Putting your items into long-term storage is an important decision to make, either for preparation for renovations or construction or simply because you want to free up more living space within your existing home. In any case, you need to make sure that you take the proper steps to prepare the items that you are going to put into storage to protect them against damage and ensure that they are as good as new when you eventually take them out again.

Avoid Plastic

While plastic boxes and containers may seem like the most effective packing material available, due to their increased durability and waterproof nature when compared to cardboard and other materials, you should generally avoid them. This is because plastic materials can actually trap moisture within themselves, due to their waterproof nature, making mold growth and water damage on organic and soft materials much more likely. The only time when you should use plastic materials, including boxes and garment bags, is if they are explicitly stated to be breathable.

Store Above the Ground

Placing individual pieces of furniture and cardboard boxes on the ground is very risky: temperature fluctuations from the concrete floor of most storage units can cause damage to more fragile items, and moisture is likely to seep into the base of each box and individual piece. Instead, make use of shelving units for smaller boxes, and store large pieces of furniture and heavier items on top of wooden pallets that separate them from the ground.

No Extra Space

While this is particularly important for more fragile items, you should make sure that you do this for all boxes that you are considering putting into storage. Make sure that you fill up all extra space within the box, using packing material like bubble wrap or packing peanuts. This ensures that damage will not occur if your boxes fall over while in storage, and also reduces the risk of damage occurring during the moving process into and out of the storage unit.

Labeling

Finally, the most important thing that you can do for your belongings when putting them into long-term storage is to clearly label them. Storing them according to some sort of organizational scheme, making a map, and ensuring that there is a clear indicator on the outside of the box (while writing in marker is a good way to identify items, using colored tape is a good way to mark different categories of items) can all help reduce headaches down the line when you decide to unpack your storage unit.

For more information, contact your local storage facilities.