What do you do when you’re moving to another country for a few months but don’t want to leave your full house unoccupied, and still don’t need to carry all your belongings with you?

You put them in storage.

Short-term storage solutions give you the flexibility to move and not worry about the safety of your goods. For anyone living in a rental home, storage beats having to pay rent for a house where you don’t live. Most importantly, you won’t end up evaluating which of your goods you can carry with you and which ones you’ll have to sell or give away because you are moving for a few months.

Here is how the process of putting goods in storage plays out:

▪ Decluttering before Storage

Take the time to determine what items need to be stored, what can be given away, and what you are moving with. Storage costs are typically charged based on the total volume of goods, so decluttering will help you avoid paying for storing junk.

▪ What do you need to store?

Make a list of the items you need in your temporary home, which are most likely items you will be using in your day-to-day life. Separate these items, then mark the rest for storage.

▪ Storage Quotation

After determining what you need to store, request a quote from your preferred mover. Here is a

Storage companies will consider the following when factoring in the price of putting your goods in storage:

• The volume of items going into storage – the cost of storage is proportionate to the volume of the goods
• Cost of wrapping, packing, and materials to be used
• Space needed for the items- the bigger the space required, the more the costs.
• Nature of items – Some items can be safely stored in general-use storage units that can withstand a wide range of temperatures and humidity levels. Others may be damaged if they are stored in a unit that is too hot or cold or produces too much moisture. Artwork, wine, classic cars, and even family photos should all be stored in climate-controlled environments. While climate-controlled storage units are more expensive, they are worth the potential loss of invaluable property and irreplaceable family mementos.

You may be offered storage in wooden containers inside a warehouse or a larger steel container. Ask your mover to explain the advantages of the solution they recommend.

▪ Transportation of goods to the storage facility

After picking your facility of choice, your mover will send a team to wrap your items, pack them, and transport them to the storage facility. This process may take anywhere from a few hours to a few days depending on the volume and nature of the goods to be stored.

Once in a secure storage facility, you are free to go about your life as you please with the assurance that your possessions are safe and in good condition. The movers will bill you as per your agreement, and you don’t have to worry about anything until when you come back. Then the process is reversed.

Happy moving!