Storage Tips

If you mark what type of items or specify the room contents on the outside of the box, it will save you from digging through all your boxes when you need to find something. For example, simply marking “kitchenware” or “photography equipment” on the outside of your boxes will help you know directly where to go when you need to find a specific item.

Take a moment to assess which things you use most and will potentially need to access in the near future. Keep those items at the front by the door, and you won’t have to crawl over all your stuff to find the things you need.

Of all the suggestions, this one is probably the most ingenious. As you fill your unit, draw a sketch of where boxes and items are stored to reference when you need them in the future.

Using shelves in Storage is a great way to maximize the efficiency of the space you have while keeping your stuff organized and easy to access. Make sure you determine what size of unit you will need by using a “storage size estimator” and then fully utilize the space you have by neatly stacking it with shelf-units. 

Being organized is one of the most efficient ways to save time and energy, but also to avoid the headaches that come with using self-storage. If you have any questions about what type of storage you might need, call us or send us a message.

If you want to avoid the heat as much as possible, try not to move during the heat of the day and aim for the early morning or in the evening. Not only are the UV rays strongest from 11 am to 3 pm, but this time frame is also a 10 degree or more difference than the early hours of the day. The little bit of difference in temperature will make a world of difference.

If you’re moving during the hot summer months, make sure you switch on the air conditioning before you move and make this a top priority. Keep the AC on at the house you’re packing up or the house you’re unloading. Another tip is to keep your car on and the AC blaring so you can take breaks during your move into or out of your storage shed. The sweltering heat is awful, and it’ll be hard to focus on tasks at hand if you’re hot and miserable.

Staying hydrated is important, especially if you’re lifting boxes and heavy objects. If you’re not replenishing your body with enough H20, you could experience some awful symptoms of dehydration. Make sure you bring an ice cooler of bottled water for yourself and anyone else that may be assisting your move.

A wet towel around your neck allows your brain to ‘think’ it’s cooled off. If there is any breeze, this will help cool you down after the water drips down your back and wets your shirt.

Bring portable fans, apply sunscreen, wear loose, light fitting clothes, and be aware of over-heating your systems.

If you need help with your move this summer, contact a local professional moving company. They can make it easier to pack things up or get things settled. Good luck and stay cool out there! 

Keep, discard, and donate. If you’re going to clean, it only makes sense to get rid of things that you no longer need as you go. Donating items is a great way to help other people instead of just taking it to the local solid waste.

Bring some type of cleaning spray, a rag, and maybe a broom! Make it a habit that every time you access your unit, you do a quick wipe down to make sure things are remaining in good shape, and you’re not allowing them to build up over time.

Get industrial plastic wrap and wrap whatever you can. This way, you know things are sealed up tight and won’t collect dust or creepy crawlies.

Honestly, this was one of the greatest ideas I read long ago and used it when I rented a standard unit. Keeping your items off the floor is almost essential. This keeps melting snow or spills from an adjacent unit from soaking in and ruining your heirloom sofa.

If you’re ever in a hurry to find something, chances are you pull boxes apart until you eventually find your item. Then you have to run, and you don’t have the time to pack everything back up, so you know you’re going to come back to a mess. It’s smart to label everything. Label the hidden and the obvious. It saves time and prevents making too much of a mess.

Three words. Soggy cardboard boxes. Rain, moisture, and even humidity can cause your boxes to sog and bottoms to rip out. Clothes and items inside of cardboard boxes have a greater chance of getting ruined, sour, and even growing mold than those items would in a plastic box.

Bringing food into your storage unit is just asking for ants, rats, and all kinds of creepy pests. It also can cause things to stink. So just don’t do it.

You can buy a 1.5-gallon container of bug spray for $12 at Lowes. It would be smart to keep this in your unit, and on each visit, you can just spray the perimeter to create that barrier so bugs will stay out of your unit.

• Gasses/Toxins—aerosol cans, gasoline, propane tanks, paint, car batteries, pesticides, hairspray, etc.
• Candles and Scented Items—the smell will permeate boxes and plastic and seep into cloth. It will never leave. Also, there is nothing that will attract bugs faster than scents or liquid.
• Ammunition/Explosives—it’s illegal to store ammunition and explosives in most states. Units can become dangerously hot and, well, gunpowder and heat aren’t friends.
• Food/Liquid—don’t even risk it. Even canned food can bloat in storage over time, and if something should burst, you will be overrun with rodents and mold.

• Artwork—beware humidity and temperature change. It can cause canvas sagging, paint cracking, frame distortion, sunspots, and more.
• Glass/Breakables—extreme temperature changes can weaken and break glass and even porcelain. 
• Wool/Clothing/Carpets—sunlight can fade color, and humidity will cause molding.
• Books/Documents—heat and humidity are the danger with books and documents. If exposed to either, the paper’s shape will distort and its print will fade. 
• Electronics—temperature and humidity will ruin electronic wiring and batteries and will increase the likeliness of oxidation. 
• Wood—humidity will bend, expand, bubble, and decay wood furniture.
• Leather—extreme temperatures will crack leather and also fade the color.
• Coins—if you collect coins, know that humidity will cause oxidation of the zinc or copper metals. Any collectible items should be kept in a climate-controlled atmosphere.
• Musical Instruments—you MUST keep instruments in climate-controlled units. If you don’t, wind instrument strings snap or lose their ability to be tuned. Metal instruments will corrode and build bacteria as the rubber, cork, and felt decay.
• Photos—nothing will ruin pictures faster than throwing them in a box in a hot unit. Prints will stick together and bubble. If it is humid in the unit, they will also bend.