The Ultimate Checklist for Organising Your Storage Unit Efficiently

Whether you are storing furniture between two completion dates, archiving business records you must keep but never look at, or clearing space in a London flat with no loft and no garage, a storage unit only works well if it is organised from the start. A unit packed in a hurry costs more to rent and takes longer to unpack. This checklist walks through every decision in order, from what goes in to how you get it back out.

Decide what actually needs to go into storage

The most expensive thing in any storage unit is the item you did not need to keep. Storage is charged by the volume you use, so every box of things you will never want again costs money each week for no return.

Go room by room before you book anything and sort everything into four groups:

• Keep and use now: stays with you.
• Keep but not needed for a while: goes into storage.
• Sell or give away: pass it on before the collection date.
• Dispose: broken, worn out or expired items go to the tip.

Be honest about the second group: if something has sat untouched for two years, another year rarely changes that. Businesses should check retention periods: records you are legally required to keep belong in storage, and anything past its date should be shredded, not boxed.

Choose the right amount of space

Once you know what is going, you can size the unit. With Removals Nationwide, storage is priced by volume rather than by a fixed room size, so you pay for the space your goods take up. Two unit types are offered:

• A 250 cubic foot wooden unit, holding roughly 70 to 80 cartons or over 100 archive boxes. It suits a one or two bedroom flat, or a document archive.
• A 20ft container of 1,000 cubic feet, equal to four of the smaller units. It suits full household contents, a larger home or an entire office, and is recommended for long term storage where access is not expected.

Do not guess. A survey confirms the volume before booking and the price is agreed before work starts. Good packing lowers the final volume and therefore your bill. The storage page explains the service in full.

Get the boxes and labelling right

Weak boxes are the main reason storage goes wrong. Cardboard that bows under weight collapses over months and damages everything stacked above it.

• Use double wall removal boxes, not supermarket cartons or secondhand boxes with hidden water damage.
• Keep to two sizes. Small boxes for books, crockery, files and anything heavy. Large boxes for bedding, cushions and light bulky items.
• Fill boxes to the top so they stack without crushing, padding gaps with towels or paper.
• Tape the base as well as the lid. One roll of 48mm tape seals around ten boxes.
• For long stays, consider plastic crates. They hold their shape and resist moisture far better than cardboard, and crate hire is available by the week.

Label every box on two sides and the top, so it reads whichever way it faces in a stack. Write the room, a short summary of the contents and a box number. Mark fragile boxes clearly. Double wall boxes, wardrobe boxes, bubble wrap, mattress covers and tape are available through the packaging materials service, delivered before collection day, with office and file boxes on request for archives.

Keep an inventory you can trust

A box number is only useful if it points to something. Before sealing the boxes, make a simple inventory in a spreadsheet or notebook. For each box, record the number, the room, the main contents and whether it is fragile or heavy. Photograph the open box before taping it shut. Six months later you will know exactly which box to ask for.

On collection day the storage team checks the condition of your items and records everything on inventory sheets, and you keep a copy. Your unit is then locked and sealed and you are given the seal number. Keep your own list, the inventory copy and the seal number together at home.

Pack furniture and soft items for a long stay

Furniture and textiles sit undisturbed for weeks or months, so they need more care than for a same-day move.

• Dismantle what comes apart. Bed frames, table legs and shelving take far less space flat. Bag the fittings and tape them to the main piece.
• Clean everything first. Crumbs in a sofa and dust on a mattress attract pests and set in over time.
• Use a proper mattress cover. Wrap sofas and chairs in blankets or furniture covers rather than plastic pressed against the fabric, which traps moisture.
• Empty and dry fridges, freezers and washing machines, and prop the doors open.
• Put clothes in wardrobe boxes on their hangers or fold them into sealed large boxes. Bin bags tear and let in damp.
• Bubble wrap mirrors, pictures and glass and stand them on their edge, never flat.

If you would rather not pack at all, the packing service includes materials and labour in one fixed price.

Loading order, access and insurance

With managed, containerised storage the crew loads your unit, so you do not stack it or plan an aisle yourself. You do need to decide what you might want back before the rest, because the unit is sealed once loaded and access is by appointment at the Purfleet compound with at least 48 hours notice. An access fee applies when staff assistance is needed during a visit.

• Group boxes you are confident you will not touch so they go in first, at the back and bottom.
• Keep anything you might need during the storage period together and clearly labelled, so it is loaded last and reached first.
• Heavy boxes and solid furniture go low, light and fragile items on top. Tell the crew which boxes are fragile.

In a walk-in self storage room elsewhere, the same logic applies, plus one rule: leave a clear walkway down the middle so you can reach the back.

Goods stored with Removals Nationwide are insured throughout their time in the company's care, from collection through to redelivery, and the compound is staffed around the clock with CCTV. Your inventory and photographs are still what you would rely on for any claim, so keep them complete. Collection is from any London borough and the surrounding areas, or you can deliver to the Purfleet facility yourself for slightly less. There is no minimum or maximum term.

Items that should not go into storage

Some things are refused for safety, and others are a bad idea even where allowed. Leave these out:

• Food of any kind, including tins and dried goods. It deteriorates and attracts pests.
• Living plants and perishable goods.
• Flammable, corrosive or pressurised items: paint, fuel, gas cylinders, aerosols, cleaning chemicals and fireworks.
• Passports, title deeds, wills, cash and jewellery. Keep irreplaceable documents and valuables with you.
• Anything you will need in the next fortnight. Retrieving one item from a sealed unit is slower and costlier than keeping it at home.

If unsure whether an item is accepted, ask your coordinator before collection day.

The final checklist

Run through this before the collection date:

• Everything sorted into keep, store, sell and dispose, with the last two groups gone.
• Volume confirmed by survey or coordinator and the price agreed in writing.
• Double wall boxes or crates, bubble wrap, tape and mattress covers on hand.
• Every box filled, taped top and bottom, and labelled on two sides and the top.
• Inventory written up with box numbers, contents and photos.
• Furniture dismantled, cleaned and wrapped; appliances emptied and dried.
• Boxes grouped by how soon you might need them, with fragile boxes marked.
• No food, plants, hazardous items, perishables, valuables or key documents packed.
• Inventory copy, seal number and quotation filed together at home.
• Your coordinator's number saved for redelivery or access visits.

Done properly, this takes a weekend and saves money every week your goods are in storage. When you are ready, book a service online or speak to a coordinator about the right unit for your volume.