There are many reasons where you may need to keep certain items in storage and this could be for a long or a short time. Regardless, it’s always a good idea to get them ready for storage to ensure they come out the same state they went in and to ensure that they’re easy and ready to move onto the final destination. In this article we’ll look at some helpful tips to properly store furniture and other items until they can be removed and placed in their new home.
1 – Disassembly
A lot of larger scale items of furniture will need to be broken down into smaller parts in order to fit them all within storage units. This is especially true of sofas, tables, chairs and beds too, which can be quite inconvenient! Fortunately a lot of furniture these days is modular and is constructed knowing that it may need to be broken down into its original pieces until it’s built up again. If you have a large storage unit it may be quite feasible to store certain items of furniture in their entirety but some may be so unwieldy that they require disassembly.
It always helps when actually picking up and moving the larger pieces to have them in a more manageable form. For example it helps if a table has the legs folded or the legs are separate; it allows for a more tolerable experience of lifting a heavy item. It also means that you aren’t likely to crash into anything accidentally if the legs have been removed for example.
2 – Cleaning
When you move into a new home you’ll most likely want everything to be nice and clean. It’s such a pain when you create more mess and dirt when bringing in items from storage that weren’t clean when going in. I have always found it better to spend a little bit of time cleaning the surfaces just so that the pieces can go into their new homes without any trouble. It’s another quick task that is often better to do before moving rather than after when you would rather spend time enjoying your new home than cleaning your furniture!
3 – Storing
Having some kind of plan for storing your items of furniture will help massively when you come to empty it. Creating a pathway to easily access heavier and more cumbersome items is always a good idea. It also means that you can have unobstructed access to any items should you wish to move something at any moment. Labelling boxes is another great idea, especially if you’re planning on leaving items in storage for quite some time and you may have forgotten what was inside each box.
Labelling also helps for keeping fragile items out of harm’s way and ensuring that they’re not accidentally supporting anything with weight that may cause damage. Packing things with a system will also help any removals company when they arrive to collect your belongings to transport them to your new home. At Yeates, we have our self storage site at Weston-super-Mare and it always helps to keep an organised storage unit!
4 – Wrapping
Just as you would wrap certain furniture or appliances with bubble wrap or wrapping paper when moving home, it’s also a great idea to do the same when moving items to a storage unit for total peace of mind during the moving stage. Depending on the item, a plastic bag or box is handy to preserve the item – a blanket or curtains for instance are much more manageable within a box or a plastic bag. This, in turn, also helps to keep them clean and safe from any accidental tears that may arise from moving them without protection.
If you’ve hired a removals company to transport your belongings from the storage unit to your new home, it will also help them to move everything with ease! Keeping things boxed and wrapped is also a great idea for long-term storage – just to help preserve your furniture and household items until they’re needed again.
5 – Insuring
For total peace of mind it’s always advisable to insure your belongings while they’re in storage and/ or while they’re in transit. Most storage units will offer insurance on your belongings along with a whole host of other security measures to keep everything just as you left it. Always check with the storage provider to enquire about what insurance options are available.
Whether it’s short or long-term, hopefully this list has served to give you a few pointers on how best to store your belongings until they’re needed again. It’s often possible for a removals or storage company to pack up, transport and store all your belongings for you, completely hassle free so do be sure to check what services are available!
