At some point in life, everyone will use long-term storage to store items they don’t need immediately but do need in the future. Did you know that “33% of Americans today use self-storage”? (source) That’s ⅓ of all Americans! More Americans plan to use self-storage soon.
At Coastal Storage, we love self-storage. We think about self-storage all the time, and we know the ins and outs of finding the best locations and transforming a low-occupancy business into a thriving one. One tool in the toolbelt is to provide excellent customer service – and to help clients store their items properly and securely.
These 5 steps for preparing items for long-term storage are a great way to demonstrate expertise in self-storage and help customers. Providing information and even assistance is an added service that sets the best owner/operators apart from the rest.
- Prep work on all items to store
- Select great containers
- Add shelving or other tools to keep containers off the floor
- Select a temperature-controlled, humidity-controlled storage when possible
- Label everything
Prep work on all items to store
The first step, and one that everyone loves to skip, is to clean and wipe down all items for storage. Additional dust and dirt will accumulate in storage, so placing items into storage clean will be helpful when they are retrieved. Wipe everything down before boxing or wrapping. Make sure that items are clean and dry before boxing or wrapping them.
Select great containers
If you’re on a budget, sturdy boxes in good condition will work, but cardboard is more prone to allowing insects and rodents to get inside. Box stores like Half Price Boxes sell box bundles making a move to storage much more affordable. These tubs can be ordered online or at places like Home Depot and are sturdy and reliable. These bins are more expensive than boxes, but they are heavy-duty and prevent leaks or easy access to pests. The bin prices at Home Depot are more affordable because shipping these items is expensive. Stop by a local store and grab them there.
Add shelving
The goal is to keep containers off of the floor. Garage shelving is not required, but keeping items off the floor makes it more challenging for pests to get into stored items. Additionally, in flood-prone areas (like Florida with hurricanes), items off the floor are often salvageable when floor items are not. Some self-storage businesses offer units with shelving included. Inquire about any available shelving items with staff. Pallets are a great way to keep items off the floor. Used pallets can be found online for free. Grab enough to line the floor of the unit and stack boxes on top of them.
Be cautious using furniture to store items off the floor. Not all furniture can handle heavy loads. The antique Duncan Phyfe, drop-leaf table can’t hold the 200 pounds of boxes stored long-term on top of it.
Select a temperature-controlled, humidity-controlled storage
Temperature and humidity-controlled storage are needed to preserve your items for long-term storage. Depending on the climate where items are stored, these factors may not matter as much. A temperate climate with consistent humidity might make it easier to store items without temperature or humidity control. In Florida, temperature and humidity-controlled storage are a necessity.
Label everything
The best strategy is to tape a printed list of items to the outside of every box. If possible, take it a step further and tape a sheet of images with every item inside. This makes it easy to determine which boxes are needed while items are in storage or when retrieving them entirely.
At Coastal Storage, we work with owners and operators to ensure their success – both in finding new investments and in providing excellent service that truly meets the needs of their tenants. Happy tenants mean happy owners/operators. Call us today at 904-591-0140 to work with our expert staff in securing your next investment.