Most people are unaware of the correct way to store their furniture while moving or renovating their homes. This way, they could end up damaging it. It always pays off to be well prepared before facing an arduous task and storing away your furniture in a self storage unit is one of those tasks. Storing your furniture can be tedious, and it can turn detrimental if you do not take proper care while storing it.
How do you preserve your furniture in storage?
Simply by taking out time to store it correctly you have ensured your items’ safety. Making sure that the furniture stays in perfect condition takes a little bit of work and effort. With our furniture-specific storage tips, you will get a fair idea of the methodologies and would be able to preserve your furniture while it is in storage. No matter what the material of your furniture, these tips will come in handy to ensure that your belongings are safe and secure when you return to them.
1. Clean the dirty and unkempt furniture
Before you decide to put away your furniture in a storage unit, make sure to check for any repairs. Clean the furniture; it is always better to store clean furniture to prevent further decay. You can adapt the following tips to clean the furniture before placing it within the storage unit and reduce the chances of destroying your items:
- For wooden or plastic furniture, use mild soap and water. For the wooden parts, you could also use a wood cleaner, to protect the finish of the wood.
- The fabric items like sofa sets and couches should be cleaned with a fabric or upholstery cleaner. You must also ensure that they are completely dry before you pack them.
- Polish the metal sections using a polishing cloth and metal cleaner. Polishing will remove any existing oxidation and delay the process of tarnishing.
2. Disassemble the furniture
Before moving your furniture into the storage unit, disassemble everything that you can. The desks, tables, bookshelves, and all other furniture that has detachable parts, must be dismantled. Put the screws, spanners, and other small items in a labelled bag. Being organised in such a manner will ease the packing process for moving, and it will save space and create ease when reassembling your furniture. Besides, it will reduce the likelihood of breaking and scratching the furniture.
Another important tip is to line the storage room with thick plastic sheets that can help protect both the furniture and the floor. It also would make it easier for you to drag the furniture from one place to the other, without spoiling it. Another option can be termite treated wooden pallets. Arranging your furniture on a raised space ensures that it will remain clean, dry, and pest free.
3. Find out your storage options
Storing your furniture in a self storage unit can be an expensive affair. Investigate your options thoroughly. Factor in the various elements like the term for which you want to preserve your furniture. Do you want it to store your belongings for the long-term or do you want to sell the furniture and keep it in a unit for a short-term period? The length of time for storing your goods is vital to know beforehand because the average cost of a storage unit varies. It is recommended to opt for a self-storage unit when you are going through a transactional period, like shifting to your new home, renovating it, or downsizing.
4. Opt for a clean self-storage unit
In case you are in it for the long-haul, the protection of the furniture is paramount. Then it also becomes imperative to make sure that the storage unit has facilities like pest control, cleanliness, and security systems. Ensuring the storage facility sprays for pests means that your furniture is safeguarded against termites and bugs.
5. Stack carefully
When you preserve your furniture, it is always a best practice to exercise extra care and start stacking based on the height and weight of the furniture. Try to avoid balancing pieces one on top of the other. The precarious arrangement of furniture increases the chances of falling and breaking off pieces. If you must stack them, the heavier items should be at the bottom, and the lighter ones should lie above. However, do not make the stacks too high.
To provide an added level of security, you could wrap the most critical and valuable items in padding and soft quilts to protect them from damage. Sometimes, the sharp edges from some pieces might break or scratch other fragile items. It is, therefore, a clever idea to safeguard the fragile items by placing padding around the corners of objects that stick out.
6. Provide additional safety for fragile items
It is recommended to store fragile items like TV, kitchen appliances, and computers in their original boxes. The things that have a glass or mirrored surface must be highlighted and packed as “Fragile” or “Handle with Care” to help identify the pieces during transportation and unpacking.
Try to pack methodically and make optimum use of boxes. Make the space clean and decluttered to protect the furniture. If you try to cram more into a small space, you increase the risk of knocking things over, scratching and causing other damages.
7. Security is the key
After you have put the furniture in a storage unit, make sure to have a secure lock on it. The storage unit that you chose must be in a safe area and must exercise the necessary safety measures.
8. Ensure Proper Packing of your furniture
The importance of proper packaging cannot be overemphasised. Plan your packing well, use the right packing materials and do not cut corners. Make friends with cardboard, bubble-wrap, packing paper, tape, containers to add a layer of protection to your valuable furniture.
Storing your unused and extra furniture does not have to be stressful or complicated. Make sure to pick out and appropriately sized self-storage unit for your furniture. For the rest, you can follow our guide, and we promise that the process would be a cakewalk.
