How to Pack Items for Long-Term Storage

When you are in the process of moving houses or moving out of town/abroad, permanently or temporarily, making sure you pack things safely is one of the top priorities. If you do not have the resources to find space for all of it on your own, storage units are your best solution. Whatever it is that you need to pack, storage units always turn out to be helpful. They provide much-needed safety and convenience. They let you focus on other important things you need to do to navigate the whole process, such as hiring the best movers Texas has. However, before you jump in, you still have some things to do by yourself to make sure everything goes smooth. The most important ones are packing your items and finding reliable companies that provide storage unit service. If you’re having headaches on how to pack items for long-term storage, you’ve come to the right place.

Short term storage vs Long-term storage

First, you have to know the difference between short-term and long-term storage, and figure out which one you need. Short-term storage is considered to be three months or less, and therefore, long-term storage is more than 3 months. Short-term ones are most useful to students between semesters, families moving nearby towns, businesses, and other similar situations where you know you’ll need your stuff back sooner rather than later. But, moving abroad, downsizing, even remodeling your current home usually needs storing service of more than 3 months. If you’ve decided you need long-term storage, we’ll share with you some great tips on how to properly pack for it.

Packing preparation

“Before anything else, preparation is the key to success”, so it goes without saying if you want that everything to go well, you better prepare for it. Making an inventory of items that you are going to store is the first thing on the list. Knowing exactly what you’re going to store, makes the next few steps a lot easier and helps you avoid chaos, last-minute stress, and changing arrangements. So, write down a list of everything you’ll pack and make a rough plan of what items should go where.

After inventory, next thing is to figure out how much storage space are you going to need. You don’t want to go extra cheap simply because you want to avoid your belongings getting crammed inside, or not even fitting which would cause you extra headaches. On the other hand, leaving unused space is unnecessary, so somewhere in the middle is ideal. You shouldn’t encounter any problems with finding the right one since the companies provide a variety of sizes.

Additional things to consider for Long-Term Storage

Speaking of companies, you’ll research them in your next chapter of preparation. Finding a reliable moving company that provides storage is not easy and you should hire only the best movers in San Antonio. When it comes to storage units, here’s what you need to keep in mind while choosing yours:

• Security – storage that has video surveillance, safety gates,  or security guards;
• Inside conditions – the building should be clean, dry, have no leaks;
• Temperature control – the temperature should be kept in balance, sudden temperature changes can harm your belongings.

Finally, to complete the preparation process, you should purchase new boxes suitable for long-term storage. Most of the old boxes you have won’t do the work. This is due to bad material, the fact that they were already used.  Make sure to purchase new, durable, moisture-proof boxes.

How to pack items like clothes for long-term storage

Whether you want to store some old clothes,  make way for seasonal clothing items which you won’t need for a few months, or temporarily return home from college but you’re unwilling to carry all of your stuff back and forth, storage units seem like a perfect solution for you. Cleaning and washing everything that you’re about to store is the number one priority.  You need to check everything for stains, odor, and dirt. When you’ve done that and carefully cleaned everything, put your clothes in the aforementioned plastic containers. You should make sure that they have a clip-on lid for extra protection.

Furniture

When it comes to furniture, here you need to be extra careful. Cleaning it before storing is by far the most important thing. But, materials that furniture is built of require different types of cleaning. On wooden parts of the furniture, you should use a wood cleaning product, wipe it, and apply a suitable polish. You should also polish metal parts to avoid rust. Make sure everything is dry before storing, and for more convenient packing, disassemble larger pieces of furniture if possible. In the end,  carefully wrap it all up.

Fragile items

You should mark fragile items (so everyone knows they should be extra careful with those boxes) and wrap them individually. Try to make some kind of a cushion inside to support them and fill every space in the box. This will help avoid unbalance and the likelihood for them to break. The heaviest items should always go at the bottom of the box.

Packing other Items for Storage

After you’ve packed items from the three categories above, everything else should be a lot easier. Packing books, accessories, tools are much easier to navigate, as long as you have bought appropriate boxes for storing. Keep in mind if you’re storing electronics to recheck if there is be any humidity that could harm them. Use Styrofoam in the boxes with electronics in them so you can protect them well. Also, if you have some trouble figuring out how to find a space for heavy instruments, such as piano, hire professional piano movers San Antonio TX has to offer, who will solve your problem.

There you go, hopefully, the tips above helped you successfully pack items for long-term storage. Always go with the well-conditioned storage unit, and clean every item before you store it. Good luck!