Customer Service and the Storage Facility

When you consider storage facilities while you look at self-storage, you’d probably have a list of things you want to check out. The size and range of the storage units, the security at the storage facility, its opening hours, the perks, and the cost – these are all probably high on your list of considerations. What wouldn’t appear on most people’s lists is customer service at the storage facility.

In truth, the customer service at a storage facility – the experience of the staff, how willing they are to help, the services the staff can provide – should be one of the most important factors. When you’re using self-storage for the first time, nothing is going to be more helpful than a storage facility with knowledgeable staff members, who are willing to help in any way they can.

Customer service in a storage facility means staff able to provide advice – whether it be on packing your things, ensuring your storage is safe and durable, or ensuring your storage unit is packed well. Storage facility customer service means staff that help you into your storage unit, and help you pack your storage efficiently. Who give you all the information you need on the storage facility and the services it can provide.

Customer service in a storage facility means staff that care about your storage as much as you do. It should be one of the most important things about choosing a storage facility.

Using self-storage during emergencies

Australia has been dealing with all sorts of weather related emergencies this year. Major bushfires in Tasmania, New South Wales and Victoria, flooding in Queensland and New South Wales – it does make you concerned for your house and your belongings. A great use of self-storage, which people don’t often think of, is in these situations. With a bit of luck, you’ll have some time up your sleeve – more particularly in a flood situation – and you can begin to think about what you can save by using self-storage. Getting some of your most valuable possessions into self-storage can significantly diminish the loss should your house be touched by disaster.

During most emergency evacuations, valuable possessions would get loaded into your car, furniture secured on higher ground, and you’d have to just hope that maybe it won’t be so bad. By using self-storage, you can help to eliminate some of that risk. Cars and evacuation spots can only hold so much – but self-storage can take care of the rest. Utilise your evacuation time by loading more of your stuff into self-storage, and a storage unit that’s safely away from the emergency area.

Dealing with emergency situations like flooding or even severe storms can cause major stress when you think about the danger for yourself, let alone all your belongings. Organise self-storage and keep your possessions away from the danger – and there’s your stress-free solution.

Using storage rental for renovations

Renovating, rather than buying a new house, is often a more preferred option nowadays. It’s a cheaper and less stressful process than trying to sell your property and afford a different one in today’s market, and can sometimes given your house the fresh change it needs. Storage rental can be a massive benefit when it comes to renovating. You can use storage rental to quickly and easily move furniture from one area of the renovations – and by using storage rental, you don’t have to clog up the rest of your house while the job gets done.

Storage rental is really the perfect solution for making renovations easier. While your kitchen gets upgraded, and all your utensils get taken out of the cupboards so new ones can be put in, it’s unlikely you’ll choose the moment to make a lemon meringue pie. So putting most of your cooking utensils into storage rental will help to clear the kitchen, and will ensure you don’t have to deal with everything that was in the kitchen covering every other surface of the house while you get new cupboards – instead, it’s hidden away in storage rental.

If it’s a major renovation, storage rental can serve as a constantly rotating storage room. Kitchen utensils can come out once the kitchen is finished, and then the contents of your bathroom cupboards can fill up your storage rental instead. You won’t even have to think about it – just as the renovation can take place room by room, so too can your storage rental. It’s the perfect renovation solution.

Removalists and Self-Storage

Sometimes, DIY self-storage seems like a cheaper and simpler option. Everything can be done on your own time, you won’t have to hire a removalist, and your move into self-storage is completely in your control. But there can be some benefits of using a removalist to help get you started with self-storage.

Hiring a removalist can help give you a timeframe to stick to. The nature of self-storage means that there’s often no urgency – and if you’ve got no deadline or motivation to get the job done, your house might stay half packed up and full of boxes of self-storage for months. Booking a removalist will give you a set date on which to have everything organised – and it’ll all get done in one fell swoop.

Removalists can also be helpful when it comes to packing up self-storage. Packing household items into packing boxes is what they do – at least if you’re happy to pay them to do it – and so they’re very good at it. I can guarantee a team of removalist guys can attack your self-storage and wrap it up into boxes much quicker than you or I can. The self-storage process suddenly becomes much easier when you don’t have to pack things up.

