How to Pack and Organize a Storage Unit

When you pack and organize a storage unit there are a few things to keep in mind. Firstly, you will have to access them at some point. Doesn’t matter if you packed them for a long haul while you go on that long trip to Europe or did you just want to declutter your home. Items always have to be accessible. If they are not, it’s not much of storage, but more a dumping ground.

Secondly, things you are trying to retrieve from storage ought to be in good shape. There is no much point in storing your things only for them to get damaged due to various factors. We will cover this and some more in this post, so keep reading.

Pick the right storage for you.

Look, there is no much point in buying that huge storage if all you are going to store there are your old college books. On the opposite end of the spectrum, if you have a tab opened on the cheapest time to relocate because you are planning a move and you hope to leave some stuff in storage for a while, you can’t really save your buck on small storage where there will be no place for all your items… So, first things first – pick a right storage unit for you.

Lockers — Remember when the locker in your school was way to small for all the things you were supposed to fit there? Don’t let that happen to your storage unit as well.

So, except size, what are the things you should be mindful about when picking storage? Glad you asked:

Hazards

There are a few elements that can have ill effects on your belongings.

Moisture – Look into the state of your desired Storage unit. Does moisture condense on the walls? If so, this is a big red flag. You need your things to be in a dry place. Moisture is a slow and insidious killer of quality and will ruin most things, given enough time.
Heat or cold – When looking into how to pack and organize a storage unit, climate inside is paramount. Heat and cold can ruin furniture and much more. Look into protections!
Critters and bugs – This is an enemy you absolutely should not deal with. Nobody wants to see that their guitar has been eaten by termites, that tine rodents helped themselves into their storage or that there are moths feasting on winter coats.

So, picked a storage unit you are happy with? Time to move on to packing for it!

Packing steps

Make a list

Make a master list of all the item you are about to store. There are multiple benefits that arise from such a move but the most important one is that you will always know exactly what you have stored. No more wondering on “did I store that gift aunt Mary gave me or is it in the attic?“.

Taking notes on how to pack and organize a storage unit — It is also pretty satisfying to have everything written down somewhere … at least for most people, it is.

So, after you prepared your appliances for relocation, you should have a list of every item you are about to store. This is also a good moment to make some last-minute thinking on what do you want to pack – good if you are doing some home decluttering. Let’s be honest, most of us can’t really come to admit that some things are better stored – like that violin you haven’t touched in years but are two attacked to throw away. If you haven’t used something in a long time without prospects for use in the near future, store it.

Pack and organize a storage unit with care

As for packing, pick the right boxes. Usually, you should look into those on the smaller side. And make them uniform! This is really important. You want your boxes to fit together like their colorful, pixelated counterparts in a Tetris game (without the disappearing part, of course).

And use them – like all of them. There is no good use in empty space inside of a box when storing them. This is not shipping – you don’t need that much cushioning. Extra space can actually be problematic as you are expected to fit those boxes one atop the other, and an empty space can make the boxes cave in.

Also, label them. That list we mentioned earlier won’t be much help if you have to open each box to know what’s inside. Have them labeled so you can quickly find them. This will do miracles for organizing storage.

Having furniture? Dissaseble it (carefully, and make sure you filmed it or written down the process so you can repeat it). Electric components? Make sure they are all put together. Cables are best tied up so to reduce space consumption. Clothes are best stored inside vacuumed bags. You should always seek to make as much use out of available space as possible.

Using shelves is also advisable. It will have multiple functions. Not only will it create more space for storing things, but also make sure that things like tools, things you might need on relatively regular occasions, will be quickly accessible.

Clocks — Time is a valuable thing – there is no point in wasting it on trying to find things you already own. Having a well-labeled, organized storage unit will save you a lot of time and energy.

Final words of advice

Lets recap. If you aim to pack and organize a storage unit, you should pick a good one, pack everything appropriately (and write it down) and organize it with accessibility in mind.

As a bit of final advice, try to prioritize the things you will soon use. Are those toys really more likely to be picked up in the next few months than winter coats? A wise decision today will give you the satisfaction of getting in and out within minutes a few weeks later, and that’s a feeling worth investing some time into, today.