Maintaining a storage unit presupposes a need to use items in the future. While you might not need all of your belongings for several months or years, some items—seasonal clothing, extra furniture, or sentimental items—will move in and out of the unit throughout the year. If not properly organized, your attempts to retrieve these items could result in damaged belongings, overturned boxes, and a good deal of wasted time. The last thing you want to do is pull everything out of your unit to dig through boxes. Luckily, a bit of planning and organization can be enough to make this process a piece of cake. Here’s what to do. 

Pick one box size for most of your items. Same-size boxes will help with stacking and accessibility. While large boxes may be excellent for lighter options, they won’t hold up well at the bottom of large stacks. These boxes are also more difficult to remove if you need to retrieve something. Therefore, careful consideration should be paid to box size when making your decision. 

Pre-identify the items you’ll need to access while in storage. Carefully consider what you might need while your items are in storage. Think about seasonal clothing, camping supplies, holiday items, kids’ toys, tools and hobby supplies, and documents. Ensure these boxes are located close to the entrance of your unit, where they will be easily accessible.  

Label your boxes. Label each both on the top and at least one side. Include a brief list of contents, and consider placing a special mark on items you’ll need to access while in storage. Be as detailed as possible when making these notes. 

Create a master contents list. Write down all of the contents of each box on a piece of paper. Make a copy to leave behind in the storage unit itself. 

Plan your layout. If you’re going to access your unit frequently, you should put some thought into how you’re going to pack the space. Ideally, you’ll want to put the furniture against the wall opposite your boxes to leave a path in the middle of the unit. This way, you can access boxes and furniture items without much effort.