Tips for Organizing Items in a Storage Unit for Easy Retrieval

When storing items in a self-storage unit, one of the things you should consider is whether you will be coming back for the items in frequent intervals or after a long period of time. The nature of your storage will determine how you should organize the storage unit. For example, you should use the following organizational tips if you plan on frequent retrievals from the storage unit:

Create a Storage Plan

The first tip is to create a storage plan based on what you want to store and the size of your storage unit. If you arrive at the facility without a plan, it will be difficult to stay organized, and you will be tempted to throw in your stuff without any form of organization. You should know where the seats are going to be, the fridge, your clothes, and assorted boxes, among other things. Stick to the plan when you get to the facility.

List All Your Stored Items

It also helps to have a list of stored items so that you don't waste time looking for something that is not there. This is easy to do during the packing stage, especially if you have a helper that can record the items. Depending on how many items you are storing, you can either list every item or categorize them (such as cutlery, jackets, and garage tools).

Label the Boxes

You shouldn't even think about easy retrieval if your boxes aren't labeled. You may know what is in each of the boxes when packing them, but your memory is likely to fail you a month later when you come to collect an item.

Stack Boxes with Labels Facing Out

Placing the boxes with their labels facing out is the easiest way to identify what you want without rummaging through the stored items. In fact, with the labels in big fonts, you may even be able to identify your boxes of interest from the doorway.

Leave Aisles

Even if you want to maximize the use of your storage space, you should leave some walkways for retrieving items. If you don't do that, the only boxes you will be able to retrieve with ease are those at the front of the room. Leave aisles so that you can get to the items at the back of the room without having to remove those in the front.

Don't Stack the Boxes Too High

Stacking boxes is one of the most effective ways of maximizing space usage in storage, but there should also be a limit to how high the stacks are. Extremely high stacks of items aren't just difficult to deal with; it can also be dangerous to retrieve the topmost boxes.

To find more information on storage units and organization techniques, check out a facility near you.

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