For items that are highly sensitive to moisture like clothes, photos, books, and more, cardboard boxes might not be the best storage solution since cardboard can absorb moisture over time. Airtight plastic containers will keep moisture out and provide you with a lasting storage solution for practically any use.
If you want to keep your belongings in great condition while in self storage, make sure you put them into storage in great condition. Wood, leather, and upholstered furniture—as well as clothes and appliances—shouldn’t be put into storage without a thorough cleaning first.
Make sure that you take the proper precautions with fragile items. Use bubble wrap and label boxes containing fragile items to make sure they’re handled and stored appropriately in the storage unit.
When you move your belongings into storage, they’ll need to be covered by insurance. This can be through your homeowners or renters insurance or through self storage insurance offered at the storage facility.
This one is pretty simple. Stacking fragile items on top of other items or boxes makes them more likely to fall and break. And storing heavy items higher up will result in boxes underneath giving out and heavy items falling.
Though fragile items shouldn’t be stacked high, using the height of a storage unit will help maximize your space. Though a storage unit as small as a 5×5 has only 25 square feet of storage space, it has 200 cubic feet to work with.
Storing shelves, a dresser, or other items used for storage at home? Put those items to work to help maximize the space in your storage unit! Even something like a garbage bin can be used to store items. Don’t let hollow space go to waste!
This one isn’t necessary if you don’t plan to take items in and out of self storage regularly, but especially when using a larger storage unit like a 10×20 or bigger, leaving a small walkway to be able to access items throughout your storage unit can save you a ton of trouble down the road.
Using wooden pallets to raise your items off the concrete floor helps keep air flowing throughout the storage unit. This is a great way to avoid moisture buildup that items sitting directly on the floor can experience.
Know you’ll need something sooner than later? Make sure these types of items are kept near the front of your storage unit so that taking them in and out is as convenient as possible.