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Packing your valuables into a storage unit in Houston may be more complicated than you think. By efficiently and effectively stacking boxes in your unit, you will prevent damage to your property and injury to people inside the unit. With the proper planning, you’ll know where things fit and be able to maneuver around your unit with relative ease. Plus, you’re maximizing on the space you’re paying for every month.
Before moving in your belongings to a storage unit in Houston, take into account these packing for storage tips so you can efficiently organize your unit and protect your belongings.
How to Pack for Short or Long-Term Storage
1. Create a Path
Create a maneuverable path in your storage unit that will allow you to access items as necessary. Carefully consider how to organize the items in your unit before storing them. You’ll notice a clear path is just as important as properly stacking your belongings.
2. Make Frequented Items Easily Accessible
Place the boxes that contain items you’ll need to access most frequently toward the front of the storage unit. Expensive items that you seldom use should be stored in the back. Doing so will further ensure the security of your items, while giving easy access to items you use most often.
3. Use the Right Box
Use two types of packing boxes: larger, sturdier boxes for heavy items and smaller boxes for light items. When arranging items for storage units in Houston, stack heavier boxes on the bottom and lighter ones on top. Using two uniform box types will not only allow for greater organization and space, it will also help you to recognize your items on sight.
4. Label and Identify Your Boxes
Label boxes clearly by identifying the specific item type (e.g., “flatware,” “appliances,” etc.) on all sides of the box. Be sure to label boxes with expensive and/or breakable items as “fragile,” and draft a list that corresponds with the placement of items in your unit for easy location.
5. Consider What Items You’re Stacking
Avoid the temptation to pack seemingly sturdy boxes to the very top with heavy items. For one, this will make it harder to carry the box. For another, the weight of too many heavy items can weaken a box until it inevitably collapses. At the same time, don’t underpack your boxes to the point where the top will collapse when other boxes are stacked on it.
6. Protect Fragile Items
Carefully wrap fragile items that don’t fit easily in a box, such as mirrors and large picture frames, in bubble wrap or packing paper. For added safety, add a layer of heavy fabric (such as a quilt) so that they don’t bump up against other items in the roofing based storage unit. Also, mirrors and frames should always stand on end, rather than flat on the floor.
7. Fill Boxes with Proper Protection
Stuff your storage boxes with packing paper or bubble wrap so that items don’t collide with each other. Filling the sides and gaps in your boxes with old newspaper protects your items from any rough bumps that may occur during transport to your storage unit.
8. Avoid Mold and Mildew
Box up as many of your valuables as possible so that they don’t become dusty and dirty. But avoid placing your items in sealed plastic bags—mildew and mold can develop due to moisture and humidity in the atmosphere (and we all know how humid Houston can get). You may want to consider renting a climate-controlled storage unit when storing items that are particularly
vulnerable to the elements.
9. Safeguard Clothes with a Wardrobe Box
Instead of stuffing clothes insides boxes, invest in a wardrobe box with a built-in hanging rod for clothing that you will rarely wear in Houston (such as sweaters and heavy coats). Hanging your clothes inside a wardrobe box ensures that protections from the elements and helps clothes retain their
original shape.
10. Take Apart Large Items
Dismantle large pieces of furniture (such as dressers and tables) in order to provide needed space in your unit. Both the surfaces and insides should be completely dry so that mold will not form. Also, any screws, bolts or extra pieces to your furniture should be kept together and properly labeled so that you can reconnect them at a later date.
The storage units at Big Tex Self Storage range rom smaller, closet-sized units to larger, garage-sized units to fit your needs. For more packing tips, storage supplies or help finding the right storage unit in Houston, contact us.
