Tips & Advice

Our Tips for the Best Storage Solutions

Things to consider when selecting a storage facility for your goods :

  • Is the storage facility in a location that will be convenient for you to access ?
  • Does the facility have adequate security ?
  • What are the facility’s access hours ?  Can you access your storage space 7 days a week ?
  • Do they offer a range of storage unit options and sizes to best suit your needs ?
  • Is the facility a member of the Self Storage Association of Australasia ?
  • Can the facility assist you with the relocation of your goods ? Can they offer removal services and/or truck & trailer hire ?
  • Have the staff been helpful and friendly during your enquiry process ?

And having considered the above … Have you visited the facility to ensure it is a clean and safe environment for storing and accessing your goods?

Packing Up

The use of quality removal cartons and packing tape when boxing up your goods for storage is highly recommended.  Strong well-packed boxes will maintain and protect your goods while they are being transported and stored.  You will most likely need more boxes than you think so planning ahead, packing early and having some extras on hand for those last minute things is always a good idea.

Packing, labelling and numbering cartons room by room will make unpacking or trying to locate a boxed item a lot easier.  If you like to be super organised and time permits you could also keep a record of your box numbers noting the room they came from and list of its contents.  Another simple but effective idea is to colour code your boxes with coloured stickers – ie. red for the family room and blue for the main bedroom etc.  Place stickers and box numbers on each side of the box so no matter how it is sitting you can easily identify it.

A well packed box should be filled to capacity but not bulging to ensure it stacks well and won’t tip or collapse.  Construct and seal cartons with quality packing tape and fill any gaps with packing paper or spare linen to prevent items moving in transit and strengthen the box for stacking.

Heavy items like books or crockery should be packed into our smaller crystal cartons to ensure safe handling.  Books should always be packed flat to protect their spines and avoid packing fragile items in with books or other heavy items.  When packing breakables place a layer of scrunched packing paper at the bottom and top of cartons and protect fragile items by wrapping them individually in packing paper or bubblewrap.  Labelling cartons that contain fragile items with our bright fragile tape is a great idea to avoid storing heavy items on top of these cartons.  If you have any silverware then acid free tissue paper is ideal as it will help reduce tarnishing.

When packing mirrors and fragile pictures protect these items with bubblewrap and consider the use of our specially designed picture/mirror boxes.  Always move and store these items in an upright position ie. stand them on their edges (not lying flat).  Like with flat screen TV’s it’s a good idea to store these between mattresses for added protection.

Clothing that is going to be stored should be clean and the use of cedar blocks or other anti-moth products considered.  Vacuum Bags are becoming popular for storing clothing and you can’t beat port-a-robes for hanging wardrobe items.  Packing a port-a-robe is easy as you simply unhook items from your wardrobe and hook them straight into the box.  Pack the boxes firmly to avoid things falling off hangers and don’t forget to utilise any space at the bottom of the box with shoes and belts or other light bulky clothing.

When packing battery operated appliances always remove batteries to avoid the risk of leakage.

There are some limitations as to what can be stored in a self storage unit and you will see from the list below that these exclusions exist for either safety or risk management reasons. They do form part of the terms and conditions a storer must accept on a standard self storage agreement in Australia.

You must not store hazardous, illegal, stolen, flammable, explosive, environmentally harmful, perishable or living goods or goods that are a risk to the property of any person.

Unless specifically itemised and covered by insurance you should not store goods that are irreplaceable such as currency, jewellery, furs, deeds, paintings, curios, works of art and items of personal or sentimental value.

Items that contain fuels or oils must have these drained prior to being stored in an enclosed self storage unit as they can be a fire hazard.

Do not store anything that may attract vermin such as perishable food, wheat bags, dried flowers, seeds or food crumbs or stains on soft furnishings or clothes.

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