Booked one of our spacious Exeter self storage units but aren’t sure how to pack your things? Don’t worry! Your Store Exeter is here to explain step by step how to go about packing up all of your precious belongings so that this daunting task becomes much more manageable.
We’ll explain each step in more detail below and provide you with helpful tips on how to make the process go smoothly. These are our ten steps for packing your items to place into one of our storage units in Exeter:
The fact that you’ve rented one of our Exeter self storage units means that you’ve got a heap of items that you don’t need right now, but you are going to want later when you move into your new room, home, or place of business. Taking the time to make a note of what items you do use in your day to day and setting these to one side can make all the difference. The last thing you want when going through the stressful moving process is to take an emergency trip to our Exeter self storage facility because you’ve accidentally packed your child’s favourite stuffed toy!
For those wanting to take things to the next level, Your Store Exeter recommends making an inventory list and categorising items based on whether you think you’ll need them all the time, immediately after moving, or whether they’re things that can wait until after the first night to be unpacked.
If you still aren’t quite sure what you should and shouldn’t be leaving at our Exeter self storage facility, then take a look at our article on 8 things NOT to put in a self storage unit.
Now that you’ve got an idea of what’s going into your storage unit Exeter, the next thing to do is to stock up on the storage supplies you’ll need to transport and store your items safely. Boxes, containers, packing peanuts, bubble wrap, duct tape. There’s so many different ways to pack up each item that it’s easy to feel like you’re going to forget something. Fortunately, Your Store Exeter is here to help. We have a range of packing materials available, it’s just one of the reasons people in the Exeter area choose us! By taking the time to plan what you need before heading to our Exeter self storage facility, you can be confident you won’t be missing anything you need for packing up your items.
Our extra tip for this step is to measure up your larger and awkwardly shaped items. This way you can know ahead of time exactly what sizes of containers and boxes you’ll need and avoid any unexpected surprises come boxing day.
“Where is that thing?” We’ve all experienced that awful moment when you can’t find something after collecting all of the belongings from self-storage. Did it get left behind? Did it fall out in the car? It’s always worrying, and it’s a stress you don’t need when moving. The best way to sidestep this potential mishap is to group all of your items together before you begin packing them away to go into our storage units in Exeter. Kitchen supplies should all go in one set of boxes, bathroom items the next, and so on. This way you greatly limit the number of boxes that need searching when something hasn’t turned up and help to make unpacking a smooth process.
If at all possible, Your Store Exeter recommends that you pack away your electronic items all in their original boxes, alongside all of their cables. This handy hint will make identifying your electronics when you take them out of the self storage unit even easier, and will ensure that no essential cables go missing. Furthermore, these boxes were what these items were originally shipped in, so it’s a great way to keep them secure while cutting down on waste.
Cleaning is a chore that few of us enjoy, but when packing up your things for self storage it’s very important to make sure it gets done. By ensuring that everything is wiped down and free of dust, you can avoid the build-up of musty smells that can haunt packing boxes and your self-stored items for days and weeks to come. You will want to take extra care in ensuring everything is completely dry before sending it to our Exeter self storage units, as over the long term even small drops and water can lead to rot and staining.
Your Store Exeter also suggests you go the extra mile and vacuum your soft fabrics and furniture to make sure they’re 100% clean. Kitchen and bathroom appliances can also be wiped down with disinfectant cleaning spray in order to stop any nasty bacteria from festering in our secure steel self storage units. Leather items can also be treated with conditioner to ensure that they’re well preserved.
With a handy IKEA now open in Exeter it’s no surprise that many of our customers have furniture that needs putting in self storage. While it can be tempting to leave these items as is, the best thing to do when packing your items is to disassemble your furniture before dropping it off at our Exeter facility. By doing this, you’ll be sure to get the most out of your self storage space, and more importantly, you’ll avoid the risk of potential damage to your furniture. Individual pieces can be much more easily protected and tucked away than fully assembled items with bulky shapes and awkward corners.
