Avoid breakages: follow our guide for packing fragile items for storage

There are many reasons why people transfer their possessions to a self storage unit on a short or long-term basis. Whether you’re putting a property on the market in London and need to clear the furniture out, packing things away before going travelling or simply in need of somewhere to keep excess belongings, it’s important to never underestimate the importance of packing for storage in a safe and efficient manner.

Give yourself time to pack your items

While items like books and soft furnishings won’t take too much time to place into a box, fragile ornaments, collectables and vases will require a little more TLC – and that means you’re going to need time to pack them with sufficient protection to ensure they arrive at your storage unit in perfect condition.

Get the right tools for your storage packing

As a minimum, you’re going to need:

  • Boxes – preferably strong ones, for general storage. Supermarkets are a good place to source durable, corrugated boxes, and they’re usually free.
  • Wrapping paper – to avoid items getting scratched in transit, you should cover them with paper. As an alternative, you could utilise your towels, pillowcases or even duvets as protective barriers when transporting items.
  • Vinyl tape – use vinyl packing tape to enclose items in boxes to stop them becoming dislodged during transit.
  • Bubble wrap – particularly fragile items should be wrapped with bubble wrap. Use packing tape to affix bubble wrap to items with sharp corners (such as tables or drawers) to avoid any damage due to knocks and bumps during loading and unloading.

Load your larger items first when transporting to your storage unit

When loading on to a van, it’s good practice to get the larger items on first (sofas, tables and so on) before finding space for smaller items within the gaps. Just make sure when loading boxes of smaller items that they are in a stable, secure position. Fragile items should be individually wrapped, with bubble wrap or paper stuffed into any crevices within boxes to create a protective barrier.

Personal Storage Solutions

If you’re in need of an affordable self-storage unit in London, Chelsea Self Storage has a range of value-for-money secure personal storage solutions available. For more information, contact us and a member of our friendly and experienced team will be happy to advise you.

Chelsea Self Storage

At Chelsea Self Storage we have 30 years experience in providing the ideal storage solutions for businesses. We understand the optimal storage methods for archived documents and records and can help you calculate the right size of unit you’ll need to maximise your budget. With some of the lowest competitive rates in the capital, we’re convinced that we can offer a file management solution that’s just right for your business

We are conveniently located near Kensington, a short walk from the Kings Road in Fulham, and have satisfied clients right across London who can testify to our capability and customer service.

If you need to reclaim valuable office storage space then contact us today and we’ll be happy to help you archive your records safely and securely.