Transitioning Between Homes is Easier with Storage

When there is time between moving out of your old home and into your new one, self-storage is likely the best solution to keep your personal belongings in a secure place. It provides the space you need during a transition. Without it, you will likely require a number of family and friends to house your items, and the multiple locations and requests for help are only going to increase your stress. You need the space, and self-storage provides the economical solution.

With portable storage though, you decrease the stress and energy even more. A portable container quite literally cuts your move in half. The portable container is dropped on your property, and can accommodate your own loading pace. Rather than needing to load a truck in one shot (because it needs to go back to the rental facility), your portable storage container can arrive weeks in advance of moving day, allowing you to take your time loading it.

That makes things easier for you, yes, but it does not yet cut the job in half. So how does it? Well, if you’re renting a unit at a storage facility, then you’ll need to load your belongings onto a truck, and then unload them into your storage unit – and then, again, when it’s time for the final move, you need to load them onto the truck, and then into your new home. That’s loading and unloading twice, but with a portable storage container, you only need to do this once: into the container, and then into your new home at the end of the transition. Your truck is the unit and your unit is the truck. A portable storage container really does make the move half the move.

This is no small savings. You can take your time to load and unload on your own schedule. This is surely the least stressful, least straining way to transition between homes.

Like any move, a transition between homes with a portable storage container does require some forethought and organization. Your biggest question is to determine the items that you will require access to during the time between homes. What would we need on a daily basis? Can I survive a few weeks without ‘this thing’?

Your goal should be to limit the number of items you will keep out of storage, and maximize the number going in. Everyone is unique, but here’s a basic list of the sort of items that you will likely be storing:

• Furniture
• Appliances
• Kitchenware
• Electronics
• Patio furniture
• Outdoor décor
• Home décor
• Artwork/family pictures
• Seasonal clothing
• Outdoor tools and equipment
• Books, games, toys, etc.

Of course, if you are renting an unfurnished home for your stay during the transition, then amendments to this list will be necessary, as you will need some furniture and kitchenware, and perhaps even appliances, electronics, or patio furniture as well.

Knowing what is going into storage and what isn’t is the first item on your agenda. Typically, these are the sorts of items you will want to leave out and accessible during your transition period, although every situation is unique, so amend this list to suit your situation:

• Clothing
• Plant life/pets
• Bathroom necessities
• Basic entertainment (a couple books/games/etc.)
• Daily-use electronics and their chargers/plugs
• Perishable food items
• Toxic cleaning agents/chemicals

Keep in mind that your goal in setting this list is to make it as short as possible, as the less items you require for the transition, the easier the transition will be to manage. The significance here is to know what you are and are not storing during the transition before you begin packing and loading, so that you are not packing items you need and packing as many items as possible. It is important to take your time to determine these in advance, before renting storage units or hiring trucks.

If you’ve created a list of the items going into storage, and one of those remaining out, then you are already well on your way to determining the size of the storage unit you require. With a list, you can visualize all the items together, and provide your facility with a reliable account of what you need. This is why you need to be sure to determine all of these items in advance, without leaving anything out. You don’t want any surprises when it’s too late or incredibly difficult to change arrangements.

Transitioning between homes is a difficult experience, but if you take your time to organize yourself in advance and explore the possibilities available to you, then you can make the process a much easier one. Planning is important to any storage project, but only that much more significant with a job like yours, when you are arranging accommodations between homes.

Speak with your PUPS Containers advisor today for more tips on how to utilize portable storage containers for your transition or to discuss the unit size appropriate for your job. We’re here to help make your storage experience as easy and as smooth as possible – let us get you through your transition the easy way.

PUPS is now proad to offer safe and convenient Toronto storage units and Hamilton storage units