Storage Units: What to Know Before Storing Your Belongings

When your home is overcrowded with too many possessions but you're not interesting in parting with them by holding a garage sale, a logical step is to rent a unit at a storage facility and transport the items you don't need to their new home. Although it might be tempting, it's important to resist the urge of simply loading the unit as quickly as possible for the sake of getting the job done. Instead, it's better to tackle the task systematically. By doing so, you'll drastically boost the ease with which you find what you're looking for in the unit at a later date. Here are three steps to ensuring your unit is effectively organized.

Box Numbering

Numbering takes more time, but you'll save time in the long run and feel more organized as you carefully organize your items before moving them to the storage unit. Every time you grab an empty storage box and prepare to fill it, place a number on the box with a permanent marker and write the same number on a corresponding sheet of paper. List all the items you put into the box on the piece of paper to give you a clear record of what item is found in each box. This strategy will prevent you from having to waste time searching through box after box as you look for a specific item sometime in the future.

Item Placement

While some people favor the strategy of pushing all their boxes against the back wall of the unit, this layout can make it extremely difficult to reach what you need when you return to the storage facility at a later date to retrieve a specific item. A better layout is to line your boxes around the perimeter of the unit—with their numbers facing outward and clearly visible—and leave a couple feet of space immediately adjacent to the items in which to walk. You can place bulky items such as furniture in the center of the unit, provided that they don't block your path through the space.

Mapping It Out

In large storage units that contain scores of boxes, finding a clearly numbered box can often sound easier than it looks. As you place your items around the unit, make a quick sketch to denote each box or item's location. This approach is easier than trying to put your boxes in numerical order, as doing so requires a significant amount of preplanning. You can then keep your sketch with your list of items, and when you need to retrieve something, a quick glance at both documents will reveal the item's box number and approximate location.

Find a company like Eagle Airport Car And Mini Storage near you to get started with you decluttering and organizing.