So you have finally thrown in the towel and are renting a mini storage facility for all those items cluttering your attic and garage. Congratulations! But before you go ahead and gleefully toss everything into boxes and call it a day, let’s talk about some common mistakes people make when using self storage units available near me facilities. Call this your cheat sheet on storage-a little wisdom which will save your behind down the line.
Think of storage as a game of Tetris. Nobody wins at a game of Tetris by just throwing the pieces around with no particular care in the world. Another very common mistake is packing the unit as if one were building a bonfire: just piling up everything with no thought to strategy. Balance and variety count! Putting heavier boxes on the bottom and lighter or fragile items on top can prevent the whole pile from toppling over like a house of cards.
Nobody wants their favorite porcelain duck collection shattered in one free-falling freak accident.
Another pitfall? Trying to store everything. Imagine yourself some years later, rummaging through the unit, scratching your head, and wondering what on earth you had thought the broken toaster or your chemistry notes were good for. Be like your great aunt would have a yard sale: only store what is really worth keeping-things that are either truly sentimental or serve some practical purpose in some form. Labeling-Let’s get real for a second: when you’re in a rush, diving into that mystery box for those holiday baubles, unlabeled boxes might as well swallow you into a time machine right back to Frustration-ville.
Clearly labeled boxes are your treasure maps through what could otherwise be a sea of cardboard confusion. Slap a label on each side in big letters, pretty letters, too; cover your bases! A dash of organization won’t hurt. Interject some logic into your storage narrative-create aisles or leave an open spot for such regular visitors as your winter wardrobe or camping gear.