Ways To Prepare Your Furniture For Long-Term Storage
Perhaps you’re downsizing your house, starting a remodeling project, or wanting to get seasonal furniture out of the way. Or you have prized antiques that don’t match your home’s décor and high-quality furniture that you don’t use but wish to preserve for your children
In all these situations, your safest choice is to keep your furniture somewhere secure until you need them again. But you must ensure that your treasured possessions remain in good shape while in long-term storage.
Furniture can survive for many years in the appropriate conditions, but it might suffer from moisture, temperature changes, or physical damage if poorly kept, even for a brief duration. Simply put, while storing furniture for an extended period of time, the danger of damage increases significantly, and special care must be taken to protect the safety of your precious items.
Don’t know how to keep your furniture safe in storage? Here are some long-term furniture storage strategies to keep your valuable possessions safe and secure.
- Clean and Pack Furniture Properly
The first step in storing your furniture in a self-storage unit is to prep it, which begins with disinfecting the furniture. Give each item a deep clean with a fresh cloth, and make sure to fix any damage to prevent cracks and breaks from spreading.
After cleaning, place your furniture in a well-ventilated area to dry thoroughly before packing it. It will prevent any spots of retained moisture from causing damage, discoloration, or mold development over time.
- Dismantle Heavy Items for Transport and Storage
After cleaning your furniture, it’s time to dismantle bigger pieces for easy travel and storage. Not only would removing the legs from desks, drawers from cabinets and cushions from sofas make furniture more convenient to move, but it will also make it easier to pile in your storage unit. Make sure to take your time dismantling your furnishings. If you misplace any nuts or screws, you may unable to reassemble the furniture, or it will be more complicated.
- Provide Coverings For Your Furniture
Now that you’ve cleaned and dismantled the big furniture, it’s essential to ensure it’s all secured properly. Wrap fragile objects in bubble wrap and cover heavier pieces of furniture with blankets to protect them. Although many experts recommend wrapping furniture with plastic, you should avoid doing so whenever feasible. Certain items, such as wood and textiles, might be suffocated by plastic wrapping, resulting in moisture and unpleasant odors forming in your storage facilities.
- Select A Climate-Controlled Storage Space
Extreme temperatures and fluctuating humidity levels can cause harm to furniture. When storing furniture, renting a climate-controlled storage facility is an efficient choice. Climate-controlled storage keeps the self-storage unit at an ambient temperature to mitigate the impact of excessive temperature changes. Climate-controlled self-storage containers would be your best option for long-term furniture storage.
- Plan Your Storage Smartly
Make sure to place your furniture in the self-storage unit appropriately. Create a solid plan for stacking your stuff to maximize your unit’s capacity, and if you feel you need something, make sure it’s reachable. Storing your belongings strategically will allow air to circulate freely throughout your unit, protecting your furnishings from harm. And it will also prevent damage to your items by placing heavier objects on the bottom and anything you require closer to the entrance.