And when all’s said and done, the removalists can also stack up your self-storage into the storage unit. Basically, they take all the hard steps out of self-storage, by getting them done for you. And you don’t always have to pay through the nose.

Using Storage Units for Market Stalls

Markets are becoming more and more prevalent in Melbourne these days. What with the bi-annual Finders Keepers, Geelong Boutique markets and the Rose Street Artists’ Market, young designers have ample opportunities to sell their wares, and it’s a pretty easy gig. The difficulty comes when you’re packing up after the day. This is where a storage unit will come in handy. It’s not like you’re a functional shop, it’s far too costly to have a warehouse, and making your house look like a storage unit is not all that appealing. Hiring a storage unit might just be the answer.

It’s very easy to book a storage unit and sort yourself some storage space. And best of all, it’s cheap. You can grab a decent sized storage unit for an affordable price, into which you can keep all of your marketable items. Storage units are usually well secured – Access Self Storage offers 24-hour on site presence, along with alarms and well-secured facilities – and your goods can also be insured while they’re in the storage unit. Access Self Storage provides free insurance to cover you up to $5000.

Using a storage unit will continue to make market selling easy. You’ll have the weekend to sell your wares, and during the week you can quickly and easily transport your sellable or unsold goods into a storage unit. The rental of a storage unit is a simple and affordable way to ensure you don’t have to start thinking like a big business. Look into a storage unit today.

Storage Space and Retirement Homes

My grandfather recently moved into a retirement home. He’s got a small room (and no storage space) for all his things; he gets a meal cooked for him and people to look after him. He’s well set up. What has proved to be a problem is the lack of storage space, and what to do with all of his possessions. It’s not as though he’s died, it feels strange to be dividing up all his furniture amongst the relatives. Renting storage space turned out to be a great solution.

Rather than having him go through his things, and decide what he wants to keep, what he wants to give away, what he wants to sell – the consideration of which was making him feel sad about moving into a home – renting storage space allowed us to keep all of his things easily accessible if ever he suddenly realises he needs them. We don’t have to deal with dividing up his estate, as it were, too early, and he doesn’t have to say goodbye to a lifetime’s worth of belongings – it’s all in storage space.

Though he doesn’t have the storage space to keep all of his things in his room at the home, this way he didn’t have to make hard decisions and throw anything out. Storage space has made him feel much better about moving out, and gave us less to deal with, beyond sorting him and his things for the move. Storage space simplified the process for us, and has proved to be a great, and affordable, decision.

The technical details of storage rental

Two things that are not often thought of when it comes to storage rental are insurance for your storage, and the storage rental agreement for the storage unit.

At Access Self Storage, our insurance will cover your storage rental up to $5000. So if you’re using a storage unit for documentation, children’s toys or old clothes, you should be well covered. However, if you’re using storage rental for more expensive items, such as valuable collectibles, designer clothing, or perhaps expensive electronics, then it might be an idea to look into external insurance, to make sure your storage rental is definitely covered.

When you sign up for storage rental, you are also entering into a rental agreement. If the storage facility you’ve booked doesn’t offer one, insist on making one. The storage rental agreement will detail things like the payment date for your rent, any bonds you’ll need to pay and under what terms this will be refunded or forfeited. A basic storage rental agreement will help to make things official for you, and give a permanent record of the conditions of your storage rental, so that you won’t have reason to be confused.

The storage rental agreement and insurance cover for your storage are very important aspects of storage rental. Make sure, when you’re looking into storage rental and different storage facilities, you ask about these technical details. Comparing insurance offers and storage rental conditions will help you make the right decision about which storage facility to trust your storage rental with.

Who is Access Self Storage

Access SelfStorage has been operating our self-storage facility since 1985. Our storage facility was one of the first storage facilities to open and operate in Victoria.

Access Self Storage has been in the business for over 25 years, which means we have a wealth of experience for you to draw on. Our staff are self-storage experts, and are here to help – if you’re just starting out with storage rental, or have any questions about our storage units or the Access Self Storage facility, one of our experts will be sure to help you out.

