Our Storage Guide to Save You Time and Money
Melbourne Mini Storage offers you a smart way to get rid of your clutter, free up space at home, office or business, and be more productive.
There are many other benefits you stand to gain once you decide to use Melbourne Mini Storage to address your storage problems. Remember, sensible packing and organising is key to successful storage.
To help improve your storage experience, save you money through lower storage costs when storing your prized possessions and ensure that your stored items stay in good condition, follow our practical storage guide for some tips from the experts.
General Tips and Tricks
- Have enough appropriate packing accessories. Packing accessories – cartons, tape, etc. – are important to properly pack and store your possessions. If you require packing materials or you plan to do the packing at Melbourne Mini Storage, you can check out the Packing Materials info to find out what you can buy while in the facility.
- Fill up the boxes! Half-filled cartons will not offer adequate support when stacked; they can easily tip and collapse, damaging the fragile contents of the top boxes. Make sure to fill the boxes to capacity.
- Heavy items form the base. Put the heavy and less delicate ones (like books) at the bottom. These will offer a more stable support for the more fragile ones packed on top.
- Distribute the weight. Do not put all of the heavy items in one box. It will be safer to split and pack them in more boxes so the weight is distributed. Fill the upper part with the lighter or more delicate stuff.
- Packing fragile items. Cushion each delicate piece and put these on top of the piled boxes if you don’t want them crushed or broken into pieces.
- Use pallets. Don’t leave filled boxes lying on the floor; use the pallets to keep them off the ground. In case of leakage (from other units such as from un-defrosted freezers), the boxes and their contents will not be soaked.
- Stacking the boxes. This is a good strategy to maximize the space, but avoid stacking beyond 1.6 meters. Higher than that and the top boxes will be less stable. Remember, the ones on top contain fragile goods.
- Leave spaces between the piled boxes. This will keep the unit well ventilated while giving you space to walk around to access every box inside the unit. Put those you need to access more often closer to the entrance.
- Label the boxes. Make retrieving of goods an easy and efficient process. Label the boxes and make a list too of what’s to be found inside for easy reference. Leave a copy inside the unit, but keep another copy at home or on your computer.
Storing Your Appliances
- Keep them dry and clean. Do not leave freezers and fridges without being cleaned and thoroughly dried. Defrosting freezers is important to prevent moisture from leaking and damaging other stored items. Damp conditions can also breed mould and other microorganisms.
- Keep the doors of fridges and freezers ajar. Leaving the door open will let the air in to ventilate the insides of fridges and freezers. This will prevent the growth of mould and bacteria.
- Leave a deodorizer inside fridges or freezers. You can use commercial products or some home remedies like baking powder or charcoal to maintain a clean, fresh scent inside these appliances.
- Don’t maximize space by putting stuff inside. Leave the insides of freezers and fridges empty to prevent the linings and shelves from being damaged or permanently stained.
Storing Furniture
- Cabinets and closets. Remove all content and empty the drawers. These will make moving easier. Once they have been stored, you can use the inside to pack dry goods and clothes to maximize space.
- Furniture that can be disassembled. Take apart bed frames, tables and such to save space.
- Store clean furniture. Make sure there are no traces of food that can attract pests to cause damage to stored furniture and other goods.
Packing Dishes and Glassware
- Individually pack breakables. Protect delicate items by wrapping each with packing paper. Newspaper will do if storage will be brief; to maintain quality and prevent staining, use packing paper or bubble wrap for more expensive items.
- Cushion the base, top and fill any gaps. Put in a layer of packing material – flat-pack carton or bubble wrap – at the bottom and top of boxes containing fragile items. Make sure that gaps are filled with packing materials so they will not move or break with the slightest movement.
- Don’t forget to label and keep an itemised list of content. Make sure recovering items will not cost you significant time and effort.
Wrapping Flat Items: Paintings, Mirrors, Windows, and Screens
- Wrap them up with packing material. These are best protected with individual packing using protective packing materials such as flat-pack cartons, bubble wrap and/or packing paper.
- Keep them upright. Store them against walls for support and keep them standing on their edges so they are in an upright position.
Packing and Storing Sensitive Electrical Equipment: Televisions, Computers, etc.
- Handle with care. These are sensitive and expensive equipment that must be handled with care. Make sure that the entire thing is wrapped with bubble wrap.
- Use the original box. If the original boxes are still available, that would constitute the most perfect packing material with its shaped foam fitting every corner of the equipment.
- Fill and seal the carton. Make sure the equipment will not move while in transit. If repacked using bubble wrap, make sure that gaps are filled with packing materials such as packing peanuts or some other cushioning materials.
Storing Battery-Operated Devices and Toys
- Remove the batteries. In order to avoid leaking acids that can damage the toy or gadget. Remove the batteries before packing it for storage.
- Pack it accordingly. If it has some delicate parts and it is expensive, it is best wrapped with bubble wrap or packed in its original box. If it has breakable parts, make sure the box has enough filling so it won’t move.
Packing Metallic Items
- Prevent tarnish while in storage. You can achieve this by wrapping metallic items like silverware with non-acid tissue paper. You can also use plastic bags and other materials that have no acidic components.
- A little machine oil will help. You can also retard the formation of rust on chrome or cast iron with machine oil. Get a piece of cloth, pour a little oil and wipe it on the surfaces as a treatment before storage.
Storage of Small Machinery
- Prevent oil leakage and spillage while in storage. Storing small machinery like a lawnmower is risky if it contains fuel when stored. Being combustible, it is prohibited in the facility as it can damage other items if it leaks or spills.
- It is also a fire hazard. As a precautionary measure, drain fuel and oil from the machinery not only for possible leaks and spills but also because petrol and oil are combustible/fire hazards.