Whether you’re using a storage unit for the short term or long term, it’s important that you pack and organise in the right way. This will ensure that you can find exactly what you need and makes it easier to unpack when you retrieve anything from storage. It also means that you can maximise the space you have in the unit.

Planning & Packing

Choose your storage unit carefully and make sure that it is climate controlled, dry, clean and secure. Also, check how easy it is for you to gain access when you need it. Now’s the time to take a good look at your items and consider whether some can be disposed of. Once you have an idea of how much of the stuff is going into storage, purchase some large boxes, preferably in different colours.

Decide what is going in each box and make an inventory. Then make a plan of where the boxes are going to go, with items you need to access nearer the front. Use the coloured boxes to denote items of various types, for example, “kitchen”. Ensure that you create a ‘walkway’ in your plan for easier access. Pack up glass and china carefully and place clothes in vacuum-sealed bags before placing in a box. This helps to reduce the space they take up and keeps clothes clean and dry.

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When it comes to removal day, make sure that your removal firm understands your system; a good removals firm will be experienced with storage units. Place your organisation plan on the wall of the unit so that everyone knows which boxes go where. Keep boxes in neat piles, but do not stack so high that they create a hazard. Keep boxes with breakables fairly low down to prevent them being dropped from a height.

This organisation will really help you when you need to retrieve something and when you come to unload and unpack it too.