Organising storage for moving house

How much storage will you need?

It’s often hard to judge how much moving house storage you need – especially if you’re only moving part of your stuff.

Our guide to storage costs also covers how much storage you’ll need for your house size. For example, we’d suggest around 150 sq ft of storage for a standard 3-bedroom house.

The best way to work it out is to speak to our expert team directly. They’ve handled every moving and storage request you can imagine, so will have a good idea of how much storage space you’ll need.

How long will you need storage for?

Ideally, you won’t need the storage space for too long. But if you’ve found the house of your dreams and the current owners are having issues moving out, you might be waiting for weeks or months.

It’s probably more affordable – and easier - to put your stuff into storage for a few weeks, than to have to re-list your property. Many property sites have strict re-listing rules meaning you could have to wait up to 14 weeks to re-list. And many estate agents suggest a new set of photos and, potentially, lower price to re-list a property correctly.

At Jorvik, we’re able to offer short term storage options – ideal if you just need to provide your buyer with a bit of wiggle room on moving dates. And if you’re having to wait around for months, we also offer long term storage discounts when you book for more than six months at a time.

Then, once you know how long for and how much storage you’ll need, it’s simply a matter of making sure everything is stored correctly.

Best way to store clothes in a storage unit

Let’s start with the basics – your clothes. If you’re using storage between moves, you probably won’t want all your clothing in storage. But you might put seasonal clothing, occasional wear and other items that aren’t in regular rotation in your wardrobe away to store.

Firstly, you want to make sure that all your clothes are properly wrapped and, ideally, sealed. Make sure everything is washed and thoroughly dried before packing away. Keep delicates like silks and wools apart. Storing clothing by material helps protect them.

Vacuum packing is a good way to store clothing for shorter periods. But for long periods, vacuum packing can cause serious wrinkles and can actually damage clothing.

Items like t-shirts, jumpers, jeans, underwear and more relaxed clothing can be folded or rolled away. Put these at the bottom of your clothes storage along with shoes and heavier items. Then add lighter clothing on top.

For key items like dresses, long jackets, trousers and suits, we recommend putting them on the hanger. It’s easy to store hanging clothes is a storage unit with a simple clothes rail. We can provide you with covers that easily slip over the top of the who rail so you can just wheel it in or out. You can even buy large wardrobe boxes with a rail inside.

Don’t worry about clothes getting ruined in a storage unit. All our storage units are climate controlled and protected against damp and infestations. But to help prevent moth damage, add some mothballs or cedar balls to the unit to keep insect away.

How to store bedding in storage unit

Chances are you’ll only be taking one set of bedding with you, so you’ll need to store other items like spare duvets, covers, linens and towels.

As with the clothing, it’s best to start with a clean and dry set of bedding. Once you’re got everything cleaned and dried, here are some top tips:

• Vacuum pack: If you’ve got big duvets that take up space, vacuum pack them to reduce their size and make them easier to store.
• Use hard containers: Hard containers protect again mice while also preventing them being torn or damage should you have to search around in your storage unit.
• Use fabric bag: This can let items to breath. Stick them in plastic boxes to protect them.
• Avoid liquids: While our storage containers are climate controlled, if you bring your own liquids in and leave them or spill them the moisture can cause damage to your bedding.
• Use natural scents: You can keep everything smelling fresh with natural scented sachets filled with lavender.

How to prepare furniture for storage

If you’re using storage in between house moves, you’ll more than likely needs to store your furniture – or at least the bulk of it. To help you get started, we answer some of your furniture storage questions:

• Best way to wrap furniture for storage? We can provide special protective wrapping for furniture to make sure it’s not damaged when moving into storage units or damage by other items falling on to it when you’re in your unit. Alternatively, you can use old sheets or duvet covers to wrap your furniture. If the furniture has delicate areas like feet or legs, wrap those in bubble wrap.
• Can you shrink wrap furniture for storage? We’d recommend not shrink-wrapping upholstered furniture for long periods as it can capture moisture inside and cause mould and discoloration.
• What are the best storage units for furniture? We’d suggest our indoor, climate-controlled storage units for furniture as they provide the best protection from the elements.
• How long can you keep furniture in storage? You can store your furniture as long as you want, especially if you’re wrapped it correctly. We offer discounts when you book for six months and a year in advance.
• How can you keep furniture safe in storage? All our units have high levels of security, so your furniture will always be safely stored. If you want to protect it from damage, make sure any delicate furniture is not stored under heavy items and that other items aren’t going to fall on it if you come to your unit to rummage around.
• How to protect your furniture in storage? Using our indoor units will help protect your furniture from damp and from mice. If you have wood furniture, you could give it a wax before you move it into storage. The same applies to leather furniture – clean it and treat it with something like beeswax before putting into storage.

Get in touch with Jorvik Removals today to discuss your house storage options when moving home.