3 Tips For Storing Goods In Long Term Storage

When storing goods for long term purposes such as during a business merge or for moving purposes, it's often risky to leave boxes of items packed away in storage for years upon years. Paper goods and linens can become mildewed after prolonged exposure to chilled air, and even cardboard boxes can deteriorate over time. There's also the fact that unless you're careful, it's extremely easy to lose track of exactly what was placed in storage to begin with.

If you're thinking about placing items in storage for long term purposes, here are three tips you should follow:

3. Ditch the Cardboard

Cardboard boxes can rot over time, attract mice and insects like earwigs, and can easily fall apart after multiple moves. To better protect your small items, you should consider using plastic bins instead of cardboard boxes. This is especially recommended for storing fragile items like paper and linens. The plastic will better protect your fragile goods, and plastic bins are usually smaller and easily stackable, making them perfect to keep items better organized.

2. Organize Before Storing

Before placing your boxes inside the storage unit, ensure everything's organized. Take the time to place similar boxes together and label each box thoroughly. Have one side of your storage unit be for boxes of small goods and leave the other side open for larger items like furniture. Place the items you'll most likely need first up front. Place the larger, more cumbersome items towards the back of the storage unit. The smaller boxes can be placed in the front where they can be easily moved.

1. Take Proper Inventory

As you pack up your boxes, write down exactly what is in each box. Be specific as you can. It's often a good idea to use the labels on each box to help you identify where it happens to fall on your inventory sheet. A box of paperwork, for instance, can be labeled as "Paperwork 1: Clients A-J".

On your inventory sheet, list each client. This will let you easily find whatever you need. You can also list where in the storage unit each box roughly happens to be. Your sheet, for example, can have two rows that represent each side of the storage unit.

Properly organizing your long term storage unit will save you time and energy later down the road. Use the above tips as a rough guideline to preserve your stored items and make accessing them as simple as possible. Click here to learn more about this topic and get more information