Renting a self-storage unit can be a great way to remove some of your home's clutter or serve as a temporary storage location for items between moves. However, regardless of your purpose for renting a storage unit, it is important to move into the unit with a plan in mind. Otherwise, you will create confusion and difficulty for yourself when accessing items. Worse, you could even cause damage to your possessions if you fail to organize them properly during the move in phase. Fortunately, it doesn't cost much to handle things the right thing when moving items into a storage unit. Below is a list of materials you will need as well as a procedure to follow:

What you will need

• Clipboard with magnetic fastener

• Paper and pen

• Cardboard boxes of varying sizes

• Packing tap

• Magic marker

Step-by-step procedure

1. Begin by packing intelligently - Before you even load a box onto a moving truck, you will need to understand how to pack your cartons the right way. Overloaded boxes will collapse inside your storage unit, and under-utilized boxes will waste valuable cubic feet inside your unit.

A general rule of thumb to follow when packing cartons for storage is to place heavy objects inside smaller boxes and lighter objects inside bigger boxes. Small boxes loaded with books, for example, are much easier to move than larger boxes. Plus, you will be less tempted to stack boxes based on size, rather than weight, if you follow this rule. In line with that, it is always important to keep the heaviest objects on the bottom of a stack and place lightest ones on top; this will prevent boxes from caving in from the heavy load above them.

2. Label contents inside a box - Along with properly packing boxes, it is vitally-important to practice good labeling habits when filling up cartons. That means each and every box should be clearly labeled to identify it uniquely; do not merely write "bedroom" or "bath" on a box. Instead, create a box packing list that contains item names and descriptions, if necessary. Next, make a photocopy of the list and pack it inside the box or tape it to the lid. Just be sure if you tape the copy to either laminate it in advance or completely cover it with transparent packing tape; this will protect the list from being torn off the box during handling.

In addition, write a large, unique identifying number at the top of each individual list. The number can be anything you wish, but most people start with a simple number and increase sequentially. For example, they start at "1" and move upward;

Next, find a few prominent spots on top of the box and its sides, and label it with its number. Try to avoid placing the number on merely the top sides, since it is likely those sides will be covered by stacked cartons, making the number invisible

As you continue to pack and label items in the home and create individualized, marked boxes, compile the photocopies of each packing list in a clipboard. Sort the packing lists in numeric order to make reference much simpler. Next, use a hot glue gun to attach a magnet to the back of the clipboard, so it will stick to the inside sheet metal walls of the unit. This easy-reference list will enable you to quickly locate items when you need to find specific things.

3. Move into the storage unit - On the day of the move into the facility, begin by loading your transport vehicle with the lightest cartons, and place the heaviest cartons and furniture up toward the back of the vehicle near the door. The reason for doing so is to allow for a fast unloading and placement of items in the unit in a logical fashion; you will want to keep large items in the back to serve as a "foundation" for the lighter objects that are last to be unloaded from the truck. In addition, when moving objects into the unit, be sure to keep carton numbers exposed so you are able to readily identify your possessions.

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