The Do’s and Don’ts When Deciding to get a Self Storage Facility

The self storage industry has grown now to be a multi-billion industry since the very beginning. There have been studies that showed how it has progressed to where it is right now, and that more and more individuals have realized the need of getting one. Self storage is not just contained to the concept of renting a few boxes and storing it somewhere but it is more than that – it is a piece of real estate, a specialized kind of property that has certain characteristics that could answer several needs for storing items, be it valuable or not. As more and more individuals, families, business and organizations are looking into securing one, there are certain considerations that you need to ask yourself before you join in the bandwagon. There are certainly benefits of hiring a storage facility, but you need to assess and ensure that the benefits outweigh the costs of securing one.

So when is the time that you would actually need one?

Here are some questions that you can start with asking yourself before you hire a self storage facility.

1. Do I have a lot of clutter at home to put into self storage?

This is a common question that I often hear from friends who are looking at extending their home space by securing a self storage facility to put their clutter at home. However, take a moment to reflect on it. Do I really need one? Or should I start de-cluttering first and see what I have left before I secure one? It is just easy for us to extend our real estate thru self storage facilities but it is likely that we end up storing items that we may not need for the next 6 months or more. In the end, we pay for storage of our junk that we eventually have to throw away.

What to do in this situation? Step back and assess if the items in your house or what you call ‘clutter’ are things that you would use in the next 6 months. If the answer is no – then let go (throw or donate). If yes, then set aside and see if you have enough to put on storage.

2. Old pieces of furniture that are still good but needs refurbishing – would I need these anytime soon?

Unless you are going to refurbish these to make it look brand new, then you can keep them for a while until the time you are going to refurbish these. Otherwise, if these do not fit anymore the current design of your place or your new place if you are moving, then might as well let these go, too.

3. My babies are growing up too fast – baby stuff anyone?

Well, if you are thinking of planning to have another baby in the next 3 years and the baby stuff won’t get so old and outdated, then you might keep these. Sometimes having some baby items passed on to one kid to another could bring out the sentimental person in you, but if you have chosen baby stuff that could be outdated in the next year or so, then you can consider giving these away to a relative who is going to have a new addition to the family.

4. Mementos anyone?

Unless you see that your souvenirs or even old stuff from college would appreciate in value, then keep these because you will definitely earn some profit. However, if these haven’t appreciated in value and end up gathering dust in the corner of your house, consider throwing these away, too.

5. Green thumb – the magic is no longer there.

Gardening tools are usually kept for a long time. If you don’t plan to use these for a while but might revive your gardening skills in a few years, might as well keep these. You might want to rent mobile storage that allow you to pay for the number of boxes you keep rather a big room with only gardening tools to store. Otherwise, if there is no option for mobile storage and pay only by the number of mobile pods, then make an effort to clear up some space under your staircase storage or kitchen area.

Extending your living space has become a norm in households nowadays especially ‘livable’ real estate has become more expensive and the desire to create more living space has grown. If the items that you would like to keep in your storage space are not considered ‘junk’ or ‘clutter’, then securing one is worth it. Otherwise, you have to re-think on how you keep items and re-evaluate whether you would like to keep these or let these go. 

What you Can and Can't Put in Storage

Storage units are a great way of cleaning out your home and practically anything can be stored in them, whether it’s books and kitchen utensils or antique furniture and clothes and garden equipment. 

However, this doesn’t mean that everything can be stored; there are some items that can be dangerous if left enclosed for long periods so here is a quick rundown on what kind of things you shouldn’t put into a storage unit.

What not to put in storage:

• Any organic or living materials – although this may sound obvious there have been cases where people actually kept their pets in a storage unit, or even slept there themselves!  Plants need sunlight and water to thrive and will simply die if left in a dark storage space, and people simply shouldn’t be there!
• Any food that can go off – decomposing food will start to smell and attract insects and flies.
• Anything of very high value, or personal documents.
• Substances that are toxic, poisonous and flammable – this includes things like paint, gas bottles, chemicals, medical waste and methane gas as the fumes can build up and be very dangerous within a confined space
• Firearms, ammunition or explosives. There are specialised places for these kinds of items.
• Anything wet as this can cause mould to grow which will affect everything in the unit and could ultimately destroy it.
• Photographs can be put into storage but could get damaged. If you have to, then place them between 2 pieces of cardboards and wrap tape around it as this will stop the corners from curling up and ruining them.
• Illegal items can’t be kept in a storage unit; this means drugs and stolen goods and anything else the law prohibits.

What you can put in storage:

• Furniture items that are properly packed or wrapped
• Kitchen items and silverware that are boxed safely
• Electrical appliances such as refrigerators, ovens, and dishwashers
• Collectable items without a large monetary value
• Books and documents
• Clothes and materials
• Promotional materials and displays
• Patio and garden furniture
• Large items such as canoes, bicycles or surfboards

It is always best to check with the storage company before putting anything you are unsure about in a unit. A good rule of thumb is that if it is in any way perishable, illegal, or potentially dangerous then it should not be placed in a storage unit.

Keep everything in your unit packed well to avoid any damage and make it easier to sort through when you need access later on. There are lots of tips online that help you organize packing your unit so it’s neat and tidy and the things you might want to access at certain times can be reached easily when needed.

What Can You Put into Storage?

It’s taken as the norm these days that most homes simply aren’t big enough to contain all the items a family owns, that’s why more and more are turning to storage units to take control of the chaos in their house.

