If you’ve never packed goods before, then this blog is for you. Whether you’re going with a professional storage provider or not, we’ve put together the best tips you’ll need to ensure your goods are packed safely for short to long-term storage and during transit.

Take An Inventory

Taking an inventory list form of all your possessions you wish to store will help you during every stage of the storage process. Most importantly, it will help you to determine whether or not you’ll require a professional storage space. Make sure to update your list as you go along, and note the final locations of your goods once they’re packed away into boxes.

Choose A Quality Storage Provider

If you are choosing a professional secure storage provider, it’s useful to know the criteria by which you should assess the right provider for you. In addition to the over-arching goal of the most secure storage facilities available, the following criteria are also very important:

• Ensure that your storage company provides free, no-obligation quotes

• Choose a provider with a full list of unbiased, third party accreditations from relevant industry bodies. These experience and quality processes and procedures

• Positive customer reviews on third party websites, such as Product Review, WOMO and even some social media sites. In the digital age, these are the go-to for almost every service out there.

Invest in the Right Packing Material

Many professional storage companies also provide professional grade packing materials, in addition to packing services. However, if you know what you need, it’s possible to do it all yourself. Here’s our list of the most important pieces of packing equipment:

• White packing paper sheets

• Heavy duty plastic wrapping

• Bubble wrap

• Zip-lock bags

• Marking pens

• Duct tape, or security tape

• And of course, the trusty storage box—the sturdier the better.

Check Which Items You Can Store

It’s always a good idea to check with your furniture storage company exactly which items you’re permitted to store at their facility. Some items may be prohibited. Generally, foodstuffs and dangerous goods cannot be stored, and will invalidate your insurance.

Tips for Packing Your Goods for Storage

Once you’ve purchased your equipment and worked out what you need to pack, it’s time to roll up your sleeves and get to it. There are a few crucial things to know if you want to pack like a pro.

First, it’s best to pack your cardboard boxes up to a maximum weight of 20kg. It’s all size dependent of course, but it’s better to use more boxes than to go overboard with the weight of an individual box. Heavier items should go at the bottom, with lighter ones on top.

You can reinforce your boxes with security tape, and attach a label or exercise your box-marking skills to keep track of the contents within.

As a final point: try to limit the empty spaces between items in your box. You can use bubble wrap, clothing, or other fabrics to fill up these gaps. Doing so will help ensure your box doesn’t collapse, and that goods don’t bounce around during transit.