What’s the best way to store goods in a self-storage unit? Well, there are many things you can do and techniques to consider when storing items for personal, business or vehicle-related reasons. Whether it’s a closet-sized space or a garage-like area large enough to store the contents of a five-bedroom house.
At the end of this blog, you’ll have a thorough understanding of the most effective ways to store your items in a secure self-storage unit. We’ll go through the different life hacks and finer details of what makes self-storage an effective means of organising your business or personal life.
Are you ready to learn the ways of self-storage!?
Assessing Your Storage Needs
What Types of Items Are You Wanting To Store?
Wherever you are or whatever your situation, the first thing you’ll need to gauge is “What am I looking to store?” You might be a homeowner looking to offload items and declutter your house. This is a common reason to seek self-storage but also just as common is finding a temporary home for goods during renovations or construction. These items can include the following:
- Kitchen items/appliances
- Furniture/beds
- Clothes
- Vehicles or holiday equipment
- Decorations/knick-knacks
If you’re a business owner, you may want to consider storing some very important commercial-related items such as:
- Sensitive/confidential documents
- Excess stock or inventory
- Business vehicles
When you are considering storing certain items, try and gauge the size and weight of the goods – this is key when planning your unit’s capacity. Understanding how much you are planning to store will allow you to know what size unit you require. At Safeguard Storage, we have small, medium and large units. Depending on the items you wish to store, we’ll very quickly be able to inform you which unit would work best.
For more information, please read – “Make The Most Out Of Document Storage In Your Storage Unit”
Make Sure To Take Into Account Requirements and Budgets
While Safeguard Storage can promise your unit will be 100% dry, clean and protected, we ask that you ensure your items are just as clean and dry. Moisture within a self-storage unit can be the perfect breeding ground for mould and foul smells. We recommend retaining or leaving behind any item which you believe may be too wet or uncontrollably moist during storage.
Nevertheless, any item that could be wet clothes, swim equipment, or washers can be dried if left out in the open air for a while. Anything that goes into the storage unit dry will stay dry in our secure units. However, we ask that no temperature-sensitive items remain inside the unit as we cannot guarantee a certain temperature is maintained throughout the leasing period.
We understand that budgets can be a cause for concern with many self-storage renters, which is why we prioritise competitive pricing and short-term leasing options. If you’re unsure of the best course of action for your situation or budget, our friendly team are always available for a call, or, feel free to shoot us through an enquiry form. We’ll be able to offer up pricing plans and appropriate storage unit sizes to ensure you get the best deal possible.
Preparing Your Items for Storage
Begin An Organisation Phase For Your Belongings
Sorting and categorising your belongings may seem like a daunting task but it will all pay off in the long term. As a common rule, we believe that a spring clean is a perfect method for clearing out the house or office (P.S. it doesn’t have to be Spring). We always recommend that you organise your belongings into three categories.
- Keep
- Store at Safeguard Storage
- Donate/throw away
For more information on storage preparation, please read – “Easy Declutter Tips For The New Year With Safeguard Storage”
You’ll be surprised at how much sticking to this method will clean up your personal or commercial spaces. When you have your “storage” category all sorted, you can now look at breaking your goods up into further classifications. Depending on your situation, you’ll be able to approach each section in your own way but typically speaking, for the home, these items can be broken up into:
- Clothes
- Kitchenware
- Bedding
- Miscellaneous
Again, you can choose to add or remove categories. Every person has different items within their home and you shouldn’t feel like there is a wrong or right way to keep your items together. However, always keep in mind that you may need to retrieve something, so be aware of what is where so that it’s all made just that bit simple.
Consider Cleaning and Packing To Maximise Your Storage Capabilities
As mentioned above, ensuring all items are clean and dry and vital to ensuring the quality of your goods is not damaged inside. Moisture and mould thrive in these humid environments, so it’s essential that you do your best in ensuring that all items are as dry as possible. If clothes are involved, we recommend washing them and drying them (thoroughly) beforehand. If possible, even consider some plastic wraps or bags to keep the clothes even more protected.
If you’re a business owner or controlling the operations of a large business, you may benefit from document storage at Safeguard Storage. Why’s this? Well, first off, the drying and organising task is likely already done. You probably have file drawers or boxes that contain your sensitive documents. Feel free to bring these drawers or boxes down to our self-storage units and use them to keep all of your information safe. On a quick side note, we recommend plastic boxes as they retain no moisture. Cardboard boxes are known to lose their structural integrity if they get wet from being outside too long.
Don’t worry if you don’t have any packaging supplies, Safeguard Storage has merchandise available for purchase that can make your move dry and smooth. We have boxes, tape, and more to allow you to be as organised and protected as possible.
