We've all been there—those cardboard boxes seem to multiply overnight, taking over corners, closets, and any free space they can find. Moving boxes, online shopping deliveries, and seasonal storage have turned your living room into what looks like a warehouse staging area. Trust us, we get it. Between keeping the holiday decorations, holding onto those "maybe I'll need them someday" items, and storing away summer clothes for winter (and vice versa), boxes become our unintentional roommates.
Here's the good news: You're home can feel like home again with a storage unit. A self-storage unit, both short-term and long-term, can be an ideal storage space option to keep your things safe during a relocation or to make more space in your house.
But before stuffing your storage unit to the brim, you'll want to figure out what type of storage solution you’ll need, which items you'll be able to store, and how to keep those items safe while they’re tucked away in a storage unit.
Here are a few things you don’t want to deal with when using a storage facility.
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Having to sift through your boxes and spending time moving them around to find what you’re looking for when you’re in a hurry.
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Finding insects in your stuff or discovering that rodents have gotten into your belongings.
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Spotting mold or mildew on the bottom of your boxes or furniture.
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Learning that your storage unit was responsible for a fire.
Here's our 10-tip storage guide to make this process easy.
1. Choosing the Best Storage Service
First, we need to find a suitable self-storage facility to place your things in.
Here are a few things to consider when looking for a storage unit:
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Storage Location: How far do I want to drive to get to my storage unit? Is it in a safe area?
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Climate Control: Am I storing something perishable that requires a climate-controlled storage unit?
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Storage Size: How much space do I need, and do the locations near me have the sizes I need available?
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Storage Service: Do I need an entire storage unit? Do I have a truck I can use to transport my stuff, or should I consider a full-service storage solution?
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Price: Have you checked to see the different prices in your area? A cheap storage price isn’t the most important aspect of finding a reliable storage unit, albeit you want to make sure you’re getting your money’s worth.
If you’re looking for storage in downtown San Diego, we've already put together a list that should make this task easier.
2. Prepare Items for Their First Time in Storage
The best way to protect your belongings during storage starts with thorough cleaning. For first-time storage users, this preparatory step might seem unnecessary, but it's crucial for maintaining your items' condition and meeting your long-term storage needs.
Give particular attention to upholstered items, which can harbor unseen debris and moisture. For clothing, professional dry cleaning is an investment that pays off twofold: your garments enter storage in pristine condition and emerge ready to wear. Nothing beats the convenience of unpacking freshly pressed clothes that are immediately ready for use.
This cleaning step serves a critical purpose beyond mere cleanliness. Untreated furniture, clothing, and kitchen items can introduce unwanted guests like vermin or mold into your storage unit. While it might be tempting to skip this step, especially when managing a busy moving schedule, neglecting proper cleaning can lead to unpleasant surprises when you retrieve your items.
A thorough sanitization process before storage ensures your belongings remain in the same condition as when you stored them, protecting both your items and neighboring storage units.
3. Use Good Packing Techniques and Standard Box Sizes
Packing is an essential step in any storage process. By failing to prepare, you're preparing to fail. You can prepare by gathering the packaging goods you need for success and to ensure that your preparation is as effortless as possible. Cushioning materials, such as bubble wrap and newspapers, are critical for keeping fragile items in good condition during transportation and storage. Use packing tape (rather than duct or painter's tape), Styrofoam peanuts, and cartons.
Using standard box sizes makes it easier to load and unload the boxes from your storage unit. In addition, you don't want to waste space because of a few oddly shaped containers.
4. Create a Detailed Storage Inventory
A good idea that many people overlook is creating a comprehensive inventory before your items enter storage. This practice is especially crucial for smaller items that can easily get misplaced among larger belongings. Not only does this help you track your possessions, but it's also valuable documentation for storage insurance claims if ever needed.
Create your inventory using either a digital spreadsheet or a physical list—both methods have their advantages. A digital spreadsheet allows for easy updating and searching, while a printed list taped to each box provides immediate visual reference. Be sure to include detailed descriptions, particularly for items of significant value or those you might need to access quickly.
