Choosing a New Design for Your Home and Garden

Using a self-storage unit is a good idea for those with small homes or rented property that doesn't offer a lot of storage; you won't be tripping over your sporting goods or having your out-of-season clothes take up precious room in your closets when you put them in a self-storage unit. While it may be tempting to just toss things in boxes and drop everything off at the self-storage facility, you might take some time to properly organize and pack them first. This will ensure hat they stay safe and without damage, and that you can easily find them if you need to retrieve anything.

Clean everything thoroughly

Dirt that holds moisture can increase the risk of rust on anything metal; if you're putting away the kid's sleds, roller blades, or other such equipment, be sure you've thoroughly cleaned everything and allowed the pieces to dry. Packing clothes in bins and totes can mean they get no air circulation for the months that they're stored away, so any type of soiling on the clothes can then get set in permanently, causing stains. To avoid this, clean everything thoroughly and allow pieces to dry properly before storing them.

Make a calendar for when you need to bring things back

If you're storing items that you'll need to bring back to your home eventually, such as out-of-season sporting goods and clothes, make a calendar for when you need to bring them back. You may assume that you'll know to just retrieve your sweaters and skis once winter rolls around, but you might need some extra days to wax the skis again and ensure they're in good repair or take the sweaters to the dry cleaners before they can be worn. 

You might also need a few days to unpack your items and then reuse the same bins for packing up this season's pieces. Don't leave this chore to chance, but make a schedule of what you need to do to get things from the storage unit and in proper order for use again.

Don't use paper or cardboard

Even thick cardboard boxes can crumble under the weight of boxes on top of them, and you may not realize this has happened until you next visit the storage facility, which could be months later. If you use paper outside the boxes to mark what's inside, that paper could absorb moisture and the ink could smear, and you will have no way of reading your list. Invest in thick plastic or rubber totes and use a temporary marker to write on the tote so you can easily access your items again as needed.