People rent personal self-storage units for many reasons – moving home, redecorating, simple lack of space in the home – whilst self-storage prices are not necessarily expensive, you will still want to ensure that you get value for money from the storage space you choose – here are some tips as how to get the most from your personal self-storage space:
Planning Your Personal Self-Storage Space
As with most tasks, planning upfront can make a world of difference! Whatever your reason for renting the storage unit, decide upfront what items are going to be stored and how much space is needed. Haphazardly putting boxes into the storage space will lead to inefficient use and waste of space for which you are paying – identify the items to be stored and calculate how many boxes and other forms of storage will be required. Ensure you label every storage box and container clearly so you can easily identify and access the items you need once in storage. Draw up an inventory of all the items stored and in which box/container you have placed them. Whilst this may seem an onerous task at the outset, it will lead to far more effective storage and save you time and stress later in the process!
Heavy Items On the Bottom
Stacking boxes is the most efficient way to store your items – use the height of the self-storage unit as well as the floor space. When stacking, ensure that the heavier and larger boxes are stacked at the bottom – boxes containing more fragile goods will need to be nearer the top of any stack to prevent damage to the contents.
Dismantle Furniture
If you are storing large pieces of furniture then, wherever possible, dismantle the items – bedframes, desks, tables, and chairs can often be disassembled for more economical packing and storage. When dismantling furniture items ensure you keep all the relevant screws, bolts, and nuts together in a bag and clearly label what they are for – it is good practice to attach the bag to one of the elements of the furniture piece for easy identification.
Larger Items
Place the larger items into storage first – this will leave gaps that you can use for more ‘creative’ packing later. If you put the smaller items in first, they may take up valuable floor space that will be needed to fit the larger items in – these smaller items can be fitted in around the larger items later creating more effective storage overall.
Frequently Needed Items
If you will need to frequently access items you are storing then ensure they are stored in easily accessible parts of the unit – keep them at the front and label them clearly for easy and quick identification.
Uniformity and Shelving in Your Personal Self-Storage Unit
Try to use the same or similar boxes when packing your goods away – uniform boxes will make them easier to stack and will make the most of the volume in your self-storage unit. There may be a limit as to how high you can safely stack boxes so take advantage of any available shelving provided within the unit.
Boxes
Wherever possible use boxes as opposed to bags for your packing – bags are not as hardy and may be liable to rips or tears that can compromise the contents. Boxes lend themselves to more efficient storage and will offer more protection for your items.
Unwanted Items
Putting items into storage offers the opportunity for a ‘clear-out’ – when sorting your goods to be stored, identify and dispose of any items that are no longer wanted nor of use – there is no point in keeping items no longer required as they will only take up valuable storage space and add to the burden of packing and unpacking at a later date.
Clothing
Items such as clothing and bedding can be stored more efficiently if they are vacuum packed – the bags, once having had the air extracted, can be stored flat – perhaps inside items of furniture already placed in storage thus saving considerable space.
Use All Gaps
The final thing to consider is to make sure that you use all the space available – you may have ‘irregular’ items that can be creatively placed around the storage unit in between other items – fill the available gaps with individual items to ensure you get the maximum use of the space for which you are paying!
Looking for personal self-storage in London? Choose Chelsea Self Storage
Personal self-storage prices do not have to be restrictive – the established and reputable Chelsea Storage offer affordable self-storage prices in Kensington – indeed they have some of the cheapest storage in London. If you are looking to secure a storage unit in that region then speak with the knowledgeable and professional staff at Chelsea Storage who can address all your enquiries and offer you modern, state-of the art, clean and dry storage units to cater for any requirement.
Please note Chelsea Self Storage are not affiliated with Rapid Racking
