Not all storages are used as a de facto burial ground for old useless items we don’t want to throw away for some reason. More often than not, storage spaces are used to keep essential things like seasonal clothing, rarely used machines and others. So imagine if you need something in a hurry, and you start going through a ton of boxes filled with random items, only for the enormous pile hanging above to come down at you and bury you inside your storage. A bit dark, we will agree, but unfortunately not so far-fetched. About 8% of fatalities in storage places are due to falling materials.
So, why risk being part of the statistics when you can simply organise your storage so you can visit as frequently as you need and always find the correct item fast and easily? Of course, we are here to assist you with that task and to be extra helpful. We sought some advice from Fantastic Services, one of the biggest storage service providers in the UK. Here are their top tips.
Choose the Right Type of Storage
This really should be a no-brainer. You need to figure out what type of storage you need before you even start packing. There are several types of storage, like traditional self-storage, portable storage containers, commercial storage, climate-controlled, or residential units. You need to figure out what you must store, how much space you will need and how much space you need to move inside. When making the decision, remember that you will probably have additional items stored over time, so acquire more space than you immediately need.
Typically, if you contact a storage service provider, they will help you choose precisely what you are looking for.
Invest in Shelving and Filing System
Once you’ve chosen your storage unit, make sure you use the hired space properly. To be able to utilise the storage space fully, you will need to go vertically as well as horizontally. Needless to say, you will need part of your floor to move in and find exactly what you need rapidly and effortlessly.
To achieve this utilisation, you will need shelves. They have two significant advantages, which will help you keep your belongings safe and easily reachable when needed. Firstly, shelves will keep everything off the floor. Keeping storage boxes off the floor is storing 101, and it helps you protect your items against pests, flooding and moisture. Secondly, it’s the most efficient way to organise your storage. It’s way easier to find and browse through your stuff when they are neatly held one above the other, so using shelves is the perfect solution for frequently visited storage units.
There are a lot of shelves on the market, but generally, we recommend sticking to brand-new shelves bought from a well-known retailer. This way, you will have at least some security for their quality. After all, you wouldn’t want to find your stuff broken and scattered around because a shelf has succumbed to the weight.
Decide Where to Place Items Strategically
Before you start throwing your stuff in boxes, first take your time to create a game plan. That’s crucial for later, as you’d want to find your belongings easier. So you should plan ahead and bunch items together based on themes. For example, if you are storing your winter clothing, it’s a good idea to keep them separate from your ski clothing as you won’t need them simultaneously. You will take out your winter clothes at the end of October, but you will need your ski clothing when you are going on a vacation. So a better solution would be to store your ski clothing with your ski equipment.
Moreover, make sure to put heavier stuff on the lower platforms, while lighter may go on top, regardless of when you will use them.
Finally, make sure to organise your storage according to some logic. For example, you may separate your storage into sports, work, camping and books sections. This way, you will know exactly where to find your bike helmet, for example, even if you remember you need it at the last possible moment.
Creating a game plan before you start wrapping will help you organise the packing process since you won’t miss anything, and you will envision how much space this particular item would need and where you should put it.
Label Everything
A common mistake is to trust your memory when storing items. Don’t do that. Your memory might be brilliant, but your brain cells will go into overdrive when you have 50-100 similar boxes. It’s not worth the effort when you can simply label each container. This will make your attempts to find a specific item much easier, and you won’t waste time going through dozens of boxes only to remember you put it elsewhere. You don’t have to put every single item in the box. Just mark them with numbers, letters or nicknames like “clothes 1” or “clothes 2”. You might wonder how you will find precisely what you are looking for in boxes with such labelling. Well, this is the inventory list job.
Create an Inventory List
The inventory list will contain what each box has inside. It’s truly effortless to make such a list. However, the hard part is to remind yourself to update it whenever you take something out of the box. We recommend having one physical copy of the list in your storage room and a digital copy on your phone or in the cloud. This way, you can always check in advance what you need, and if you forget to edit your physical copy of the inventory list, you can do it later in the digital copy.
Needless to say, the inventory list will make finding items in your storage effortless. Retrieving them is a whole other story.
Frequently Used Items Go to the Front
It’s not rocket science. If you use something frequently, you should put it where it’s easiest to retrieve. For example, if you have a car battery charger and a portable car vacuum cleaner in your storage space, putting the vacuum cleaner front and centre makes sense, as you will use it far more frequently. This way, you won’t have to move the heavy car battery charger whenever you need the vacuum cleaner.
The most common mistake here is to place newly stored items in front of old ones regardless of when you will use them. This is done predominantly out of laziness, which creates extra work in the long run. Instead, ensure you are thorough when storing your items, and always follow your strategy.
Conclusion
Keeping order in your storage space will take some extra time, but it will repay itself in the long run. So instead of aimlessly wandering in the vast jungle of your storage, just follow in our footsteps and make it easier for yourself.