Our storage facility in South Melbourne holds several storeys with over 700 storage units available, in 60 varied sizes. Access Self Storage provides our clients with insurance cover, up to $5000, expert advice and service, and a fully secured and alarmed facility. Our location in South Melbourne puts Access Self Storage in the prime position for people near the Melbourne CBD, St Kilda, Port Melbourne and Southbank. Access Self Storage offers a free move in van and  7-day access to our storage facility.

Access Self Storage is also a founding member of the Self Storage Association of Australasia, representing over 80% of self-storage operators in Australia and New Zealand. Our membership at this association means we remain committed to the professionalism of the self-storage industry. Access Self Storage is proud to benefit from the shared knowledge, expertise and education that the association provides.

How to Avoid Inconvenience with Long-Term Storage

When you’re using long-term storage, the nature of self-storage changes. Rather than frequently returning to your storage unit to go through your self-storage, or returning your packed boxes to your living area after a couple of months, your long-term self-storage might stay in the storage unit for years, completely untouched, besides the occasional visit.

Long-term storage can mean several things for your self-storage. First, that your furniture, precious objects, old clothes, crockery – whatever – is going to be sitting in self-storage, unmoving, for a very long time. Pack your self-storage well to stop it from degrading, protect it from dust and dirt, keep the clothes in shape and not scrunched up. Consider just how long your things will be staying in long-term storage while you pack them up.

Long-term storage also means you have to be really careful about labelling. Because when you come back to your self-storage some five years later, there’s no way you’ll remember what you’d packed with what, or where it all came from. Clear and precise labelling is really important when it comes to long-term storage. Pack your self-storage well, in sturdy boxes, so that five years later if you do come to collect, the boxes won’t have all collapsed in on themselves.

Pack carefully, with precise labeling, and in strong boxes when you’re using long-term self-storage. Always keep in mind how long your things will have to stay in boxes, and don’t pack up anything you think won’t survive.

Business storage and self-storage

We haven’t touched on business storage and its uses in this blog, so I thought I would do so now. Access Self Storage is a great storage facility for personal storage, document storage and business storage – but what does “business storage” mean?

There are a variety of ways self-storage can be useful for business storage. During office relocation, self-storage can be used for any excess office furniture. For shops and tradespeople, storage units can house seasonal stock, equipment storage, sales team samples, imported and exported goods and stock overflow. A storage unit can help you de-clutter your office or your shop floor space. Business storage can give you more room to store bulk shipments, so that you can take advantage of bulk buying. Self-storage can become an extra warehouse, especially considering using storage rental for business storage is far more cost effective than buying or renting a warehouse. There’s no bond or leases – just pay month to month to keep hiring a storage unit for your business storage, for as long or short a time as you need.

Business storage can also mean archive storage for your business. When you have to keep your tax related paperwork for seven years, for a business this can mean quite an amount of paperwork. Having a storage unit to keep all your documentation is a great way to clear more space in the office.

Self-storage doesn’t just have to be about clearing space in your home, it can also be a huge help as business storage. Check out the storage units at Access SelfStorage today.

How Storage Units Can Help Your Hobbies

We've discussed using a storage unit to house collectibles and sporting equipment, and a running theme is beginning to form. Using a storage unit to house your hobby and professional equipment can save you space at home, and will also give you a central location to return to when you need to do things.

I don't just mean a storage unit can house precious statues, war medals, or skiing equipment. A storage unit can be handy for all sorts of hobbies and interests. Film and drama students might find a storage unit useful to keep costumes, set pieces, camera equipment and lighting technology. A storage unit could be shared between a number of students, who could access the storage unit freely whenever they have need of it.

Maybe you're a teacher who frequently decorates their classroom, maybe you're a Halloween enthusiast who keeps a lot of fancy dress outfits hidden in their closet. Maybe you want to keep the Lego and matchbox cars and dollhouses your children seem to have grown out of, just in case. A storage unit is the perfect opportunity to clear these things from your home, to give you and your family more space. And when they're kept in a storage unit, you'll know exactly where everything is, so you can easily find them again when you need.

