If you are overwhelmed with the thought of how you are going to pack all of your household items into a storage unit for the time you are away on a distant work assignment, then there are many things that you can do to help make the process easier on yourself and safer for your belongings.
Follow these guidelines to ensure that your belongings are safe and secure in your self-storage unit while you are away for business:
Do: Always use new boxes that are designed specifically for moving and storage. These boxes will stack in a more stable manner and better protect your possessions from being crushed or broken from falling over.
Don't: Store items in open boxes, crates, or laundry baskets because these types of containers allow dust to accumulate on their contents as they sit in storage.
Do: Seal all of your moving boxes with moving or packing tape because it is designed to stay adhered to the boxes, even with drastic changes in temperature and humidity. Keeping your storage boxes sealed will prevent the intrusion of dust into them.
Don't: Use masking or duct tape to seal your moving boxes because masking tape will not adhere well, and duct tape will be very hard to get off of your boxes when you want to open them. Duct tape will require cutting with a blade because it is fibrous, and this can lead to damage to items contained within your boxes.
Do: Pack all of your moving boxes so that they are completely filled. If the boxes contain heavy items but are not completely full, then add in some light items such as textiles or clothing to fill them. This will help keep the box corners from becoming crushed and the boxes themselves being crushed under pressure from those above.
Don't: Stack your moving boxes on decorative shelving units because the long-term weight will cause the shelves to permanently warp and sag.
Do: Sell your unwanted larger and more valuable items to raise some money to help defray the costs of your move and monthly storage unit rental fees.
Don't: Try to have a garage sale too close to the date of your move. Save yourself the hassle and donate all of your smaller and less valuable items to a local thrift store and take the tax deduction allowed for a charitable donation of goods.
Do: Store your box spring and mattress wrapped in a heavy plastic sheeting. This will protect your box spring and mattress from damage from dust and mildew while it is being stored.
Don't: Never store your box spring and mattress standing on their sides. Instead, you should lay them both flat on the floor or on top of a table. Standing them on their sides can cause permanent damage to their internal springs.
For more tips and information, talk with local storage companies, such as Simonson's Mini Storage.
