Five Storage Mistakes to Avoid

At Montgomery Self Storage, we know that when you are packing and moving items to storage, you are often in a hurry and time is of the essence. We also know that taking a little bit of extra time up front can save hours later on and provide the type of protection your belongings deserve. Take a minute to review this list.

1.  Don’t use newspaper to wrap items

While easy to find, newspaper is not the smartest thing to use to protect your storage items. The ink from newspaper can smudge and rub off on your valuables. There are also certain items that newspaper can actually damage.  It’s not worth the risk. Use ink-free wrapping paper that can be purchased at a variety of places, including any of our locations.

2.  Not labeling all boxes and containers

Imagine coming to your storage unit to look for just one thing and having to go through all the boxes that are not labeled to find it. For your own piece of mind, label the boxes with a number and make a general contents list. This short video will easily explain a simple process that will save you hours on down the road. 

3. Not having enough time or help to load you unit properly

It is essential to make sure you have enough time and help to complete your move and to allow you set up your unit so that your things are easily accessible. Don’t just load up the unit without putting some thought in to where things should go. Review the suggestions in this helpful video and recruit some friends and family to help.

4.  Do not store food or hazardous materials

Often people believe they are only going to have their items in storage for a month or two but that can easily turn in to a much longer time period than expected.  Please do not pack food or leave food in appliances that are being stored.  Additionally, review this list to make sure that you are not storing any hazardous materials.

5.  Not making sure your items are properly insured

You definitely need to have your items insured. Check with your insurance agent to see if your homeowner or renter’s policy covers items placed in storage. If not, we offer an affordable policy. Just check with your location’s manager for details. You can find more details in this blog post. Insurance is a requirement for renting a storage unit. After all, if it’s worth storing, it’s worth insuring.

We hope you find this list helpful. At Montgomery Self Storage, we strive to make your storage experience as stress-free as possible. Avoiding these common mistakes should help.