Hiring a storage unit can help to keep your hobbies under control, and give you home a bit more space. Start looking into a storage unit today.

Access Self Storage's Centrally Located Facility

There are a number of reason's why Access Self Storage's centrally located facility near Melbourne's CBD makes it an incredibly convenient storage facility. And it's not just because it's in close proximity to Melbourne suburbs like St Kilda, South Yarra and Windsor.

Although it's near to the CBD, Access Self Storage isn't located in the CBD. So when you need to return to your storage unit urgently, you won't be hindered by heavy CBD traffic. But its central location does mean it's easily accessed even if you're not coming from home. A trip to the Access Self Storage facility could easily become part of your route to or from work in the Melbourne CBD. You could incorporate a visit to the grocery shops in South Melbourne with a visit to Access Self Storage, and pick up an unused dining table from your storage unit before you buy food for your dinner party.

Location is really important when you're considering a storage facility, which is why Access Self Storage chose their location carefully. It's easy to get to, so fetching your storage from Access Self Storage is never inconvenient. It's easily accessible by main roads, on the corner of Normanby Rd and Montague St, so moving vans will have no problems driving to and from Access Self Storage. And it is conveniently located to numerous suburbs in Melbourne, which means Access Self Storage is a very convenient location to many Melbourne residents. Check out the Access Self Storage facility today, and find out just how convenient using self-storage will be.

Finding the Motivation to Get Started with Storage Rental

So, you agree that storage rental seems like a great idea. It's affordable, simple to use, and you've got a storage facility that's closely located to you. You've got plenty of things to put into storage rental, and you've got plenty of ideas for the extra space storage rental will give your home. The only thing lacking is the motivation to set it into motion.

But storage rental doesn't have to be an effort. If you break it down into a few small steps, the storage rental process can be done over a couple of weekends.

If you've been thinking about storage rental for a while, chances are you've already got a storage facility in mind. If you don't, it's just one extra step. A quick web search will let you know how many storage rental places are available near your area. Access Self Storage is located in South Melbourne, but there are plenty in and around Melbourne as well. Take a day, check a few facilities out, and compare their prices and the size of their units. Next step is booking the storage rental facility. That's just a quick phone call.

Cross off a weekend to pack up your storage rental items into boxes. Cross off another weekend to move your things from home into storage rental, and set up your unit how you'd like it. And that's it. It really wouldn't take more than a couple of weekends. Storage rental can become part of your life in those few easy steps. Stop putting it off, and book a storage unit today!

Using Self-storage for Seasonal Gear

Winter has nearly hit us ('Winter is coming'), and even though it's still sweltering hot in Melbourne this week, it's probably time to think about changing over for the new season. There are actually a variety of ways self-storage can make the changing seasons much easier to deal with.

The end of summer means the end of beach trips, surfing holidays, singlets, and thongs. Instead of leaving all of these things in your home, why not look into self-storage? Rather than keeping the short shorts and the surf boards sitting at home clogging up your self-storage space, when instead they could spend winter in a self-storage unit, and your home could have so much more space. Come summer time, winter clothes, ugg boots, snow gear and heating equipment can be kept in self-storage throughout the season, and claim its rightful place in your living area when winter comes around again.

Keeping your seasonal belongings in a self-storage unit will help give your home space, give you more room for all your winter or summer things, and will be easy to find if you decide to take a tropical holiday in mid-July, or a winter getaway in December. Seasonal clothes can be kept in wardrobe boxes in self-storage - easy enough to dig through should you need them again while they're in self-storage. Beach gear can be stored and kept safe in self-storage while skiis and snowboards take up space in the cupboards at home, and vice versa. Self-storage is the perfect solution to clear out your seasonal belongings and welcome in the new season.

A Variety of Storage Unit Sizes at Access Self Storage

Access Self Storage offers 60 different sizes in storage units at our storage facility in Melbourne. Is it really necessary to have quite so many differently sized storage units?

