Moving Stuff to a Storage Unit: Why Should You Label Your Boxes?

When you plan to move your belongings to one of the Van Buren storage units, you might come up with a lot of different boxes housing various types of items. Small items can range between anything from fragile old DVDs, plates and glasses, and heavy items such as speakers, dumbbells and gardening tools.

Labeling your boxes, therefore, carries a lot of importance. You have to know which boxes need to be dealt with caution and which ones are heavier – and should, therefore, be placed at the bottom of the rack. Also, labeling your boxes will make it easier to pinpoint an object you’re looking for or get something from storage without having to look through every single box.

Aside from labeling everything, make sure you also have footage of the layout of all your boxes, so that you can figure out from the start where to go when you need to get or check on an item. Sometimes a box might go missing due to theft, and if you have footage or a photograph of your boxes, outlining the exact position of everything you stored, it will be easier to get to the bottom of the problem as well as getting the right kind of compensation from your insurance company.

Increasing space in a storage unit can be difficult, depending on what you have to store. However, even irregularly shaped items are better stored in an area where you have large shelves extending towards the ceiling, rather than just an empty box.

The main problem with storage units is that once you place a furniture item or a box on the bottom, and you start stacking boxes on top of it, there is a risk that the weight of the items placed on top can cause a lot of damage. There is also a risk that they could fall off and something fragile could potentially break. Also, you’ll find that no matter what you do, the amount of space available in your storage unit will not be used to its full extent, which means that if you need to pack it full, you might have to rent an additional unit at one of the Fort Smith storage buildings.

These issues can be resolved with ease by adding storage shelves to your storage unit. The shelves can be used to store boxes and smaller items, while you use the rest of the storage area for your furniture, large appliances and electronics. The result will be more space and less of a risk that you’d have to deal with any extensive damage.

Should You Buy Renter’s Insurance to Cover Items Stored in a Storage Unit?

Renter’s insurance is considered important when you store items outside your property. For storage units, this type of insurance is considered to be one of the best, although far from ideal in most cases.

The thing about renter’s insurance is that, even though you can find premiums with coverage that can provide you with very real compensation even in the event that you lost all your stored belongings, the problem is that there’s usually a limit of 10% on your items. That means, if you declare that everything you store in your storage unit is worth $10,000, then the most you will recover from that value is $1,000. Moreover, there is a cap on some items, like gold and silver, while others are only covered in the event of a theft (that’s usually true for expensive jewelry).

A few workarounds exist to turn this situation into a more favorable one. The best would be to buy a more expensive premium that increases that 10% value to a higher one. However, you can also think about buying specific insurance that covers risks that you feel might be more imminent, or you can buy insurance from your storage provider. The latter has been increasingly popular in recent years, and most Van Buren self storage companies offer insurance that actually works extremely well for specific issues that only arise when you store items in a storage unit.

What Are Temperature Controlled Storage Units and Why Would You Need One?

There are cases when you might want to store items that are very sensitive to temperature fluctuations or to higher or lower temperatures. A good example would be storing soil for the summer or winter, so that you can use it for an indoor garden later on, or storing some high precision electronic equipment that has components that are extremely sensitive to certain temperature fluctuations.

Temperature controlled storage buildings Fort Smith AR is home to will help you with these storage tasks. These units are designed to make sure you don’t have to worry about temperature changes happening outside even if a severe heat wave or freeze should suddenly arise. The units are fitted with thermostats and heating systems that keep the temperature stable, and the system is inspected every once in a while by a professional from the storage company to ensure that everything remains in good order.

Once you get your own temperature controlled storage unit, you can also add more features, such as a better lock or 24/hour access. Many storage companies will welcome a more flexible system through which they offer their storage features in exchange for a small extra fee. So, if the added dose of security or safety will help put your mind at ease, don’t hesitate to select the precise features that you want.