Spring Cleaning Tips And Advice

Despite the recent cold snap spring is on its way to the UK and it’s time to start decluttering our households from those extra goods accumulated during the icy months. Winter clothes, extra duvets, heaters and other winter items are no longer needed and can now be stored away until next year. With the spring season almost upon us, what better way to kick off the warmer months than with a tidy and organised house? Storage King is making self storage simple with some spring cleaning tips for packing and storing your goods safely, efficiently and most importantly out of sight!

General packing and storing tips

• Tackle one room at a time, perhaps one a day until you have gone through all the rooms in your house thoroughly.
• To keep track of your goods use carefully labelled see-through containers to pack away any goods you wish to keep.
• Store winter clothes in plastic containers to ensure they do not accumulate dust.
• Rolling up your clothes before you put them in storage will help you avoid crease marks, and allow you to fit more clothes in.
• Don’t just throw clothes into a black plastic bag until the next season – rather pack them neatly in boxes to avoid crease marks and damage.
• Any items that are fragile or breakable should be carefully bubble wrapped and put in boxes that are marked “Fragile”.
• Whether you are storing your goods in a storage unit, or spare room/garage make sure heavier items are placed first to ensure a solid packing base.
• If you have items that you might need to access regularly, pack them at the front to allow for easy access.
• When storing items leave an aisle for easier access to items you may want to get to.
• Try to use boxes that are the same or similar size. This allows you to utilise your space better and fit more items into your storage unit.
• When choosing boxes, make sure you choose sturdy and strong boxes that will not collapse or degrade easily.
• Try to fill your boxes to their capacity, this ensures that they do not collapse and damage the contents.
• Keen on doing some re-decorating for the change in season? Any paintings or mirrors that you would like to put away should be packed standing upright, this makes them less likely to get broken or damaged.
• Make an inventory map of items you have stored, this helps you keep track of where your goods are if you need to access them.
• Put as many of your items in boxes as you can, those that are not in boxes might accumulate dust.
• Store heavier items in small boxes, and lighter ones in bigger boxes. This will help you carry your boxes, and ensure they do not break.
• Be careful of packing items in sealed plastic bags as this may result in mildew accumulating.
• Never store away wet items as this will result in mould and damage to your other goods.
• Avoid stacking or leaning furniture against outside walls to aid ventilation.
• Pack books flat to protect their spines.
• NB. When choosing what to put into storage, try to be ruthless. Have you used this item in the last year, if not you are probably never going to use it. It might be worth your while to give these to charity or dispose of them, and ensure you do not hold onto unnecessary clutter.

Do you need a storage facility?

• Make sure you chose a storage facility with adequate security.
• Using a self storage facility means you can access your goods when you want, as opposed to storing in a warehouse.
• When choosing the size of your unit, make sure you take into consideration your future needs, will you be adding to your unit soon, do you perhaps need a bigger unit?
• Storage units need to be clean and dry, as damp units may result in mould and damage your goods and/or any documents you might have.
• Make sure you have access to trolleys to transport your goods.
• Take into account the location of the facility for easy and convenient access.

Here is an easy way to get a head start on your spring cleaning, get an online quote in under 60 seconds at Storage King.

Not sure how much space you will need, here is a handy storage size estimator.