Obviously our answer is 'yes', but let's take a look at why. Bigger units are slightly more costly, and the smallest unit is also the cheapest price. But rather than just offering a bigger storage unit and a small storage unit, Access offers a range of sizes, because no two storage rentals are the same. When you book your storage rental with Access Self Storage, our experts will ask you questions, so we can understand exactly what you want to get out of your storage rental.

We'll want to know the size of your bulkiest items, so we can find you a storage unit that will match their width or length. We'll want to know the amount of storage you'll be keeping in the storage unit. We'll also want to know how often you'll want to access your unit - whether you'll be returning frequently to go through your storage rental, or if you want to just hire a unit and leave it there. If you're wanting easy access to your storage unit, that's going to make a difference to the size of storage unit you'll want - because you'll require more space.

Rather than just offering two variations in storage units, and getting you to adapt your storage items to fit one of the sizes of storage units, in a way Access Self Storage is able to adapt to you. After all, surely 60 different options is a much better way to go than a one-size-fits-all kind of deal.

Be Your Own Removalist for Storage Rental

Hiring a removalist - with their own van, and their own packing materials, and their own muscles - can seem a lot easier when starting storage rental. Strong people will come in, pack up all your stuff for you, load it into a truck, take it away, and then all the storage rental out again for you. But sadly the whole escapade can be quite a costly process. And when your just using storage rental, and not packing up your entire house, is it really worth it?

There are a couple of ways to make storage rental much easier if you decide to be your own removalist. You will have to get packing materials on your own, but they're usually available from the storage rental facility, and come fairly cheap. And there's one major advantage to avoiding the hire of removalists: you can take as much time as you need to pack it into storage rental. Divide it into sections, or pack up two boxes each night, until the whole task is done. Pack smaller boxes, keep them light, so that when you do start moving it into storage rental, they're all still easy to carry - remember you're probably not as well built as the removalists are. And if you're putting mostly books, CD's or wine into storage rental, your packing boxes will get pretty heavy, pretty quickly.

Being your own removalist doesn't have to make storage rental harder, and it can certainly make the process a lot cheaper. At Access Self Storage, we provide a free move-in truck, making removalists even less necessary. Doing it yourself is well worth considering.

Packing Boxes for Self-Storage

Speaking of packing materials earlier, it might be useful to look at the variety of packing boxes available to the self-storage user. Packing boxes are not all a standard shape, standard size and standard use. I mentioned in an earlier post that Access Self Storage has 11 varieties of packing boxes alone, and no doubt you'll be able to find many other shapes and sizes for your self-storage.

Different boxes are best for different things - mini tea chests can be used for the heaviest items in self-storage; port-a-robe's are great boxes for keeping your clothes neatly protected in the storage unit; tall boys for the tall thin items in self-storage that won't quite fit in a square shaped box; an archive box, with a hinged lid and handles either side, is perfect for storing archived papers and documents in self-storage. You can find picture cartons - the perfect size and shape to house pictures and framed paintings; specially designed 'cubes' to house electronics and computer monitors in self-storage; boxes to house wine bottles flat so the cork remains preserved; single layer boxes perfect to store books, CD's and heavy breakables.

So you can see, all self-storage boxes are not created equal. Certainly you could pack up all of your self-storage items into the commonly used, rectangular shaped tea chest - but it wouldn't be the most useful way to pack up your self-storage. A variety of boxes are available because you'll be placing a wide variety of things into self-storage.

Packing Materials and Self-Storage

Mention packing materials when talking about self-storage, and people's minds immediately jump to packing boxes. There are certainly a wide variety of boxes to choose from when it comes to packing materials. At Access Self Storage alone, we offer as many as 11 varieties of cardboard packing boxes for your self-storage needs. But "packing materials" doesn't just mean boxes.

There are a variety of packing materials available at Access that will make your self-storage much easier. For irregularly shaped items, you could go for storage bags instead of boxes, to keep your self-storage protected, and avoid boxes full of wasted space. Plastic tubs are available for a bit of added protection, for anything just a bit more breakable or valuable in self-storage. Mattress and lounge covers are also on offer, to keep away the dust and to protect them during the move into self-storage. Bubble wrap is obviously a very important packing material in self-storage, along with packing paper (or butcher's paper) and tissue paper. Vacuum space saver bags are fantastic when space saving is one of your top priorities for self-storage - they'll save you about 75% more space. Packing tape and packing knives are an essential component to both packing up your things into self-storage, and coming back to retrieve them. And never forget the marking pen, so you can carefully label all your boxes in self-storage.