Storage facilities offer flexible solutions for keeping household and business items safe when you do not need to use them on a daily basis. However, there are some restrictions common to most storage unit providers around the country. This is due to legal and safety considerations on the part of the storage company.

Common restrictions include: 

• Combustible materials such as chemicals, gas and fuel
• Live animals or plant materials
• Firearms - although there are some conditions where these are allowed
• Illegal goods, stolen goods or restricted substances.

Some goods may not be subject to restriction but could require specialised storage, such as wine which requires a controlled temperature.

Large items for weekend and holiday entertainment purposes are common things that end up in storage units as people simply don’t have the space for them. These include things like canoes and small rowing boats, windsurfing and parasailing gear, surfboards and other similar items that take up a lot of space but aren’t used on a regular basis.

There are some people that like to collect cars, or have a spare vehicle that is taking up space outside the home but rarely driven. Everyone has their reasons as to why they don’t want to sell these vehicles and so putting them into storage means they are safe and kept out of the rain and wet, this also applies to motorbikes, and boats that need to be sheltered.

Most things you keep in the house are allowed to be put into storage; this includes furniture and household items, kitchen utensils and carpets, shelving, wardrobes, beds and sofas. Self storage gives the perfect opportunity to declutter the premises, store belongings safely, or put away items that you want to keep but are simply in the way at home.

Facilities generally offer two types of storage services that can accommodate businesses and private clients. Business storage is ideal for archiving sensitive or confidential documents, client records and files, and is generally much safer than keeping them under lock and key in the company office. Excess stock, surplus materials and promotional equipment and literature are also often put into storage until they’re needed again so they don’t take up all the space at the business premises.

People like to put their personal possessions into self storage if they are sharing a house with other lodgers or the house is simply too small to hold all their belongings. It means they can go and look at them whenever they feel like it and don’t have to throw things away that could offer memories from their childhood or some other happy occasion.

Ask your storage provider if you have something that requires storage but are unsure if it is allowed. Most household items will be fine to keep in storage and you will only be limited to the size of the mobile storage module or facility.

Moving Your Bedroom Items

When you are thinking of moving houses, you try to plan your way through from the time you knew about it and when you have secured the new place to move to. Then you try plan accordingly by tackling the bigger items first – you find some self storage facility near your new place to store your items, you book this new place giving an estimate of when you start and for how you would require the self storage facility. After which, you now stand in front of your major rooms to be cleaned, sorted and the items to be packed away. You seem not to be able to put a finger to which one you would like to start with, but decided you have really have to do it. The first stop is your ‘bedroom’.

The bedroom, apart from your kitchen, can be one of the trickiest rooms in your home to sort through, clean up and pack when you are moving house. You see in every corner of the room items that you have grown familiar with and not have the heart to throw these away, memorabilia that you are hoping to pass on to your children or the younger generation in your family, and some items that you just forgot to sort and clear out, but then you foresee that you have some use for these. But this is just a single room. What if you are part of a family with at least 4 members?

If you are in a family this means multiple rooms with clothing, personal belongings, toys and furniture. And you just can’t seem to know where to start. Take a deep breath and just close your eyes to calm yourself. Once you have done so, pick a box and label it ‘used in the past 6 months’, ‘not used at all’, and ‘will foresee using in the next month’. You sort your things in the way whether you have used these or not in the past 6 months. Chances are, those that you have used in the past 6 months, you will still use it but those that you have not touched in the past 6 months, you won’t even bother picking these up in the next month. Now, the tricky part is ‘foresee to use in the next month’. This will involve a bit of thinking and foresight, but once you got the hang of it (and still have lesser items in this box), then you are on the right track of clearing up your bedroom with unnecessary items. By clearing up, you will be able to save a lot of space in the self storage facility or in the usage of mobile storage later on.

In a gist, it is always an important step to first sort through clothing and personal items in each bedroom and decide what you can take with you, what can be given or thrown away and what can be placed in storage.

Once you are done with the items not stored in the clothing cabinets, then you can start sorting through the clothes in the same manner. You just have to make sure these are place and packed in marked boxes so they can be placed in the right room in your new home. Mark the boxes and number them accordingly, while you note these down on a notebook. This is just to keep track of the number of moving boxes you have when you move form the house to the storage facility near Sydney and to the new home.

It is also important to keep clothing boxes nice and sealed so they don't get dirty during the move. Ask the movers to keep them away from heaving boxes so that these won’t get crumpled during the move and while in self storage. Also put shoes in separate containers - you don't want your clothing to smell like feet!

Next clear out the linen and other bedding and pack any personal items in the room away so you are only left with the furniture. Make sure that the boxes containing the linen, which are going to get heavy, will not be placed on top of fragile items. You need to note or color code the boxes if these contain fragile items or not. It will help the movers and make it easier for them to organize among themselves, as well. Once done, your pieces of furniture can be wrapped properly by bubble wrap. Then, you can dismantle your bed so it is easier to move and start taking out any other pieces of furniture which should now be empty. Ensure that you label the bed parts and keep them together in one place. You do not want to arrive at the new home and not able to find the bed parts easily. It is hard to sleep on the floor for one night!

Moving the contents of the bedroom can be tricky, similar to the kitchen. But once you get the hang of it, it will be a breeze and you can repeat the same steps easily in any part of the room. It will just be easy as 1-2-3!