Last Updated on February 2, 2023 by teamobn
Moving house is never an easy or quick task. You’ll need to deal with many things, such as updating your address on several documents, transferring utilities, scheduling a general home cleaning for your old and new house, and of course, packing up all your things.
But out of all those mentioned, some say the most challenging is packing your furniture and white goods and moving them with you. That is unless you only plan to move your clothes n which case, your move will be really simple!
But for most people who can’t afford to leave their furniture and other household items behind, you’ll need to plan and come up with the best options to make your move easier, faster, and less stressful. Thankfully, one option to help ease your situation is renting storage units.
Self-storage units are provided by storage companies wherein they let you rent a storage unit and use it for a short-term or long-term period, depending on how long you need it for your move. 
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How To Use Self-Storage Units When Moving
Using self-storage units will save you from the hassle of forcing you to pack and unload everything into your new home. Since you’ll have extra space to store your furniture, household items, and other white goods, you can focus on systematizing your new home and packing the more important things first without feeling too overwhelmed with the rest of your household items.
If you’re still skeptical about renting a self-storage unit, or perhaps, you’ve never rented one before, this article will guide you on how to utilize self-storage units when moving between homes.
1. Choose the Right Storage Size for Your Items
Before you start putting all your things in the storage unit, plan first on what items you’d like to store there and where you want to put them. Start by listing down all the things you’re planning to store.
Once you have a more accurate estimate of how many items you’re storing, you can use this as a reference when choosing a storage unit to rent. Remember, self-storage units are available in different sizes.
For example, a 5’ by 5’ storage unit may be best for storing boxes of clothes, dresser drawers, or tall furnishings (e.g., floor lamps). Meanwhile, a 10’ by 10’ unit may be suitable for storing large appliances and bulky furniture pieces. It’d help to talk with the storage company and ask about the available sizes of their storage units. Overall, make sure to rent a storage unit that best suits the type of items you’re storing. 
2. Plan Ahead on How to Store Your Items
As you do with everything else, having a concrete plan will make things easier. Now that you have the right storage size, the next thing to plan is where to put and store your belongings. You can ask for a map of the storage unit from the storage company or draw the storage unit yourself. Then, label it with the names of the items you’re planning to store. For example, you can label the left corner with ‘sofa’ and the right corner with the refrigerator and TV.
This map will come in handy once you start putting your items inside the store. Instead of just randomly putting them on any available space, you’ll know where to put certain items and ensure you can maximize all the space in your storage unit. You can also use this map to locate things once you need to retrieve them. Ideally, you must also label your boxes and other items for easier reference.
3. Store Your Items Vertically
Generally, when moving and storing items in the storage unit, many people would place them horizontally, the same way they would when laying out items in the house. For example, when storing a sofa, some would put it horizontally as if it were in the living room. Unfortunately, doing so will only fill your storage unit quickly, making it harder to maximize all the space in your storage unit.
To maximize your storage unit space, try to store your items vertically. For instance, tilt your sofa vertically and place it on the side. Doing this will leave you more horizontal space to store more things. Just ensure to wrap your things first to keep them from falling and damaging the other items. You may also disassemble the other items so you can easily store them vertically, such as the bed frame, headboard, and mattress.
4. Install Shelving
Another way you can effectively use and maximize your storage units during a house move is by installing shelving. Adding some simple but sturdy freestanding shelving units will add extra storage space to your storage unit.
Instead of merely stacking the boxes on top of each other, you can properly store and place them on the shelves, reducing the risk of them falling and potentially damaging your items. Furthermore, using shelves may make it easier for you to organize and coordinate your items according to their size, type, and area of use (e.g., kitchen tools, bathroom items, bedroom stuff).
5. Invest In Climate-Controlled Storage Unit
One of the struggles when moving between homes is dealing with items that require strict climate conditions. Since you’re preoccupied with organizing and unloading other household items, you may be unable to look after your climate-sensitive items, damaging them in the process.
For example, wooden tables and chairs are highly susceptible to sun damage. If you leave them outside your house for several hours or even days under the sun, they could be damaged and eventually have some splits and cracks on the surface.
So, to avoid unintentionally damaging your items during your house move, it may be best to invest in a climate-controlled storage unit. Climate-controlled storage units are best for storing valuable and temperature-sensitive items. You can rent this type of storage unit if you have valuable and delicate items such as wooden furniture pieces, artworks, or electronics.
6. Place The Priority Items At The Front
When organizing your items in the self-storage unit, it may be best to place the priority items at the front of the unit as much as possible. This way, you can retrieve and grab them easily without disarranging the rest of the stored belongings.
Additionally, you may put the most-used items inside easy-access containers. This will save you time and effort from having to pull the tape out of the boxes and reseal them every time you need to get something out.
Takeaway
Overall, using self-storage during your move can help make everything easier and more convenient for you. But to do that, you need to ensure you maximize all the space your storage unit can provide and truly get your money’s worth.
However long you’re planning to use your self-storage unit during your house move, taking note of these tips will ensure all your household items are safe, secure, and easily accessible by the time you need them.
