How to Pack Furniture into a Storage Unit

Whether you’re decluttering, downsizing or moving, using the appropriate packing materials and right storage methods will keep your furniture in pristine condition. Regardless of whether it’s Ikea furniture or a priceless family heirloom, when you retrieve your stored items, you want them to look the same way they did before they were put into storage.

However, storing furniture can be quite a complex task to do correctly as there are a lot of factors to consider to avoid any items from being damaged. This is precisely the reason why it is generally recommended to hire a professional accredited removalist like 1800 We Store It to get the job done.

But if you wish to do it yourself, here are some very important and helpful tips:

• Clean the furniture before storing it to prevent damages caused by dust, moisture, or leftover food particles that can attract pests.
• All furniture items should be wrapped in furniture blankets for protection.
• Items like mattresses, lounges, armchairs, etc. should be placed in heavy-duty plastic bags to protect them from dust, dirt, and mold.
• Boxes should be packed using protective materials like bubble wrap and packing paper.
• All packing materials should be purchased from a professional moving or storage company to ensure they are durable and high-quality.
• All items must be securely tied down into place to avoid movement and potential damage.
• Fridges and freezers must be completely cleaned out and doors left open to avoid the growth of mold. Store them upright to prevent damage to the inside mechanisms and sealed systems.
• TVs need to be bubble wrapped and then covered with furniture blankets for added protection.

Once the aforementioned tasks have been completed, you need to follow these succeeding steps to ensure the storage unit is loaded correctly. Most people think it couldn’t be any harder than a game of Tetris; however, this is not the case.

Here’s our step-by-step guide to make the entire process as easy and stress-free as possible.

• Start loading the larger items like lounges, armchairs, dining tables, fridges, washing machines, etc. that are strong and sturdy and can be used as what removalists call “base”.
• As you are loading, pack non-fragile boxes in and around furniture items. Fragile boxes are to be placed at the top of the load to protect them.
• Any glass, picture frames, marble tops or the like are to be loaded on their ends flat to the wall. Never lay them flat as these types of items are strongest on their ends and won’t break if loaded correctly.
• TVs also need to be kept upright, securely padded, and tied against the wall of the unit.
• Once you have loaded the goods square and level approximately two-thirds of the height of the unit, then you can add some fragile and smaller items on the top of the load to protect them and fill the space as you go along.
• If you have any heavy items like a piano or billiard table, seek advice from a professional removalist as these types of items need to be handled very carefully and there is a technique to handling and loading them correctly.
• Always leave garden items last and never load in plants.
• Never load any dangerous goods into the storage unit, such as those that can cause fire like gas bottles, aerosols, fuel, etc. Storing these types of hazardous or flammable materials puts everyone’s unit and contents at risk. Such items must be properly disposed of, not stored.

Follow this process and you will learn how to wrap and pack furniture for storage. You’ll also know to load and stack furniture in a storage unit, so when you pull them out, they will still be in the same condition.

If you are concerned that this process is a little overwhelming and you would like a professional removalist to take care of it for you, please feel free to contact us here at 1800 WE STORE IT on 1800 937 867. You can also email us at [email protected] and we will be more than happy to assist you with any and all of your needs.