Getting your hands on a storage solution might be something that you haven’t given a second thought. After all, you just go to a self-storage provider and cram your stuff into a container – right?
In reality, things are a little bit more complicated, or at least they will be if you want to take a slightly more efficient approach. If you’re currently trying to determine the right size of your storage container, then these are a few of the things you’ll want to do and consider.
Take an inventory
The first step to determining the right size storage solution for your needs is to take a thorough inventory. Go through all the items that you think you might need to place in storage, listing them in a Google or Excel sheet.
Don’t just stop there – use this opportunity to go through everything in the inventory, and try to slim it down as much as possible. You should be able to easily spot double-ups of certain items, and it can be a great time to declutter a little bit.
Choose a flexible storage provider
Even if you think you’ve worked out exactly how much storage space you’ll need, it’s highly likely that those needs will change in the coming weeks and months. Try to use a reputable company that provides a flexible service, so that you can get more or less space as and when you need it.
You absolutely don’t want to find yourself limited by the solution you go with – after all, flexibility and scalability are some of the main advantages of going with an outsourced storage solution.
Think about your changing storage needs
If you can predict that your storage needs will change dramatically in the very near future, then you should try to build those changes into your plan. For example, if you’re clearing out a house and you know that you’ll keep on having more items to put into the facility in the coming weeks, then think about whether it makes sense to just go with a bigger container straight away, rather than having to move your stuff around all the time.
Be as efficient as possible
Lastly, just because you’ve paid for a certain amount of space doesn’t mean that you have to try to fill it. Try to pack in your possessions as efficiently as possible, using as little of the room as you can. That way, if you find that you end up using significantly less of the storage container than you initially anticipated, you can switch to a smaller option. It’s never a good idea to let your future reality be dictated by your initial predictions and with a flexible approach, it doesn’t have to be.
Taking these factors into account when planning can really increase your chances of getting an appropriate storage solution. It’s not an exact science, and you might get some things wrong, but with a bit of forward planning, you can hopefully avoid some common pitfalls.