7 tips and tricks for organising your self storage unit
26th May '17 • By Andrew Eastwood
Here's a few things we've learned in our adventures of self storage, all of which, you should familiarise yourself with before renting a storage unit.
Over the years Adelaide’s self storage experts at U-Store-It have helped thousands of tenants store their possessions in self storage units, because sometimes you just need more space! Whether you’re moving house, renovating, de-cluttering your home, storing business records or just re-claiming that spare room, there's lots of reasons to rent a storage unit. But, there's also lots of tips and tricks to pick up along the way that some self storage providers might forget to mention at the front desk when you sign up!
1. Pallets, Pallets, Pallets
Keeping your items off the floor is almost essential. It might sound silly, but before renting your unit, there's no way to guarantee that torrential rain won't come under the door, or the adjacent unit won't have a spill that soaks its way into your antique sofa.
2. Wrap What You Can
Each time a new customer requests the use of a storage unit, we recommend they wrap what they can in industrial plastic wrap. That way, we know that things are sealed up tight and it won't collect dust or creepy crawlies while your worldly possessions are doing time in storage. Professional packing materials are worth their weight in gold!
3. Use A Hefty Small Lock
Although most units have security in them, that doesn't mean they're 100% foolproof. Find an all-weather padlock that has a short arm to ensure a bolt cutter can't slide it's way in to be sliced open!
4. Label, Label, Label
Even though you know exactly what you're putting in your storage unit at the time you open it, that doesn't mean in 6 months when you need back in it that you won't be digging for an eternity and opening random boxes until you find what you're after. Label everything. The hidden, the obvious, and everything in between. You can even go as far as to make a checklist that hangs inside the door telling you where something might be.
5. Plan For Temperature Changes
Although this might not be an issue in some parts of the country, there are a few things that don't like the cold or the heat and should either be double wrapped or well insulated or not stored at all. Electronics, vinyl records, old photos (if humid), things of that nature all come out a little less awesome when not stored properly.
6. Protect The Space
While we're concerned about protecting what we put in a storage unit, protecting the unit itself is also important — there can be heavy fines for damaging the unit during your tenancy. If you rent one to use for, say, your freelance furniture restoration business, make sure to plastic off the walls and floors to catch glue drips and sprays.
7. Bust Out Your Tetris Skills
Even the smallest storage unit can hold a great deal, just make sure you use the space wisely which means packing things all the way to the ceiling. Bringing in plywood to lay across several boxes can help stabilise layers as you're stacking it up, up and up! It will take the pressure off the tops of your boxes and help keep things safe.
Packing a storage unit takes often nothing more than common sense. However, storage is quite often used at a time of haste and some of these tips can be forgotten. By considering the above mentioned tips and tricks and perhaps following at least a few of these items, should help you make the most of your storage space.
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