Discovering the Need for Long-Term Storage Solutions
When most people think of renting a storage unit, they envision it as a short-term solution; a place to quickly and temporarily store their belongings while they move from one house to another. While that is feasible, renting a storage unit is also practical for scenarios where long-term storage solutions are needed. For example, you may need a place to store your belongings for a few years while you travel, or if you move to another city or country for work. You may also find that storing seasonal items every year, like garden equipment, holiday decorations, and outdoor furniture, can clear up some much-needed space at home. To prepare yourself to store items for an indefinite time, we compiled some helpful tips to make the most of your long-term storage solutions.
Strategies for Long-Term Storage Solutions
Storing your items for years on end isn’t as simple as tossing them into a storage unit, locking the door, and driving off. Proper long-term storage solutions are a matter of careful consideration and planning. This will ensure both your possessions and the unit are safe and well-preserved, as well as easily found. To create the optimal conditions for long-term storage, consider the following:
Do Some Spring Cleaning
An essential part of good long-term storage solutions is to minimize the total space you will need to store your belongings. Not only will this keep your unit neat and tidy, but it will minimize the monthly or yearly fee you will need to pay for a larger unit. So before you contact a storage company like Mini-Entrepôts Sauvegarde to ask about unit sizes or even pack your first box, it’s a good idea to go through your belongings with a fine-toothed comb, eliminating what you don’t need or want anymore. Once you’ve sold, donated, or trashed what you don’t want to keep, you’ll be in a much better position to estimate the size of the unit you will need, having made more space in your house as well! So say goodbye to things like old clothes, books, exercise equipment, tools, tires, and other miscellaneously useless items you’ve stored for years and have no intention of using- reap the storage rewards!
Store Your Items Safely
A paramount concern for anybody using a storage unit for an extended period of time is the safety and security of their belongings, both in terms of theft and possible damage or corrosion. To that end, proper long-term storage solutions take the following considerations to heart:
Security Features
Mini-Entrepots Sauvegarde boasts some of the best and most comprehensive hi-tech security features of any storage facility in the province. State-of-the-art cameras and lighting assure no centimeter of space in or around our facility is not visible, recorded, and monitored by our 24-hour team of security specialists. Units are constructed in solid steel, reinforced by concrete, and protected by unique digital access codes, ensuring safety from structural damage and theft. Finally, in the unlikely event of a crisis, our building security systems are directly connected to our alarm company, local police stations, and nearby fire departments to ensure rapid emergency intervention on site.
Packing
Since your belongings are going to be stored for a long time, you should spare no expense on the packing material you will use to keep them safe and free from damage. Bubblewrap, heavy sheets and comforters, and plastic covers are all materials that should be used to pack things like dishes and cover the corners on furniture pieces like couches, desks and tables.
If you are stacking boxes within your unit, make sure to use plastic containers or heavy cardboard boxes so that they do not get crushed under the weight of other boxes or items. Also, place heavier boxes on the bottom of your column and lighter ones on the top to avoid potential crushing and tipping. Finally, consider placing your items on pallets to avoid possible (though highly unlikely) water damage.
Appliances, Vehicles, and Electronics
Humidity trapped in an enclosed space for long amounts of time can cause mould, rust, and corrosion. Make sure appliances like refrigerators, dishwashers, or washing machines are clean, dry, and devoid of any moisture before you store them. You should also empty any vehicles of fuel and electronics of batteries to avoid possible chemical leaks or combustion.
Consider Climate Controlled Units
As part of effective long-term storage solutions, consider renting a climate-controlled unit. These units maintain a uniform temperature and humidity level all year round, protecting your possessions from the potential development of mould as well as decay, decomposition, corrosion, rust, and/or warping. Climate-controlled units are strongly recommended for those storing sensitive items such as antiques, wooden furniture, books and documents, records, and electronics.
Get Organized for Optimal Long-Term Storage Solutions
Keeping your belongings safe also means being able to access them whenever you wish for use, spotch-checks, and general upkeep. Having a neatly organized storage unit not only helps you remember where everything is, it also allows you to access it quickly and efficiently!
Layout
Before you begin loading your storage unit with everything from furniture and appliances to boxes of old books and family pictures, it’s best to strategize how you will plan the layout of the unit relative to the following considerations:
- trying to install shelving in the unit for smaller boxes and items, usually along the back or side walls;
- leaving pathways for movement between stacks/columns of boxes/items to allow for easy access; and
- placing frequently used items at the front of the unit for easy access and unused items at the rear of the unit.
Doing so will help you keep your belongings well organized and easier to see and retrieve.
Labels and Lists
Another key consideration in long-term storage solutions is keeping an up-to-date and itemized inventory of your stored belongings. This is facilitated by labeling each and every box that enters your storage unit by contents and the room it occupies in the house. These labels should be visible on at least two corners of the box or from two vantage points, if not on every side. Also, a comprehensive list of your storage unit’s contents should be kept both at home and in the unit, so you are never left guessing as to what something is or where it may be housed.
For more information on long-term storage solutions or to inquire about storage unit sizes, rates, and services, contact Mini-Entrepôts Sauvegarde today.