Okay so my buddy Tom rented a storage unit last month. Big guy, former football player, thinks he’s got everything figured out. He shows up with a truck full of stuff, opens the unit door, and just starts chucking things in there like he’s loading a cannon.
I’m standing there watching this and I’m like “Tom. Tom what are you doing.”
He looks at me all confused. “What? It’s storage. You put stuff in it.”
Three weeks later he needs his fishing gear. Calls me up frustrated because he can’t find it. I go over there with him and man. What a mess. Boxes everywhere, furniture sideways, his fishing rods are somewhere in the back under like four layers of who knows what. Took us an hour to dig it all out.
Anyway that’s when I explained to him the Tetris method. Which honestly isn’t even a method it’s just common sense but sometimes people need to hear it out loud.
The Ground Is Not Your Friend
First thing first. Before you put one single box in that unit you gotta think about the floor.
Storage units have concrete floors. Concrete sweats. Not like dripping wet but moisture comes up through it especially when the weather changes. If you put cardboard boxes right on that concrete they’ll soak up that moisture like a sponge. Then your stuff gets musty or worse.
My mom learned this the hard way with some old photo albums. Broke my heart seeing those pictures all wavy and ruined.
So here’s what I do now. I go to the hardware store and buy a couple of those plastic pallets. The ones that look like milk crates melted together. Cost like ten fifteen bucks. Put those down first. Now your boxes have airflow underneath and they stay dry.
No pallets? Use a tarp. Use those cardboard moving blankets. Use anything that creates a barrier between your stuff and that concrete. Future you will be grateful.
Heavy Stuff Lives at the Bottom
This seems so obvious typing it out but you’d be shocked how many people don’t think about it in the moment.
We’re all tired when we’re moving. We just want the stuff out of the truck and into the unit so we can go home and sit on the couch. So we grab whatever’s closest and shove it in wherever it fits.
Then later you realize you put the box of cast iron skillets on top of the box with your grandma’s fancy Christmas ornaments. And now grandma’s ornaments look like modern art.
Think about weight like this. Whatever can survive a drop goes on bottom. Whatever breaks easy goes on top.
Appliances on the floor. Boxes of books on top of those. Lighter boxes next. Pillows and bedding way up top where they can’t hurt anything.
Break Down Your Furniture
Here’s something that took me way too many years to figure out.
That big dining room table you love? It doesn’t have to take up half your unit. Those legs screw off. I’m serious. Flip it over, get a screwdriver, ten minutes later you’ve got a flat table top and four legs you can slide against the wall. Suddenly you have floor space for three more boxes.
Same with bed frames. I don’t know why it never occurred to me that bed frames come apart but it didn’t. Now I break down every piece of furniture I can before it goes in.
Things that come apart easier than you think:
- Dresser drawers just pull right out. Stack the drawers separate, put the dresser frame against the wall, fill the drawers with clothes or blankets before you stack them.
- Desk legs usually just unscrew.
- Table leaves obviously come out.
- Bookshelf shelves pop right out most of the time.
- Couch cushions come off. Stack those flat somewhere instead of leaving them on the couch taking up vertical space.
Every time you take something apart you’re basically making more room. It’s like magic but with screws.
Boxes Need to Play Nice
Drives me crazy when people use a million different box sizes. You got the big wardrobe boxes next to little shoe boxes next to old grocery store boxes that are falling apart. Then you stack them and wonder why the whole thing leans like it’s about to fall over.
Look I’m not saying you need to buy all new boxes. Boxes are expensive and honestly free boxes from the liquor store work great. Just try to keep them roughly the same size. When boxes are the same size they stack straight and they stack stable.
If you gotta use different sizes put the big ones on bottom and work your way up. And please please please don’t put a tiny box on top of a big box with nothing around it. That thing’s gonna fall. It’s not a matter of if it’s a matter of when.
Stuff Inside Stuff
Okay this is my favorite packing trick and I feel like a genius every time I do it.
Look around your house right now. How many empty spaces are inside stuff you’re about to move?
Suitcases are empty right? Fill them with clothes or blankets or towels. Coolers? Same thing. Fill them up. Dresser drawers? Take them out, fill them up, put them back in. Even your oven if you’re moving it can hold stuff just wrap it careful so nothing scratches.
