Whether you’re moving house, running a business or simply getting some inconvenient, bulky items out of your home, a local storage facility is an irreplaceable asset. As with everything in life, however, it’s something you can use well or badly. Putting the time into learning how to use a storage facility well means getting more for your money, whether you measure that increase in efficiency in being able to store more items in a smaller space, needing the storage unit for a shorter time, or accessing your stored inventory more quickly.
Today we’re taking a quick look at how you can optimise your use of storage, and make sure you’re living your best life, at least as far as your storage unit is concerned.
Location
The first thing to consider is where your storage is. Even if you’ve committed to a location, it’s worth reassessing this periodically, to make sure it’s still right for you.
If you’re only using your storage for a one off occasion, like a house move, or to keep your possessions safe while you’re doing some extended travelling, then location is less important. You’ll only drop off and pick up once, so an inconvenient journey isn’t too much of a time sink.
If you’re accessing your storage regularly, it needs to be easy to get to – whether that means near a public transport connection, or close to a trunk road, or indeed close to your house depends on your precise needs.
Time your journeys, and if you’re exceeding your ideal commute time, look for alternatives closer to home. If you’re looking for storage, London has plenty to offer so you’ll always have options.
Packing
Making efficient use of the space is the best way to squeeze more out of your storage unit, whatever the reason you’re using it. If it takes a day of emptying your unit only to repack it and get it right, then it’s time well invested.
Make sure you use wall space: pack things vertically and hang them where you can. Be careful stacking things too high, as they could topple in your absence, but as long as you’re sure they’re stable this can be a good option. Start with bulky items at the back and end up with smaller, more portable possessions at the front and make sure you leave an aisle through so you can walk from front to back when you need to. If you have the room, an aisle from side to side is another useful thing to build in, especially if your storing business inventory: this means you can reach anything you need without moving things out of the way.
Getting the Best Deal
Make sure you talk with the owners about what you’re storing, why and for how long. Storage is a competitive business and that means there’s always a deal or discount to be had. If you talk to the front desk, you might find you can save money on long term storage, on short stays, or for business use, so get talking today!