After decades in the self storage business, we can say we’ve seen just about everything. From businesses to homes, our customers trust us to help them organize their living spaces (and lives). Storing your belongings in a storage unit is a fantastic way to help with home remodeling, managing a growing family, and even downsizing your current living situation.
Because of this, we’ve gotten pretty good at answering questions about not just the storage experience, but how to store a lot of common items. If you’ve got any doubts about just what can go into a storage unit or have questions about how to pack, our insights are a great place to start.
Whether you’re looking for a place to stash a few boxes of paperbacks or to keep your vinyl records in one spot for safekeeping, Morningstar Storage is the best destination for your storage needs. Let’s look at some other common uses for self storage and the best way to pack them up to keep them in the best shape possible.
Furniture, Mattresses, and Other Large Items
One of the best uses for a storage unit is to help manage your larger household items, especially if you’re in the middle of a renovation or move. Self storage is especially useful if you’re converting rooms from one use to another.
Changing a spare bedroom into an office is quite popular these days, but you may be hesitant to get rid of the mattress and other furniture completely. Instead of selling these items, consider renting a storage unit to hold them.
How to Prepare and Store a Mattress
Before putting your mattress into storage, make sure it’s properly cleaned with both a vacuum and upholstery cleaner. Let it air dry before you wrap it in a mattress storage bag or plastic. If you’ve got the space, store it flat to keep it in shape. Just remember not to store anything on top of it!
How to Store Other (Bedroom) Furniture
Disassemble your bed frame as much as possible to avoid damage and wrap all its parts in moving blankets for protection. Wrapping dressers and bedside tables with plastic can keep the drawers closed, but don’t forget to empty them out beforehand. In fact, wrapping most furniture with plastic is a great way to protect it, even if a storage unit isn’t your final destination. It’ll keep the items from being damaged in transit. Once you get to your storage unit, load the largest items into the unit first.
Photographs, Documents, and Other Files
Climate-controlled storage is the best place for photos and other documents. In addition to keeping these items safe from extreme temperatures and humidity that can cause damage to the paper, these storage units are inside the building. This protects them from possible damage due to sunlight exposure. This is especially important for photographs, which can degrade over time.
How to Store Photographs
If your printed photographs already exist in digital form, back them up onto a hard drive as well as the cloud. If your photos are older (or weren’t taken with a digital camera), consider scanning them first, either with a flatbed scanner, your smartphone, or a third-party service that digitizes your photos for you. Once they’re backed up, store them in your favorite photo album or in between sheets of archival quality acid-free paper.
Antiques and Other Treasures
If you’ve recently inherited a bunch of family heirlooms or antiques, you’re probably wondering where they should go in your home. Alternately, maybe you need to downsize your home and no longer have space for your kids’ old baseball trophies. Maybe you’re not a golfer, but you still want to hold onto your grandpa’s old clubs. Perhaps your great aunt’s enthusiasm for lawn gnomes isn’t quite as infectious as she’d like, but you’d still like to hold onto a reminder of those summers spent visiting her.
A storage unit works wonders for holding these items until you’re ready to reappraise where they fit into your life. At the very least, using storage to “stage” the stuff you’ve collected will make the process of sorting it a lot easier. It will also allow you to keep your garage free of any additional clutter.
How to Store Antiques
Every antique item is different, and many of them hold more sentimental value than anything else. That’s not to say there aren’t some real diamonds in the rough, however. Before you make any decision about storing (or selling) an antique item, consider getting it appraised by someone who knows a lot about that particular niche. Maybe there’s a famous artisanal sculptor of lawn gnomes who might make you an offer?
Much like furniture, wrap any antique items in protective blankets or bubble wrap. If they’ll fit in one, carefully box them up and label the box on several sides. Be sure to note the item’s condition and location in your storage unit, too, so you don’t have to spend too much time hunting if you suddenly get the urge to sell the antiques.
Lawn Equipment and Power Tools
Storage isn’t just for the stuff you use inside the house. It’s a great choice for outdoor equipment, too. If your garage is too small to hold all your seasonal landscaping and maintenance gear, rent a storage unit! Many people choose to swap out lawnmowers in the summer for snow blowers in winter, for example. Storage units can also be a great place to store vehicles such as motorcycles, too. Just be sure to check all the safety requirements (like emptying any fluids) before you load everything up to bring it to the facility!
Choose Morningstar Storage for Your Storage Needs
Whatever it is that you need to store, pick a storage facility with the features you need and managers you can count on. At Morningstar Storage, our team can help answer any questions you have about self storage (no matter how weird they may be).
We offer storage in over 80 locations and will help you make the best decision about where and how to store your stuff. To get started, visit a Morningstar Storage store near you!
