You’ve made the decision to de-clutter your life by using a safe storage unit in Columbia Tennessee. But as that door swings open for the first time, you may ask yourself what to do next. Sure, you could haphazardly toss your belongings into the unit, dust off your hands, and skip away. But what happens when you need to come back for that baseball card collection or patio furniture? Or what if your need for a storage unit is a little more dire than you originally thought?

We’ve put together a list to ensure you’re happy with your storage unit and that you get the most out of your experience.

1. Toss What You Don’t Need

Climate controlled storage units are kept at a constant temperature regardless of fluctuations with the weather. It’s like air conditioning for your storage unit. Additionally, these often have humidity control, as ours do. Without temperature control, you may need to make special preparations so the items in your unit don’t get damaged.

2. Organize Into Sections and Keep a Map

Proper organization is key to an optimized storage unit. Similar items like to be stored together, and you will like the ease of unpacking quickly and finding items when you need them. We recommend finding a grouping system that works for you and sticking with it. Whether it’s separated by season, style, or level of use, you’ll thank yourself when it’s time to climb in and find something.

3. Keep an Inventory

Similar to above, keeping an inventory will be immensely helpful when it’s time to retrieve an item. Imagine rooting through boxes for an hour and coming up empty-handed when you really wanted to use those golf clubs. With an inventory, you can check if the item is in the unit before you even go to the building.

4. Disassemble What You Can

Maximizing space is key in a storage unit. Storing a couch or patio set for when the youngsters head off to college is a great idea, but those bulky items can take up a lot of space. Disassembling these pieces makes them easier to stack or generally hide amongst the other items instead of dominating the space.

5. Use Uniform Containers

Whenever possible, using similar containers makes stacking and arranging much easier. Whether it’s boxes that are the same size or plastic totes with lids, using the same shape makes it much easier to limit wasted space. Think of how easy Tetris would be if they only gave you the blocks.

6. Hang Shelves

Don’t forget about the walls! Hanging shelves is another great way to maximize space. Smaller items can get lost in the mix or take up valuable space where a bigger item could also sit. Setting these items on shelves effectively makes these items disappear while contradictorily making them easier to see.

7. Create a Pathway

You’ve filled your storage unit with similar-shaped boxes arranged by season and inventoried every item, but how are you going to get anything that isn’t in front if you don’t have a pathway? Creating a path into your unit is essential for retrieval of items. What’s the point of storing something if you can’t get close enough to it to take it out?

8.  Label Everything

If you’ve used similar packaging, it’s all going to look the same until you open it up. And even if the items are grouped together, you can save yourself the hassle of opening multiple boxes by simply labeling them. You can buy stickers marked for inventorying boxes or you can simply scribble a quick description on the outside of the box with a marker, whatever you need to be able to identify the contents with a quick glance will help.

9. Plan For Future Additions

Planning for the future is never a bad idea, and this extends to your storage unit. Leave yourself some extra room for possible unforeseen circumstances. Having extra space is an asset and knowing you have somewhere to store your extra belongings can be a great relief in a time of need.

Whether you’re in Kingston Springs, Fairview, or Columbia Tennessee, Stuff It Inn has your safe storage needs covered.