Whether you are traveling, downsizing, renovating, or going to move to a property that is not available just yet, a storage solution might be required for your household items. Therefore, it is important that you pack them in such way that they withstand two moves in and out of storage. To help you in this process we are pleased to share below our most important tips on packing for storage.
First things first – purchase plenty of correct packaging:
Make sure to purchase strong double walled corrugated boxes - two moves will demand more reliability. Get a lot of bubble wrap and packing paper for your fragile items. Do not save money on packing tape – brown PVC type is your best choice. Plastic covers for mattresses and sofas will prove to be helpful too.
Packing in boxes:
Use small boxes to pack anything what is heavy, or fragile e.g. books, magazines, majority of kitchenware, electronic gadgets. Large boxes will be best for your clothes, shoes, toys of your children and other items that are larger, but light in comparison to their size. If you possess those designer-type or suede leather shoes, use a bit of paper around them, or bubble wrap, especially on high heels to prevent them from damaging other pairs.
Packing the art:
Your paintings and ornaments will need extra care. Use a lot of bubble wrap for added protection. Fragile oil paintings may need a special acid-free packing paper to wrap around the canvas, before applying additional layers of the bubble wrap.
Securing your sofas and mattresses:
Use plastic covers for your sofas, armchairs and mattresses, as most likely movers will not be able to leave their blankets in the storage for you. Those covers will shield your furniture not just from the storage flooring, but also from the dust. Alternatively, you can use the black stretch; however, this may prove not to be the best choice to wrap around soft and bendy mattresses. Additionally, you can put some flat cardboard boxes on the floor of your storage room, this will create an extra isolation from the colder flooring.
Dismantling the furniture:
Make sure to dismantle your wardrobes, beds, dining tables and other extra-large items. Keep all sets of screws gathered in one box or taped to the items they belong to. This will help finding them upon moving out of storage. If you intend to tape each set of screws to the furniture they belong to, make sure to use a part of the furniture that is not visible, as PVC tape can leave marks after extended period in storage.
Label you items:
Label your items and boxes correctly. Make sure to rather put names of the rooms where you intended to place those items and boxes in your destination property. You can write a small description of the content on the boxes, to help with faster unpacking at the end. Coloured sticky labels will also be helpful in this process.
What not to pack?
…and last not the least; such items as plants, gas bottles, car batteries, perishable goods and other hazardous items cannot be stored for various legal or practical reason, therefore make other arrangements for those items.
Do you need us to assist you with packing for storage?
If after reading this article you still feel that you need some help with packing for storage, we will be pleased to assist you with this. Just give us a call and we will send our skilful team to do all the tricky work for you!