Storage Tips

Clean and Protect What You are Storing

Cleaning and ensuring you protect your things while in storage is one of the basic tenants of successful storage experience. Clean items such as fridges, freezers and washing machines to ensure that they are free of water and lessen the need to re-clean them when they come out of storage. Cleaning and vacuuming couches, lounges, armchairs and outdoor furniture before storage is always a good idea to keep items looking and feeling new and fresh. Once these are clean, place them in purpose made lounge and sofa covers to ensure that they are protected from dust. This will also have the advantage of keeping all the cushions are in one place.

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What should be boxed?

Storage requires you to maximise your height which means that you generally use less floor space, making the storage space cheaper. Typically packing boxes will be made to stack to the height of the self-storage unit without losing their structural integrity, because they are uniform in size. Plastic boxes usually have 4 wheels on them which, when stacked on top of each other create a “point load” which means that all the weight of the plastic container and those above it are being focussed on those wheels. The result is generally the plastic lids breaking or cracking and the container having a shorter lifespan, spilling its contents. Cardboard packing boxes are also better for the environment as they can be recycled later on.

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Label Your Boxes

When using cardboard packing boxes in the generally accepted method of storing loose items, there is nothing more frustrating than coming back to your storage unit after 6 months looking for an item you know you have but cannot remember which box it is in. Labelling your boxes clearly is key to finding specific items. Use a good quality marking pen and follow the naming convention outlined below:

Room: Kitchen
Items: 2nd drawer utility items
Box Number: 2 of 6

This provides an easy reference for you to remember where the item was in the house and therefore its likelihood of being in this particular box. Another tip is to have one box – some call it a safe box – that has key items like the remote controls, keys to various items or items that would be hard to replace if lost; i.e. the bolts to the bed frame! Keep this box towards the front of your self-storage unit and it will allow you to access these things without having to open box after box looking for these key items.

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Packing Large Furniture

Whenever possible, disassemble larger items such as beds, cots, outdoor furniture and modular lounges to ensure that you have the best chance of finding the best way to store them.

• Keep your mattresses straight up and down and lock them in with another heavy piece of furniture so that they don’t get a “s” in them over time. Make sure you have placed the mattress in a protective cover.

• If you have wardrobes then the best thing to do is to move these into the storage unit empty and then fill them with boxes so that you’re not storing “hollow space”.

• Fridge and freezers can generally have their doors left ajar (wedge some cardboard in between if you need to) to promote airflow and prevent it from smelling musty.
   

Plan the Packing

As you are starting to fill up the storage space, take the time to think about where the items are going. Storage will always be a trade off between packing the unit to maximum efficiency and being able to retrieve items from time to time. Try and place the items you think you might need, such as the filing cabinet or camping equipment, closer to the front of the unit in case you need to get to them.

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Review What Can and Cannot be Stored

Sounds simple right? However, there are some things that just cannot be stored. The basic rule of thumb for self-storage is if you can’t take it on a plane, then you can’t store it. Things such as gas, paint, thinners, and flammable items like lighters and matches,  while fairly common to be stored at home cannot be stored in self storage. These, along with items like fertilisers, fireworks, chemicals and compressed gas cylinders including BBQ and SCUBA Diving tanks cannot be stored either. Other general items such as perishable foods, medicine and plants don’t do well in storage either and should not be stored.

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Protect Your Things

As mentioned above you should protect your larger items by using purpose made protectors and drop sheets but many people overlook the things that are in a box. The use of “mothballs” or naphthalene flakes is a great low cost way to eliminate any insects or rodents that may have already been on or in your things as you were packing them inside the box. A quick sprinkle of these on the inside of each box before packing and sealing will mean your goods are free of any potential problems from the get go.

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Prepared and Ready to Go?

Grassie Self Storage Solutions is always ready serve you. Call today for pricing and availability.