Before you find out how to pack and organize a storage unit, you need to get your storage unit ready to hold your belongings.
Inventory what you’re taking
Before your belongings get lost forever in a sea of boxes, write down a list of what’s going into the storage unit. With your inventory list in hand, you won’t have to spend hours trying to remember if your favorite winter sweater is hiding in your closet or packed away in your storage unit. Before you decide how to pack and organize your storage unit, write down what’s being moved and include the details below on that inventory list.
Organize your storage unit by priority
Remember the inventory list from earlier? Take a look at it again and highlight those items you think you’ll need most often from your storage unit. Will you need your winter coats in a few weeks? Will you want to use your golf clubs once a month? Whatever items you might need to access regularly should be stored at the front of your storage unit. On the other hand, if you’re not going to need your grandma’s dining room table until you move into a new house in two years, it can be stored in the very back corner of your storage unit.
Organize your storage unit with descriptive labels
If you want to have any hope of finding what you’re looking for in your storage unit, you’re going to need labels. For example, labels like “kitchen” are not very specific. You could easily end up with four or five different kitchen boxes and never be able to find the cookie cutters you need. Instead, label boxes with a simple list of contents: instead of “kitchen,” write “cookie cutters, pancake griddle, measuring cups, mixing bowls.”
Organize your storage unit by creating a map
If you want to make finding what you need a whole lot easier, create a storage unit map. Before you move anything in, lay out your storage unit on a piece of paper and assign every box and piece of furniture a place. Then plan a pathway throughout the storage unit so you can easily access what you need. Keep your map and when the time to recover a sweater or book comes, you can find exactly what you need in mere minutes.
