When you rent a storage unit, don’t give in to the temptation to just dump boxes haphazardly and not label them or create a master list. When you are in need of something from your storage unit, you will thank yourself if you have neatly stacked boxes which are easily accessible.
Moving city, transitioning into New Zealand as a long term resident, downsizing your living space and moving into an apartment or smaller house from a large home, or just decluttering your current home of some excess baggage that is needed but causing a mess – whatever the reasons you may have for renting storage units, with some planning and foresight you can make excellent use of your rented storage space, and have easy access to your precious stuff whenever you need it.
At Safestore Containers, we have options for you across unit size and budget, as you explore the options for storage in West Auckland.
Map it and label it
Before you reach the point of loading up boxes into the storage facility, we highly recommend that you create a layout and map of your storage unit. Mark out a path, with clear space for movement that gives you access to all the boxes. It will be frustrating if you want to get into your storage unit and find that there is no clearly defined path and you have to either scramble over stacks of boxes or heave them out of the way.
Take the time to label each box and have a list of its contents. In fact, an ideal way to pack is to group things together (kitchen items, winter wear, garden stuff) and pack them together. This is especially important for long term storage. In the middle of the summer, winter and your boots and heavy coat might seem a far off need. But come that first frost, and you will definitely find yourself cursing if you have to rummage through a ton of boxes to find the specific one you need at that moment in time.
Choose same sized boxes as much as possible
While our stuff comes in varied shapes and sizes, a multitude of irregularly shaped or small, medium, large boxes will cause a bit of a stacking nightmare. To achieve the most efficient stacking of the boxes in your storage space, having them all be similarly sized and shaped will help – and stick with small and medium sized ones as much as possible. Banana boxes are sturdy, have removeable lids, and are a good size.
Larger boxes have to go at the bottom of the pile, which makes accessing their contents more difficult, and many of them may not quite hold up to having heavy loads laid on top of them. Another option is to put up shelves around the storage unit so you have free space in the centre to unpack and go through stuff when you need to, as well as have a clear idea of which shelf has what.
Safestore Containers has friendly and experienced customer support and staff who are waiting to help you if you need it. If you have questions, or need expert advice on layout, they might be able to give you guidance. Choosing a storage space slightly larger than needed can also help you to pack things logically, allowing pathways and clear organisation of your area.