Storage When Moving

What Type of Furniture Storage Services Should I Choose?

Keeping your household contents safe is top priority when moving house. It’s important to do your research and ensure you find the best furniture storage services for your belongings. When it comes to storing your furniture and other household items, you have two options available to you: self-storage moving containers or storage with moving companies.

Self-Storage

Self-storage usually refers to a storage facility where you can enter the warehouse with your moving container within access hours and pick up your stored items. This service is often relatively cheap, safe and convenient, although there is normally a minimum rental period of one month.

Not sure where to begin looking for self storage services? Check out these websites to get you started:

• Prestige Storage
• Lock It Up
• Absolute Storage
• Venture Storage

Storage with Moving Companies

Your moving company may offer storage as an additional service so it is also possible to use their furniture storage services when moving! With this option, the movers will store your furniture as part of the move, and as soon as you need your household items, the removal company will deliver to them to your new home. Often this is more expensive than self-storage, but it is undoubtedly more convenient and easier.

Sirelo Top Tip: Storage when moving isn’t the only thing you need to budget for! Check out our removal costs page to learn about the other expenses you need to consider when moving house.

Average Furniture Storage Prices

Since each move is unique, the final furniture storage costs will depend on the type of storage you choose. If you decide to use the storage services offered by your mover, you will need to verify with them how much they charge. With self-storage, the price will vary depending on the size of the storage unit.

If you’re not sure how much storage space you will need, use our furniture volume calculator. You can estimate the volume of your move in a matter of clicks – Easy Peasy!

Although it is impossible to provide exact figures, below we have outlined the average storage costs in the biggest cities in South Africa:

Don’t forget! You may have to pay a deposit and buy your own padlock. You will also want to check if insurance is included in the price.

How Do I Move My House into Storage?

Moving your house into storage can seem like a mammoth task. If you choose to use the storage facilities of your moving company, then don’t worry – they will move your items for you. If you decide to use self-storage, use the following steps:

1.   Check what you can and can’t store

Check with the storage unit if there are any banned items. Usually you cannot store perishables, live animals, hazardous materials or unregistered materials.

2.   Decide what you want to store

Some things you will want with you now, others can wait. Make a list of what will go into storage and what needs to go with you now.

3.   Check if the weather will affect your unit

You might also want to check if any of your items might need climate controlled storage. You may need to consider this for: wooden/leather furniture, household appliances, special collections and musical instruments.

4.   Pack smart

Using the correct moving boxes, labelling everything… be smart about your packing! Read our article for tips on packing for moving house.

5.   Transport your items

Whether you hire a moving van or a moving company or just use your own car, make sure you find a safe way of transporting your items.

Sirelo’s Top Tips for Storage when Moving

When storing items it is important to package them properly and take extra precaution, especially if your looking for long term furniture storage options. Before packaging, there are a number of other things to consider, which are outlined on our moving house tips page. If you’re moving internationally, check out our moving abroad checklist for a guide on what to do and when before your move.

In the meantime, here are Sirelo’s top tips for moving your house into storage:

• Use the correct boxes: Use smaller boxes for heavy items such as books and dishes, and larger ones for things such as bed linen and blankets. If you need help sourcing moving boxes we have an entire page dedicated to the topic.
• Don’t overpack: Ensure you can comfortably lift your boxes, don’t make them too heavy! They should remain square in shape and not bulge to ensure they remain stable when packing.
• Label everything: There is nothing worse than trying to unpack and not knowing what things you have put in each box so, label, label, label! We also recommend adding ‘this side up’ labels to prevent damage to precious possessions.
• Get lots of tape: Purchasing good quality tape is imperative to prevent items from becoming separated from the rest of the belongings.
• Hang it up: You might leave your clothes in an pile at home (everyone does it!) but this isn’t a good idea in storage! Use hanging wardrobe boxes which allow your clothes to breathe and prevent dampness. It is also advised to use cedar chips to keep bugs and insects at bay.

So What’s Next?

Congratulations! You are now an expert when it comes to storage when moving house. However, there are lots of other things to consider when completing a furniture removal. Check out our other articles below for more helpful advice for your move.

Request quotes through Sirelo today to get started on your moving journey. Best of luck 🙂