Here's a helpful technique that elevates basic inventory management: photograph the contents of each box before sealing it. These visual records serve multiple purposes - they provide a quick reference for locating specific items, help verify the condition of your belongings for insurance purposes, and eliminate the frustration of opening multiple boxes when searching for particular items. This visual inventory system, combined with written documentation, creates a reliable tracking system that saves time and reduces stress when accessing your stored belongings.
5. Disassemble for Efficient Storage
As a general rule of your storage experience, taking the time to dismantle furniture and other items before storage maximizes space and prevents damage. This approach is particularly important when storing different types of furniture in a climate-controlled unit, as proper disassembly helps protect sensitive components and finishes.
Start by carefully disassembling items like bookshelves, desks, bed frames, and chairs with removable parts. Keep all hardware together in clearly labeled bags, and consider taping these directly to the corresponding furniture piece. For items with multiple components, taking photos during disassembly can serve as a helpful guide when it's time to reassemble.
This approach to dismantling helps you make the most of your storage space and reduces the risk of damage during transport and storage. Items that are properly taken apart are lighter, easier to move, and can be arranged more efficiently within your unit. Plus, when stored in their component parts, furniture pieces are less likely to experience stress on joints and connection points that could lead to damage over time.
6. Wrap Fragile Objects
How do you pack and store sensitive items? Before placing them in packing boxes, they should be wrapped in bubble wrap, paper, or both. This will help avoid unsightly cracks, chipping, and other damage. It’ll also help prevent your hands from being cut when you reach into a box that might have broken glass in it.
Be generous with the wrap when it comes to very fragile items. Double or triple-wrap them if you need to. Smaller fragile items can also be packed among garments or other delicate belongings for further cushioning.
7. Label and Categorize your Boxes
In addition to inventorying your stuff before packing, take the time to mark your boxes after you're done putting your things into boxes using labels or a Sharpie.
Pack your boxes in categories like “living room,” “winter clothing,” and “kitchenware” to make your life easier when you’re looking for something down the road.
Pro-Tip: For the larger boxes that may contain heavy items, put the labels or markings on the upper sides so you can see them when they’re stacked.
8. Choose the Right Size Unit
When selecting a storage unit, opt for one size larger than your initial calculations suggest. While it might be tempting to choose a smaller, less expensive unit that seems to match your belongings' dimensions, this can lead to significant inconvenience later. A larger unit provides essential space for accessing your items and reorganizing when needed. Without adequate space, you'll find yourself constantly pulling out multiple boxes just to reach items in the back - and Murphy's Law dictates that's exactly where your needed items will be.
When it comes to stacking, follow two key rules for safety and protection. First, limit box stacks to no more than four high, even though most storage units have 8-foot ceilings. Stacking boxes higher increases the risk of collapse and can derail your entire organization system. Second, avoid stacking more than two pieces of furniture on top of each other. This practice not only protects your belongings from damage but also prevents potential injuries during the moving process.
The extra cost of a larger unit is a worthwhile investment in accessibility, safety, and peace of mind. A cramped storage space can turn simple retrieval tasks into frustrating ordeals and put both your belongings and yourself at risk. By choosing a more spacious unit, you'll create a safer, more manageable storage environment that serves your needs better in the long run.
9. Avoid Perishables
This goes without saying, but please don't put perishables in storage. You might think the packaging looks strong, but mice are relentless creatures. Storing anything that can spoil will produce terrible smells, and food scraps and plants can quickly draw insects and critters.
Imagine yourself going into your storage unit to grab an item. Instead, you've spent the last 3 hours trying to figure out what went wrong and how to clean the mess up.
10. Store Based on Accessibility, Stack Based on Fragility
Stack goods according to fragility and heaviness to prevent them from shattering and boxes from smashing one another. Begin with heavier, more robust goods and packages at the bottom and work your way up as your belongings become lighter and much more fragile.
This brings us to the second concept: store items according to accessibility. When putting stuff into your storage container, keep the goods you anticipate you'll need more often to be as quickly accessible as possible.
Don’t want to use a storage unit?
As a modernized and extremely helpful storage company, Juujbox helps you avoid needing a storage unit altogether. Our goal is to make life easier for folks who don't like driving to and from a storage unit, having to borrow a friend's truck, or just don't need to pay for a whole storage unit's worth of stuff.