Selecting The Best Self-Storage Facility
What’s So Special About Safeguard Storage?
Are we the best self-storage facility? Of course. Not only do we have an amazing team of highly knowledgeable storage advisors and on-site managers across the country, but we also have several on-site features that give you peace of mind. What do our facilities offer? Have a look…
- 24/7 HD CCTV
- Gated and alarmed premises
- Many facilities have individually alarmed units
- On-site managers
- Short and long-term rental options
- Friendly visiting hours
We place security and protection at the forefront of our operations. If you store your goods with us, you can have the confidence of knowing that no one but you will have the authorisation to access our self-storage units. As an exponentially more secure option than storing in a home or garage, you should absolutely consider reaching out to us for a guarded self-storage unit.
Is Safeguard Storage User-Friendly and Accessible?
We completely understand that you want to find a self-storage facility that is easily accessible. This is why we offer drive-up access for many of our facilities throughout New Zealand. If you’re looking for large-scale storage or business-related storage, we can ensure that your vehicle will have the necessary room and pathways in place to allow for seamless transits.
Additionally, our facilities can also promise friendly access hours, meaning that we operate and allow visits outside the conventional hours of Monday to Friday, 9 to 5. Although our hours differ depending on the facility, we will happily discuss our operating times with you to make sure you can find the right windows to come and visit your self-storage unit.
Organising Your Storage Unit
How Should I Prepare A Self-Storage Unit?
While there are many steps you should take when preparing your self-storage unit, writing a list of what’s going in there is always important. Consider going through your home or office and begin a list of what exactly will be going inside. This can help you gauge what size storage unit you may need and keep a record of what exactly goes in there.
It would be wise to find out the dimensions of your storage unit before you move in as this will give your plan more accuracy and even help with your decision on what to store and not store. The planning doesn’t stop there, you can also begin your “frequency map” as mentioned above. Structure your plan or list in an order of “what will you be retrieving more often”.
Furthermore, you may even want to use this time to look into expanding the storage capacity of your storage unit. How exactly? Shelving units, palettes, and storage containers are all excellent assets to maximise your space.
What To Consider When Moving Into My Storage Unit?
Labelling and categorising your items beforehand will ensure an easy retrieval when the time comes. As you store your goods, try and place them inside the unit in the order that you planned. This is always why we recommend the use of boxes or containers when storing goods, compartmentalising your items means that they are easy to track and organise. What can Safeguard Storage offer?
- Boxes
- Tape
- Bags
Additionally, we will always advise that our customers utilise their vertical storage capabilities to enhance the storage capacity even further. What does this involve? Installing temporary racks, hooks or shelves can be an excellent way to keep items secure in the event of a box falling or other unexpected event.
Storing Different Types of Items
How Should I Store Furniture and Appliances?
Furniture and appliances are commonly stored in self-storage units for a variety of reasons. Maybe the kitchen is being renovated, you’re moving house or you may have just come into possession of too many appliances.
We recommend disassembling, wrapping and protecting your appliances to ensure no damage occurs during the storage period. Plastic wrapping is a great way to not only keep items clean but in the event of any moisture from wet items in the storage unit (we always recommend not storing anything that may be wet or damp), you should have safeguards in place to protect any kind of electronic equipment.
While some people may be able to bring their furniture and appliances to their storage unit immediately, many items may not be fresh and clean. We always recommend a solid cleaning of any furniture or appliance to ensure that no moisture causes issues. If you are worried about trapped moisture, we advise disassembling to protect all other items within the storage unit.
Safeguard Storage Can Make Your Life Stress-Free and Secure
Safeguard Storage offers a range of storage solutions for personal belongings and businesses. You’ll be in the best hands with our on-site managers and highly-experienced team of advisors. We offer a wide range of storage options throughout New Zealand, including small, medium and large self-storage units in Christchurch, Rotorua, Hamilton, Wellington, Palmerston North, Gisborne, Levin, Nelson, Waihi, Whakatane, New Plymouth, Cambridge, Otaki, Ashburton, Bulls and Timaru.
Our self-storage units are the perfect solution for those moving houses, renovating, household clutter, confidential documents, excess business stock or anyone looking for temporary or permanent storage. We pride ourselves on offering a securely gated location with 24/7 CCTV surveillance. We also feature convenient access hours that are sure to please all. Rent confidently at Safeguard Storage, knowing your business’ products/documents or your precious personal belongings will be safe.
Whether you’re after business storage, vehicle storage or personal storage, our easily accessible units are available for short-term or long-term storage. Our highly skilled and knowledgeable team is always keen to have a chat and go through your current storage situation and find the correct unit size.