One time I fit my whole Christmas decoration collection inside an old mini fridge I was storing. The fridge was just gonna sit there empty anyway. Why not use it?
Just don’t put heavy stuff inside fragile stuff. Your grandma’s old hope chest might look sturdy but it wasn’t built to hold your rock collection. Use your head.
Leave Yourself a Path
I know I know. You want to use every inch. You’re paying for that space and you want your money’s worth. Believe me I get it.
But here’s the thing. If you pack it solid wall to wall floor to ceiling you’re gonna hate yourself later.
Because eventually you’re gonna need something from the back. Maybe it’s the camping gear for a trip you forgot about. Maybe it’s the Christmas lights. Maybe it’s that one box of important papers you swore you’d remember where you put.
And when that day comes you’ll have to move half your unit to get to it. And you’ll stand there sweating surrounded by your own stuff wondering why you did this to yourself.
So do yourself a favor. Leave a path. Even a skinny one. Even just wide enough to squeeze through sideways. That path is worth its weight in gold the day you need to find something.
I pack my unit in a U shape now. Stuff on the back wall. Stuff on the left wall. Stuff on the right wall. Empty space down the middle where I can stand. Uses a little more space but saves so much time and frustration.
Label Everything
Here’s what happens. You pack your boxes. You’re tired. You grab a sharpie and write “kitchen” on the side. Then you stack them all with the labels facing the wall because you weren’t thinking about it.
Three months later you’re standing there with no idea which box has your pots and which box has your towels. You start pulling boxes checking inside putting them back. Half an hour later you finally find what you need and everything’s all messed up.
Label the sides. All four sides if you have the time. Then stack so the labels face out. When you can read what’s in a box without moving it life gets so much easier.
And don’t just write “kitchen.” Write “kitchen – pots” or “kitchen – utensils” or “kitchen – random stuff I never use.” Be specific. Your future self will literally thank you.
Take Pictures
Here’s something I started doing a few years back that saves me constantly.
When you’re done packing take pictures. Lots of them. Open the door and take a picture of the whole setup. Then take close ups of different sections. If you really want to be organized label the pictures in your phone. “Back left corner camping stuff.” “Right wall holiday decorations.”
Then when you’re at home trying to remember where you put something you don’t have to guess or drive back to the unit just to look. You check your phone. You see exactly where it is.
Sounds silly but it works.
Think About Weather
Depends where you live and what kind of unit you’re renting. But stuff gets affected by temperature more than you might think.
Candles melt. Electronics don’t love extreme heat or cold. Pictures can warp. Cardboard gets soft when it’s humid. Wood expands and contracts.
If you’re not in a climate controlled unit try to put sensitive stuff in the middle of your stacks where the temperature stays more stable. And keep anything that melts or warps away from the top where heat rises.
I lost a bunch of candles once cause I put them near the ceiling in summer. Came back and they were all bent and weird. Not ruined exactly but not great either. Learned that lesson.
Real Quick Story
My sister moved last year. First time living on her own. She’s got a one bedroom apartment but her storage unit is full of stuff from our parents house that she’s not ready to deal with yet.
I helped her pack it. We talked about what she’d need soon (winter coat, boots, her good pans) and what could wait (old college textbooks, decorations, stuff from high school). Put the winter stuff right up front where she could grab it. Textbooks in the back.
She called me a couple months ago. Needed her good pan for a dinner she was cooking. Walked into the unit, grabbed it from the front where we put it, walked out. Took thirty seconds.
She texted me later. “You were right about the path thing.”
Made my day.
Look
Packing a storage unit isn’t hard. It’s just thinking ahead a little bit instead of throwing stuff in and hoping for the best. Take your time. Think about how you’ll actually use the space. Don’t just cram things in there.
And if you mess up? It’s fine. You can always pull everything out and try again. I’ve done it. More than once. It’s annoying but it’s not the end of the world.
At Bristol VA Self Storage we see people packing and unpacking every day. Some of them are pros. Some of them are figuring it out as they go. Everyone gets there eventually.
Stop by if you’re in the area. We got units in all sizes. Clean ones. Safe ones. And if you need advice on how to pack yours just ask. We’re happy to help.
Now go make your stuff fit. You got this.
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