You could rent a storage unit and just toss everything inside of it, haphazardly. Some people do take this approach, but it comes back to bite them when they want to remove something from the storage unit. Having to sort through three piles of boxes to finally find what you need is a waste of time, and if your storage unit is (poorly) organized in this way, you may end up abandoning things and buying new ones, rather than actually using those items. So how can you organize your storage unit more effectively so that accessing your items is not a pain? Here are a few tips.
1. Plan your boxes before putting anything inside of them
Before packing anything into your boxes, make a list of what is going in each box. This allows you to reorganize the boxes without physically having to move things around. Try to put items that you're likely to want to access more often in the same box so that you don't have to unstack four other boxes to access them. Only once you know what is going in each box should you start actually packing.
2. Use boxes of the same size
You can make tidier stacks inside the storage unit if all of your boxes are uniform. So instead of collecting various boxes from here and there, pay a little more for a set of matching moving boxes. If you want a couple of smaller boxes for heavy items, like books, that's okay — but you should have two box sizes at the most.
3. Leave space between rows
When stacking your boxes in the storage unit, make sure you leave space between rows. You should not have to move an entire stack of boxes to see the stack behind it. A good way to arrange things is to make a U shape of box stacks around the three outside walls of the storage unit. Then, put any larger items, like furniture, in the center. Leave enough space to walk between the boxes and inside stack on all sides.
4. If you put items in drawers and cabinets, label them
In order to save space in your storage unit, you might pack some items in the drawers of dressers, or even inside the oven. This is okay, but do make sure you label these drawers and such so that you know what is inside of them. A little painter's tape with words written in permanent marker will come off easily later on.
To learn more about storage, contact a company in your area like Stadium Storage.
