If you plan on frequently accessing your storage unit to retrieve items, you want to keep your storage unit organized so that you can quickly and easily take out your belongings. To help you keep your storage organized for frequent use, use these four tips.
Select One Box For Most Of Your Items
Same-size boxes help with stacking and accessibility. Keep in mind large boxes are excellent for items that aren’t very heavy, but may not hold up well at the bottom of large stacks. Large boxes (especially at the bottom of a stack) are also more difficult to remove if you need something out of them.
Identify the items you may need to access while in storage. Things you don’t use regularly when you’re packing may be needed later on. Carefully consider what you may need while your items are in storage, giving extra thought to seasonal items. Here are a few things you may need to retrieve from your storage unit:
- Winter or summer clothing Trip supplies (tents, sleeping bags, snorkeling gear, sleds, cookout utensils)
- Holiday items (decorations, costumes, bakeware)
- Kids toys (kids may enjoy a “new” box of toys when they get bored of the toys they held onto when packing) Tools and hobby supplies Office documents
Label each box you pack
Label each box on the top and at least one side with a unique box number, the room it came from, and the contents of the box. Place a special mark on boxes you may need to access at some point during storage and remember to put them in your storage unit last. Be as detailed as possible with the contents.
Create a master contents list
Write down all of the contents of each box along with the box number on paper. This seems like a cumbersome step, but a master list becomes really handy when you need to find a specific item, especially if some of your boxes will be completely out of view. If you prefer to keep things digital, there are even tools you can use to dictate text so you don’t have to type as you go. And if you want to take the organization one step further (or don’t trust your handwriting), you can print each line from your inventory to create custom labels for your boxes!
Plan an organized layout for your storage unit
If you’re going to access your unit frequently, you’re going to need to put some thought into how you pack your storage unit. Ideally, you want to put the furniture against the wall opposite your boxes to leave a path in the middle of the unit. This way, you can access boxes and furniture items without any hassle. If you need to use the space in the middle, place your most moveable items there so you can remove them with ease.
Shelve or stack boxes
If this is a long-term storage solution, place sturdy shelves along one wall of the unit. If not, stack your boxes with these guidelines in mind: Stack from back to front in order of need. The boxes that you will access most frequently should be the last ones packed inside the storage unit and be near the door or on shelves with labels facing out. Put larger, heavier boxes down first, and then you can stack lighter ones on top. Be careful how high you stack. If boxes are stacked above your head, the whole stack is susceptible to falling, creating a hazard for you and anything breakable in the storage unit. Consider using a brick-wall pattern when stacking same-size boxes. It’ll seem somewhat inefficient, since you’ll have spaces on the ends of your stack, but the brick wall pattern allows you to remove and replace boxes without moving the boxes above it.
At U-Lock Mini Storage, we have storage facilities across Greater Vancouver and Vancouver Island. Our facilities include storage units Victoria, storage units Parksville, storage units Nanaimo, storage units Burnaby, storage units White Rock and Surrey and storage units Chilliwack. Contact us if you have any questions!