How to Pack and Store Your Belongings in a Self-Storage Unit

            Congratulations! If you’ve just sold your home, but unfortunately find that your new home won’t be ready to move into for another month, what will you do with your belongings during that time?

After a thoughtful amount of research, you find 5A Rent-A-Space, a storage facility in close proximity to your new home. Unsure of what size storage unit you should rent? 5A has an online space calculator that can show you what size you need.

But before packing up your belongings, ask yourself, “Do I have the correct supplies to protect my belongings while in storage?”  Jean Colburn, 5A Rent-A-Space Customer Relations Manager, gives us her list of essential moving supplies and tips for successfully packing a storage unit.

Essential Moving/Packing Supplies:

• Moving Boxes (various sizes) 
• Wardrobe Boxes for clothing 
• Dish Pack Boxes 
• Glass Pack Boxes 
• Packing Tape 
• Mattress, Sofa, & Other Furniture Covers 
• Cloth Covers/Moving Blankets 
• Wrapping Paper (Wrapping paper is made especially for moving. It’s clean and won’t leave a residue on your belongings like newspaper.) 
• A Good Lock 
• Bubble Wrap 
• Marking Pen 
• Styrofoam Packing Peanuts

Tips for Packing a Storage Unit:.

• Use proper boxes and packing tape to store your personal belongings. These items are built to endure the weight of home items such as dishes, books, clothing, etc.

       

•  Make use of the FREE pallets 5A Rent-A-Space offers to each customer. Having your boxes a few inches off the concrete floor can be helpful to your back when picking up boxes to move out of your unit.
• Wash all your dishes and glasses before placing them in boxes. When you purchase one of our Dish Packs or Glass Packs, the boxes are specifically designed to ensure the safety of these delicate items. Wrap each item in our wrapping paper so that you won’t need to re-wash after unpacking them in your new home. We also have padded sleeves to use as added protection for dishes and fragile items.

•  Cover your mattresses, sofas, chairs and dressers with covers. These covers will keep dust off your furniture while in storage. At 5A, we keep our facilities very clean, but we can’t prevent all dust from entering into each unit.
• When you begin to pack your storage unit, place larger items like dressers, chests, and mattresses at the back and along the sides of the unit. These are usually items you won’t need to access first and can be used to stack boxes and other belongings on top of them. 
• Place moving blankets on top of dressers and mattresses before stacking boxes on top. This will help prevent any scratches from appearing on your furniture when shifting boxes around your unit. 
• Place boxes with linens and bedroom items on top of the furniture in the back of the unit. 
  
• Remove the legs off of your dining room table and tape the legs onto the underside of the table. This will allow you more space to store your belongings within your unit. Wrap your table in a moving blanket and lean the table against one of the unit’s walls. 
• When storing sofas, cover them and place them on end against one of the walls. If your sofa won’t stand on end, lay it flat on the floor and stack end tables or smaller boxes on top of it. 
• Leave items like appliances for last, storing them in the front of your unit. They are the heaviest items in your home and often the most difficult to move. Store items you will need to access more often towards the front of your unit. 
• Remember to never store food items, cleaning chemicals, or items such as lawnmowers in your storage unit. Food items can attract ants into your unit. Cleaning chemicals and the oil that is found in lawnmowers can combust in a storage unit when the weather becomes warm. 
• Fill your unit as neat and organized as you would want your home to be. This makes it easier to find items within your unit.
• Remember to label every box with its contents.  It’s also a good idea to make a list of what you have stored and keep it with your storage contract. Then in the future, when you need a certain item you can find it easily.

Are you in need of moving and packing supplies? Stop by one of our sites to purchase your packing supplies today!

For more moving and self-storage tips, check out our Pinterest account at https://www.pinterest.com/5aspace/boards/

Written by: Rebecca Klippenes