5 Great Self Storage Tips

Sometimes its necessary to store your gear while you move house, for example, or if you get yourself a temporary job overseas. If you need to put your possessions into a secure storage facility then often the most cost effective way to do this is to use one of those self-storage facilities that you often see alongside the road or in the industrial estates. They are cheap, secure and very flexible and are the often the ideal choice for short term storage. However, to get the most from them you need to keep a couple of things in mind. Here are my 5 top tips for using self-storage facilitates.

1. Keep your stuff in boxes. If possible make them all the same size as well. This makes far more efficient use of the storage space available – and remember that you pay depending on the amount of space you hire so we are actually talking about saving money here.

2. Try and pack the stuff you might need quick access to at the front of the store. The last thing you want to do is to take hours to dig into your storage space to find the kettle that’s sitting right at the back.

3. Store white good such as fridges, freezers and washing machines with their doors slightly open – this will prevent mould from growing.

4. Use your own padlock and chain rather than one provided by the storage facility. That way you can be sure that you are the only person who has access to a key. Spend a little bit more and buy a good secure chain – after all what’s a few dollars compared to the value of the goods you are protecting.

5. Take care to guard against humidity. Even the best ventilated secure storage can suffer from this and it can leave your furniture warped and stained. Leave a gap around your items to allow good airflow and lay plastic sheeting on the floor. If possible, stack items on pallets, again to allow airflow around the space and cover furniture with soft covers to protect from dust and damp.

There you have it then. That’s some very simple tips to make sure that nothing happens to your prized possessions while they are in self-storage. Now you can get on with the matter of moving house or settling into that new job safe in the knowledge that you stuff is all safe and secure.