It is no easy task When you have to pack or move your belongings into long term storage. You may need to do this if you are moving to a new home, relocating your business, or just storing away extra items. If you don’t have a strategy, the task can become overwhelming and stressful for you. However, there are good storage tips that can help make this process go a lot smoother.
Here are some of our best long term storage tips that will make this a more pleasant process.
1) Get your packing materials ready
Before you move anything, you should gather the packing supplies that you will need. These may include storage boxes of various sizes, bubble wrap, newspaper or tissue paper, marker pens, packing tape, dust sheets and protective coverings. You may need a few wooden crates if you have items that are fragile or particularly large. Do not use plastic bags because they can trap dampness and harbour mildew. Sometimes you can get moving boxes free of charge, which is good if you have a tight budget. Or you can purchase packing materials from M4 Selfstore Box Shop
2) Plan your move a few weeks in advance
Regardless of the type of move you are planning, you should pick a moving date a few weeks in advance so you will have more options in reserving a moving van and storage unit. If you have a big move and require people to help you, you can ask your friends if they are available on that day or hire a removal team for that day. Planning this in advance will ensure that you will have help on your moving day.
3) Take inventory of your belongings
During the process of packing your belongings, create an inventory of what you are putting into storage so you can keep track of your items. If anything goes missing during the move, you will know right away.
4) Declutter things you no longer need
Do some decluttering before you pack. That way, you will not be storing anything that you don’t want to keep and will reduce the number of things going into storage. A good strategy of decluttering is to divide your items into three groups: one group to keep, one group to discard, and one group to donate. This approach works for your home and for your business.
5) Do not pack hazardous materials
Storage facilities usually will not allow dangerous items. Check with the storage facility about what you can and cannot store before you pack.
6) Know what size boxes you will need
Review what you need to pack and determine what sizes of boxes you will get. Large items will require big boxes, and smaller items will require small boxes. If you still have the original boxes for some items, you can pack those into their respective boxes.
7) Pack lighter items on top of heavier items
A good rule of thumb is to pack heavier things at the bottom of the box. Try to match the box size to the item size so things will not move around too much inside the box. Do not pack soft items at the bottom because these can get crushed by the heavier items on top.
8) Use bubble wrap to protect fragile objects
Fragile things should be fully protected with bubble wrap to keep them from damage. Place fragile items in the box and fill in the gaps with as much packing material as possible. Biodegradable packing peanuts are versatile and good for the environment. You can also stuff the gaps with scrunched up tissue paper or newspaper to stabilise the items inside the box.
9) Disassemble furniture when possible
Bulky furniture like a bed or a chest of drawers can be difficult to move because of their size. If you can disassemble them, it would make moving them much easier. When you dismantle the furniture, wrap each piece with bubble wrap and label each piece clearly so you can identify the pieces that go together. This will make reassembling the furniture much easier. Small parts like fasteners, screws, nuts and bolts should be placed in a clear bag with zipper closure, labelled, and taped to the larger piece of the furniture. This will help you put the furniture back together with more efficiency.
For a free storage quote on the amount of personal items into storage please see the M4 Selfstore website.
