Preparing for a move to a new home is a big undertaking. Your biggest enemy is clutter and the sheer volume of your belongings. You're not going to know how much space you'll have in your new home, so it might even be a good idea to find a secure storage space until you know exactly how much room you have to work with.
You also need to know how to pack properly for your move, and for storage, to ensure that none of your treasures are damaged during the transition.
After 70 years in the storage industry, Kent Storage has picked up a trick or two when it comes to preparing for a move. So, follow the advice below to help you prepare for a stress-free move to your new home.
Decluttering Your Home
Decluttering is perhaps the most important part of your preparations. The volume of your belongings directly affects how much it will cost to move and store your belongings so you might reconsider those inessential items.
The best thing to do is to go through all of your belongings and ask yourselves how important they are in your life. You can apply the ‘one-year rule’ during your sorting – if you haven’t used it in a year you probably don’t need it. You can also get rid of anything you have multiples off, like saucepans and other kitchen utensils.
At the end of your sorting you should only be left with things that have a real use and things you absolutely love and can’t live without, everything else should be sold or donated.
Finding The Right Storage
Not all storage options were created equal. Your basic self storage facility will be very bare-bones, often consisting of just a bricked off area with a roller door that you have to pack and stack yourself. More sophisticated options will have climate-control, 24/7 security monitoring, as well as protection from pests, intruders and other nasties.
Sophisticated storage options will also offer professional, expert packing and transport services, which is perfect for those that just don’t have time to pack and transport their own treasures.
Packing For Moving
There’s a certain art to packing for moving. It’s all about protecting your treasures from the bumps and jolts that are unavoidable during transit. That means investing in quality packing materials, ensuring boxes are full enough to limit movement and placing transit bolts inside your washing machines to protect the suspension in the drum.
Packing for Storage
Packing for storage requires an understanding of the particular pressure that storage conditions place on your belongings. Wooden and leather furniture needs to be treated and wrapped to protect against moisture and other forms of damage.
Whitegoods need to be thoroughly cleaned, disinfected and dried to prevent mould and mildew and doors and lids need to propped open to stop bad odours form building up and ingraining themselves in your fridge or washing machine.
Packing clothes in plastic tubs with clip-on lids instead of shoved in boxes will protect them from pests, dust, moisture and humidity. While it may be a cheaper option, cardboard boxes will make it difficult for your clothes to last the distance if storing long-term.
-Article courtesy of Kent Storage . Book online now to save 5%.
