It’s a common problem seen by millions of American homeowners; a lack of usable space. Not having enough space to store things you want or need to keep (but don’t use every day) is one of the most common issues in America and one of the main driving factors behind the rise in self storage facilities. If you’re low on storage space, whether in your apartment, home, or business, storing your items in a storage unit is a relatively easy, safe, and smart solution. Many folks have one question when it comes to self storage, though, and it’s what items people store and how to store them properly. If that’s your question, the information below will be beneficial.
What Do People Store in Storage Units?
It is easier to tell you what can’t be stored in a storage unit rather than seeing what people can store because you can store many things. That includes the contents of an entire 5-bedroom, 4-bath home, a single room’s worth of furniture, and everything in between. If you don’t have the space for it at home or work, you can store it in a storage unit. Here’s a quick list of commonly stored items.
- Furniture
- Antiques
- Artworks
- Baby items
- Clothing
- Toys
- Collectibles
- Sports equipment
- Musical instruments
- Vehicles of all kinds
- Electronics
- Photo albums and camera equipment
- Important documents
- Overstock from your business
- Excess inventory
- Sporting gear
- Seasonal items
- Holiday decorations
- Collections like wine, comics, action figures, Lego, etc.
What Can’t Be Stored in a Storage Unit?
Below is a list of the items that should never be stored in a storage unit.
- Hazardous materials
- Flammable Items
- Explosive Items
- Narcotics
- Living animals
- Living plants
- People
- Money
- Used tires
- Perishable food
- Illegal items
- Weapons and ammunition
- and a few other items!
- Contact your nearest Move It Storage facility to find out what is and is not allowed
What about Vehicle Storage?
Vehicle storage is very popular, especially for cars, RVs, boats, and motorcycles. Depending on the vehicle, some can be stored inside a storage unit, including most cars, boats, Jet skis, motorcycles, scooters, and other small vehicles.
When your vehicle is too large to store inside a storage unit, most Move It Storage facilities offer outside storage in a parking lot. Some Move It locations also offer covered storage, which can provide protection for your vehicle.
It’s important to note that several factors will affect your ability to store a vehicle in a self-storage facility, especially boat storage and RV storage. They include the following:
- The vehicle must be road ready and transportable.
- The vehicle must be fully insured while stored.
- The vehicle must be registered in the state where you’re storing it.
- If you store your vehicle inside a storage unit, the unit’s door must safely close and lock.
Storing Seasonal Items in Storage Units
Many American families have seasonal items like winter clothes and gear that they store in a storage unit during the off-season. This is especially true for larger families with a large amount of seasonal clothing, including outdoor equipment, skiing gear, jackets, gloves, hats, etc.
Holiday decorations are another big item that many people tend to store in a storage unit. You’ve undoubtedly seen many people decorate their homes for Halloween, Christmas, Easter, Fourth of July, and other holidays. Those decorations can take up an awful lot of storage space in the average home or apartment. That makes a storage unit the perfect solution to keep your home from becoming stuffed full when those decorations aren’t being used.
Storing Business Overstock and Inventory
Entrepreneurship is alive and well in the United States, and millions of entrepreneurs have their own businesses. Many of those businesses are located in the founder’s home, making it difficult storage-wise because you have the everyday home items to store and storing items connected to the business.
Business owners who have a brick-and-mortar location can have just as difficult a time storing things, including medical doctors, chiropractors, and dentists, who must store their patient files safely and securely. After several years, a doctor’s office can become overcrowded with old files from patients who have stopped using their services. Storing those files in a safe and secure storage unit is often the perfect solution.
Then you have businesses like clothing stores, bakeries, bars, boutiques, etc. All of those businesses have storage needs also. If that’s you and your location is relatively tiny, storing things you don’t need every day in a storage unit can be helpful.
Lastly, if you’ve got a business that provides some service to the public, primarily recreational service companies, a storage unit or 2 can be beneficial. For example, let’s say you’re in Florida and rent canoes and kayaks during the summer. Storing your kayaks and canoes in storage units during the winter ensures they stay in clean, pristine condition. (That goes for all the gear, like life jackets, paddles, seat cushions, coolers, etc.)
Do People Store Clothing and Shoes?
As you undoubtedly noticed above, people store clothing and shoes in storage units, and clothes are one of the most commonly stored items. Many folks have huge wardrobes and need more closet space to store them well in their home or apartment. Unsurprisingly, that makes a storage unit a viable and beneficial option. As far as preparing your clothing for storage, there are a few things you should know and several tips.
Pack hanging clothes in the wardrobe boxes
Wardrobe boxes are heavy-duty boxes with metal bars across the top, almost equal to storing clothes in a closet. For quality clothing, wardrobe boxes are essential. They make storing hanging clothes much easier and more convenient and add a thick layer of protection.
Pack Shoes in Their Original Boxes when Possible
If you’re a true shoe fan, keep the original boxes your shoes come in because they offer a lot more protection when packed into a box. If you still need the original boxes, wrap each shoe individually in a sheet or two of packing paper before putting them into a box.
Put Cedar Planks or Chips in With Your Packed Clothes
Cedar, especially red cedar, has the enviable ability to keep insects and vermin away. You can put a couple of cedar planks in every box of clothing you pack or, if you wish, some cedar chips. The best way to put cedar chips in a box is to place them into a length of old stocking you’ve tied on one end. Fill it till about 3 or 4 inches long, then tie the other end. Voila! You now have an excellent DIY device to prevent bugs from chewing on your clothes while they’re in storage!
Don’t Put Clothes in Plastic Wrap or Bags
Two of the biggest enemies of good clothing are mold and mildew, and both survive in moist environments. If you have even the slightest amount of moisture in your clothing and place them into plastic bags or plastic wrap, that moisture will stay behind, causing mold and mildew to grow like crazy.
The Best Way to Store Collectibles
People store many different kinds of collectibles with Move It Storage. What’s the best way to pack them? That depends on the collectible and its fragility. For example, collectible plates are extremely fragile and should be packed well and stood on their edges in a box so they don’t get smashed.
Dolls and action figures should be carefully wrapped in packing paper and put gently into boxes without forcing too many into one box. Lego bricks? Unless you have a Lego set that’s been made, you can practically pour them directly into a box, and they will be just fine for years in storage.
What about Storing Important Documents?
It helps to purchase containers made specifically for those documents when storing essential documents. For example, if you’re a chiropractor and have a lot of spine X-rays, you might need larger boxes than those used for regular files because X-rays, especially for the entire spine, are quite large.
A fireproof safe is a good idea for important documents, and you can store it easily in a storage unit. Filing cabinets are your best choice for regular files from an office, doctor’s office, or any business. Lastly, if you live in an area where flooding might be a problem, putting your important documents and paperwork into plastic, waterproof containers is a good choice also.
For Everything Worth Storing Safely, Choose Move It Storage
Move It Storage Is your best choice for storing practically anything in a storage unit. We provide a wide variety of different storage types, including vehicle storage, boat storage, RV storage, and climate controlled storage. All of them are provided in a safe, secure self storage facility with 24/7 video cameras, electronic, keypad-controlled front gates, and well-lit parking lots. If you need help determining what size storage unit you need, check out our storage unit size guide. It will give you a better idea of what can fit in a storage unit so you can choose the one that fits your needs perfectly. When you’re ready, reserve a storage unit online and store your valued items safely with Move It Storage.