A Few Things to Consider:

• Have a summary of what is stored and in what box. Yes, this is a little extreme, but you want to help shorten your trips to the unit. This list should remain in the storage unit and be left in an easily accessible binder.  
• Label all your moving boxes clearly. You can put the label on one side of the box, but if you want to be as certain as possible that you will be able to get the things that you need, go ahead and put labels on all sides of the box. 
• Consider a color-coding system to easily access the belongings you are looking for. This should decrease the length of your average visit.
• Go through what you own. It is incredibly important that you go through all the things that you own when putting them in storage.

• Clean out big appliances. If you are storing a refrigerator or laundry machines, you need to take specific care to ensure that they are cleared out and cleaned. This is especially important for refrigerators, as any food left inside runs the risk of attracting unwanted pests.

BEFORE MOVING IN

This is one of the more overlooked portions of the whole moving process. The things that need to happen in between packing and moving day. Believe it or not, there is still a great deal of work that needs to be done. Moving things into storage is only different from moving to a new home in that you don’t have to unpack boxes and don’t get to live there at the end. 

• Get some quality moving boxes. While you can absolutely throw your belongings into trash bags and into the storage unit and just sort of forget about it, most items are better able to survive when properly stored. For clothes that means folded, for small appliances that might mean being placed in boxes with protective padding around them.
• Drive-up Units: Know Your Vertical Space. If you have a drive-up unit, odds are that you also have a roll-up door. With roll up doors you lose a few inches of vertical space to allow the door to fully open. It might be smart to ensure that you know how much vertical space you have when the door is open and try to stay a little below that point.

ON MOVING DAY

It’s the big day, the one that you have been preparing boxes meticulously for; you took off work; bought pizza for the only friend you have that owns a pickup truck; found a secure storage facility and know which unit yours is. When it comes time to putting things into storage, even with all the planning we have already done, there are still steps we need to take to ensure that it wasn’t for nothing. 

• Get pallets for your outdoor units. This keeps your belongings off the ground. Now dirt and dust must work quite a bit harder to impact your belongings. If you don’t have access to pallets, excess moving boxes can be utilized instead.
• Store the heavy things first. If your storage needs include storing bulky household appliances, be sure to store those first and towards the rear of your unit.

• Leave a clear walkway. You should be able to get to the rear of your unit without moving any boxes or furniture. To help with that, store from the walls out. Start with the either wall, once you have one row of boxes across the wall, move to the opposite wall.  

WHEN VISITING YOUR STORAGE UNIT:

That’s right, just because you packed up your storage unit just as we discussed, that doesn’t mean a single thing if no work is done to maintain it. This is essentially a remedial lesson in how to remain organized, but it’s the maintenance where the magic happens. 

• Put everything back where it belongs. Obvious though it seems, that seems to be the part that is most mystifying to people. No, your boxes will not magically go back where they belong, and you can’t just Disney Princess local wildlife to do the chore for you. If you can that’s very impressive, and you should take that show on the road. 

Maintain the walkway. This means be sure to put everything back where it belongs, and keep the space tidy. This might make a trip to the unit a little longer, but it also makes future visits easier.