Are you running out of room for storage in your house? It may be time to move some belongings into a self-storage unit for a while. Packing a storage unit may feel like a real life game of Tetris as you try to fit everything in the unit. Luckily, there are some things you can do to make packing a little bit easier. Here are several tips that will help you prepare for using a new storage unit.
Clean All Wood/Leather Furniture
Nobody thinks of cleaning items before they're put into storage, but it's an important step for any items made out of wood or leather. This small step can help protect these things so that they come out of storage in great condition.
Any items made out of wood should be polished prior to putting them into the storage unit. The polish gives the wood an extra layer of protection against dust that will collect on the wood's surface and prevents cracks from forming.
Use plastic wrap to protect the corners of wood items from being scratched when moving the item.
Leather items can benefit from having a leather conditioner applied to them. This will prevent the leather from drying out or absorbing moisture. Since leather items can be expensive, it is worth taking an additional step to protect the material.
You should also place small leather items in cloth bags to prevent the leather from becoming dry. For a leather couch, cover it in a sheet rather than plastic wrap.
Disassemble All Furniture When Possible
A storage unit will be tight for space as you start putting larger items into it. Try disassembling your furniture pieces as much as you can so they take up very little room.
It will help you to keep the hardware from disassembled furniture organized. Place screws and bolts into labeled plastic bags for each item. It will make it much easier to find the parts when it comes time to remove the item.
Use Every Drawer for Additional Storage
Dressers will be hard to take apart before putting them into storage. However, you can utilize that useful storage space in the drawers. Empty the drawers at once to make it easy to carry to the storage unit, but once it is inside, be sure to load up the drawers with anything that you can.
Plan ahead with what you want to put in each drawer based on the size. You may have better luck storing old clothing in these drawers since they will easily fit in any size drawer.
Pack the Unit Properly
Your goal will most likely be to fit all of your stuff into the smallest storage unit possible to save money. The way items go in is not always about cramming things into every area until you can no longer fit anything else.
Consider how frequently you will need to remove certain items once they are in storage. For instance, large appliances and furniture will most likely stay in the storage unit for a long time. Smaller boxes may need to be opened periodically to get specific items out. That is why those large items should go near the back and the small items should be near the door.
Leave Refrigerator Doors Open
You may not have considered how your refrigerator must be stored one it is in a storage unit. The door should be propped open to let air circulation occur inside the refrigerator. If not, you may discover a strong odor in the refrigerator when you finally open the door again.
Oakdale Self Storage can assist with questions about how to effectively use your storage unit.​