7 Outstanding Storage Tips For Moving Home

No matter how far away on the calendar your moving date is marked, it will come a lot quicker than you think.

And moving is one of the most stressful things you’ll ever do. So, to help make that experience a little smoother, we’ve gathered up 7 outstanding storage tips for moving home.

Hopefully we can help you avoid the headaches of broken plates, lost underwear and misplaced family heirlooms.

1. Plan Ahead

First things first, devise a packing rota. This might seem extreme for some but I bet the hyper organised colour coder inside of you is itching to start planning.

Plan which rooms you want to pack up first —and when. Decide which rooms you use least and pack them first. Move out from there, working your way to your most used rooms as this will minimise disruption.

Another great thing about planning ahead — roping in your friends! If you give people enough warning, you won’t have to deal with last minute excuses not to help.

“Oh hey Jon are you busy October 25th? No? Well fantastic you can help me move then”.

2. Get Your Supplies

For stress-free packing, make sure you have all your supplies ready beforehand. When you finally get started, you won’t be running around looking for scissors instead of packing.

The most common supplies you should have in your arsenal are:

• Boxes – all shapes and sizes
• Tape – from cellotape to brown packing tape
• Bubblewrap
• Fillers – styrofoam packing peanuts, newspaper
• Labels – all sizes
• Pens – including heavy black marker
• Scissors

It is also a good idea to choose a designated room to store your packed boxes. This way once everything is all packed up, you can move it out of the room and feel a sense of achievement.

You can even use a storage unit for this until the move.

3. Declutter

Now the fun part. The total decluttering of your home.

This is the time to go through each and every one of your items and decide if you’re going to Keep, Chuck, Store or Sell it.

What your going to Keep is the things that are going to the next home with you. Anything marked as Keep will be packed into all your recently sourced boxes.

Either leave them be, take a note of them or place them in a safe place until packing.

Chuck is pretty much self-explanatory.

Get rid of anything you don’t want to take, store and which isn’t worth selling.. This is the perfect excuse to get rid of all of your partner’s old vinyl that definitely isn’t going to be worth something someday.

And the vinyl he manages to cling onto for dear life? Why not put it in storage?

4. Hire A Storage Unit

Storage units aren’t just great for a bit of overflow storage. They’re the perfect place for seasonal items too. Your tangle of christmas lights? All your hiking gear and equipment? Your skis?

Stick it all in a storage unit!

Moving home might mean you aren’t going to be able to bring all of your possessions with you. But you might not be able to part with them either.

We understand and that’s where we come in! We offer flexible prices on self storage and have a unit to suit everyone’s needs.

And the stuff that you think you will never bring out of storage but is too good to just chuck in the bin? Sell it.

5. Sell Your Items

Rather than just chucking stuff away, why not make some money in the process? Turning your trash into cash so to speak.

There are many ways to sell your items.

One fun and easy way to sell is by hosting a car boot sale. It’s a great way to get rid of old stuff quickly and earn some extra cash while you’re at it. It’s also pretty fun — especially if the sun is shining!

Don’t fancy risking the weather and have some items that are slightly more valuable? Why not sell online.

Or if you’re feeling generous why not have a give-away party or take a box to the local charity.

6. Get Packing

Okay, now everything has been sorted, stored, chucked and sold. Now you are ready to finally start packing your things for moving.

Some handy packing tips are:

• Choose your boxes correctly. Put heavier items in smaller boxes and lighter items in bigger boxes
• Pack efficiently. If you can, pack similar items together. For example, pack all your toiletries in one box and your electricals in another.
• Fill the gaps. Make sure everything is compact. A handy tip to not waste space is to use your clothes as box fillers. It’s going to be coming with you anyway and it helps protect fragile items
• Don’t over pack. Make sure you can lift each box easily. There’s no point trying to cram as many things into one giant box if you can’t lift it. And don’t hurt yourself trying to lift really heavy overpacked boxes.
• Secure your boxes. Make sure breakable items are well wrapped in bubblewrap or well covered with packing peanuts. Tape up your boxes once they are filled and make sure they are secure and nothing will fall out the bottom. No one wants a broken toe and a cracked lamp!
• Stay organised. Once your boxes are packed, make sure that you clearly label them. Write the room they belong to and a description of what’s inside.

7. Removal

Well done packing is complete! Celebrate with a glass (bottle) of wine and chill out for a bit.

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Okay, now back to it. The moving date is just around the corner and you need to make sure all your beloved items get to your new home safe and sound.

We strongly suggest trusting in the experts for this one. Why not read 9 Expert Tips on How to Find A Good Removal Company to get you started.

Now everything is packed. The removal company is booked. And the date on the calendar is tomorrow.

It’s time to say goodbye to your old home and hello to your new future, with all of your belongs safe and sound.

We hoped these tips helped you in the moving process. If you would like any more information on how we can help you store your things please get in touch.

Don’t forget to leave some of your own moving tips on our Facebook page.