Obviously you won't want to use everything listed here for your self-storage, but there are certainly some useful options available, other than just the packing boxes, which you might want to consider before using self-storage.

Spot On Storage with Access Self Storage

Access Self Storage promises to give you spot on storage in Melbourne. Whatever your storage needs are, Access will provide spot on storage solutions. With a range of storage units (60 different sizes) in an incredibly convenient location near Melbourne's CBD - Access can provide spot on storage in a well-maintained storage facility.

Spot on storage means our storage facility is well secured, with security and fire alarms, and on-site storage managers keeping your storage well looked after. You keep the key to your own storage unit - security is completely in your control. Access Self Storage provides free insurance cover up to $5000 as well. Access your storage seven days a week - so if you suddenly remember that you've left your favourite cardigan in amongst your storage on Sunday afternoon, it's no problem to come and get it back. That's why you'll get spot on storage with Access.

We'll provide a free move-in truck with your storage rental, so if you're using storage rental to keep your furniture temporarily, moving it into the unit will come at no extra cost. We provide quality service, can give you helpful advice, and have a range of packing materials on site, to help your storage rental go smoothly. These are all great reasons why you'll get spot on storage with Access Self Storage.

For spot on storage, use Access Self Storage for all your storage rental needs. Whether it's document archives, spare clothes, old equipment, or large amounts of furniture, Access Self Storage will get you spot on storage.

Storage for Your Camping and Sporting Gear

About this time of year, shortly after Christmas, a lot of us will start to pack up our cars with tents and sleeping bags, kayaks and water skis, and carloads of food, and head out into the wilderness for a filthy week of camping. The tents and sporting equipment will be pulled out of storage, their cramped little hiding spots, and loaded up into the car.

When you get back, packing it all up into storage seems much harder. The garage is probably already full of the storage of other equipment; it's probably going to seem impossible to squeeze all of that camping gear back into the storage areas it came from.

So how about storage rental as a solution? Rather than getting home and stuffing your garage full to the brim, come home from Marysville or Ninety Mile Beach and take all your gear to a storage unit. It could be like having an entire spare garage. Pile the tents, the sleeping bags, the kayaks and the water skis - even the trailer, if your storage unit is big enough - all inside the storage unit, ready to access again next holidays.

Using a storage unit to house your camping gear will make it easier to pack and unpack, and leave much more storage space in your garage at home. As a storage solution, storing camping gear isn't always something people would consider, but storage rental really will help make the whole process much easier.

Keeping Storage Rental Safe in the Long Term

If you're planning to use storage rental in the long term, there a couple of things you should consider to keep your storage items safe and well maintained.

The first and most obvious step is to pack them well. If you're storing smaller objects, wrap everything carefully and keep them in boxes. Pack boxes with packing material or bubble wrap, so if anything falls or is moved during the storage rental, your things will still be safe.

It's also a good idea to give the storage unit a clean out once in a while during your storage rental. It may seem silly to be dusting out your storage unit, when the furniture in it is just going to stay in storage rental, but it will help to keep the furniture in good condition.

Keep in mind that certain items may not survive well in a storage rental environment, especially in the long term. Computers shouldn't really be stored for longer than six months. Clothes, if they haven't been packed carefully in a clothes box, may come out of storage rental a little worse for wear.

As long as you check on your things fairly frequently, long-term storage rental should work out fine. At Access Self Storage, our storage units are well maintained and very clean. Just remember to follow these few steps, and to check up on your storage unit every once in a while, and your long-term storage rental should definitely work out successfully.

Emptying Your Storage Unit Back Into the House

If you've used a storage unit to house things temporarily while you moved houses, there are a few helpful tips to make moving it all into your new home much easier.

