you are going to want to use the space you have as efficiently as possible.
Disassemble furniture such as beds and tables before storing. This will allow you to take up less space, and you’ll be able to fit more stuff into your storage unit.
Another suggestion we have is to clean down all the surfaces of the furniture you are putting into storage. There is nothing worse than bringing your furniture out of storage after a few months and remembering you’ll have to clean it.
If you follow these tips, it will make your time in storage easy and stress free, and make your life much easier when it comes to emptying your self storage unit in a couple of months.