Our top tip for making reassembling your furniture after collecting it from our storage units in Exeter easy is to bag up all of the screws, washers, dowels and other small pieces during disassembly. Then you can tape each bag of furniture fixings to the largest piece of the furniture they belong to, meaning that you can rest easy in your new space knowing that nothing will be missing when you collect your items.
Few things are more upsetting than opening your packing boxes in storage only to discover that something has been broken in transit or by having something heavy rested on top by mistake. The best way to prevent this from happening to you is to plan ahead. Before packing your fragile belongings for self storage, carefully wrap each breakable item in bubble wrap and fill the boxes they’re going into with packing peanuts. This will give these items extra protection that can make all the difference between a successful move and unwanted breakages.
The best way to prevent fragile items from being stacked beneath something heavy by mistake is to keep them separated during each step of the packing process. We recommend you keep boxes of fragile items to one side as you prepare to head to our Exeter self storage facility, and if possible assign these boxes to their own space in the vehicle as well. This will make it easier to stack these items on the very top of the other goods at the end of the storage process, and help keep everything safe.
Packing for self storage is a long and sometimes tedious process, so it can be easy to consider taking shortcuts. A common mistake people make is overfilling their packing boxes in order to save time, but this is very unsafe. Not only does it put you and other moves at risk when moving your items in and out of our storage units in Exeter, it also threatens the safety of your items as well. Overfilled boxes can easily burst or tear, leaving your items exposed or even sending them tumbling to the floor.
One thing people may underestimate is the importance of not leaving empty space in your packing boxes either. Leftover space inside boxes can allow your items to knock together when being moved into and out of our Exeter self storage facility, causing unwanted damage. So make sure to pack your items into each box carefully, without overfilling, and without leaving large empty spaces either.
This is advice that everyone will have heard at least once when moving, but time and time again people decide to trust their own memory. We recommend you trust in your penmanship instead. Taking the time to write the contents of each box when packing your items for self storage will make it much easier to drop off your items securely, and make collecting them from the self storage unit much easier.
The pen you decide to use can make a big difference on the safety of your items. Often people will reach for the first pen on hand, but a ballpoint or rollerball pen can easily tear through cardboard and won’t write properly on plastic. That’s why we suggest you use a permanent marker to label your packing boxes, which will keep the containers intact and ensure that you’ll know exactly which box is which when collecting from your self storage unit.
Remember when we asked you to keep day to day items to one side? This is why. By making a small box or bag of your essential items you can make your stay in temporary accommodation a much more pleasant experience. There’s nothing worse than being without your own toothbrush or shaver because it ended up in the bathroom items box!
If you are staying somewhere temporarily when moving, Your Store Exeter thinks that picking up some extra toiletries to keep with you and out of self storage can make all the difference. Things like shaving cream, toothpaste, and toilet roll are easy to forget. Until you need them. Pick some up in advance before locking up your items in our Exeter storage units to save from an unnecessary return trip. However, Your Store understands that accidents do happen. If you do need to come back to collect something, our FAQ will explain exactly when we’re open.
When you have rented one of our Exeter storage units, you’ll want to make sure that you’re getting the most out of your space. That means packing your items into the self storage unit the right way. We recommend storing all of your larger items at the back to make accessing your storage unit easier. Also, by effectively utilising the full height of our storage units you can make sure you’re able to fit in all of your items. If you do think you will need a larger self storage unit, you can easily find our storage unit prices online. For more information in making storage work for you, have a look at our article on “Do’s and Don’ts of Self Storage in Exeter”
If you’ve already booked your rental storage unit at our Exeter facility, or you’re looking for an affordable and convenient storage unit for your items, then these steps will be sure to make packing your items a simple process. No matter what you need one of our self storage units for, be it for business storage, personal storage, or student storage, Your Store offers Exeter self storage solutions for any asset. To find out how we can help you with storing your items today, call us on 01392 253119 or email info@yourstoreexeter.co.uk.