Planning ahead is key. When you pack up your storage unit, write out a plan. Note where everything belongs, what you've packed first, which room each box has come from. Be thoughtful about your labelling - make it very clear what each box contains, and where it should go when you unpack again. Your storage unit should be full of boxes with very detailed labels, and you should keep a plan of your storage unit, to give a basic idea of where everything is inside the storage unit.

When you unpack the storage unit, do it in an organised fashion. Keep boxes from the same rooms together, and when you unload them into the house, put them straight in those rooms. Refer back to your plan, so you know which boxes should be unpacked first. You could keep some of the unnecessary boxes in the storage unit while you unpack the essentials, which will also help to keep the house less cluttered.

Above all, make sure you've set a deadline for completely emptying the storage unit. Otherwise, unpacking could carry on indefinitely while you leave various boxes in your storage unit while you deal with other things. Setting a deadline will help to ensure the unpacking of your storage unit will eventually get done in good time.

Unpacking Your Storage Unit Over the Long Term

When your need for a storage unit comes to an end, the obvious thing to do is empty out your storage unit in one fell swoop, and return it all to your house. Right?

In some cases, it might actually be easier to empty your storage unit much more slowly. If you've chosen to get storage rental to help make moving a lot easier, then unpacking your storage unit gradually is only going to help this process even more. Rather than getting everything out of the storage unit and filling your new house up with boxes, you could take your time, and unpack with an organised plan.

Depending on how you sort your storage unit to begin with (each box labelled by room, or ordered by most essential to least essential), taking your time to remove and unpack the boxes might help to make unpacking a little bit easier. If your storage unit is labelled room by room, you could easily take boxes related to one room from the storage unit over a couple of weekends. If by essential to least essential, you can remove the essential boxes at first, and take your time with the others.

Taking your time to empty your storage unit won't add much to your storage rental cost, and will help to make the job go much more smoothly. Why stress yourself out with unpacking when you can take your time? Making moving house easier is what storage rental is all about, so make the most of it.

Packing Up Self-Storage into the Truck

One major step in using self-storage is transporting your goods from your home to the storage unit. This may seem like a relatively simple task, and certainly it is if you've chosen to use removalists. But sometimes when you use self-storage, and only have to transport a few items, it can seem easier to hire a truck and move it yourself. Here are a couple of tips on packing up your moving truck to make moving your self-storage a little bit easier.

If you're putting mattresses into self-storage, load them up first and against the walls. The heaviest of your self-storage items should be loaded up the front, and longer furniture against the longer walls. Drawers and doors should face the walls of the truck, so they don't swing open. Keep the heavier boxes for self-storage on the floor, and lighter boxes on top. Fill any gaps with smaller items, to minimise movement on your way to the self-storage facility.

Remember to spread out the weight relatively evenly, so the trip to self-storage is as safe as possible. If there's a lot of room left when you've packed everything up, keep it all stacked low. Using blankets, sheets and towels as packing pads is a good idea, and pack rugs on last, so you can put them straight on the floor when you arrive at the self-storage facility.

Just a few steps to help making the transportation easier, and help to make your self-storage experience a little more stress free.

Drawing Up a Plan for Your Storage Rental

Planning your storage rental is going to seem obvious, but it's such an important step in making the storage rental process much easier.

Having a plan to pack up, a plan to pack the storage unit and a plan to unpack again after your storage rental will help make things run smoother. It doesn't have to be complex and detailed. As long as you note down what storage is going into what boxes, and where those boxes should be kept in the storage unit, your storage rental will go along much more smoothly.

Having a plan can mean making a list of all your labels and what they mean - which "kitchen" box has which kitchen utensils, for example. Noting down everything that you're putting into storage rental, which boxes they've been stored in, and where these things will need to be unpacked once you have finished with your storage rental is a pretty easy, but important, step.

Drawing up a plan for your storage rental will also help you think about where your storage is going to go once you unpack. Maybe some things that belonged in the bedroom in your previous house might serve better in the living room in your new place. Plans will help you think about these things, and ensure you stay on top of everything while you use storage rental. This way, your storage rental can be hassle free.