Seasonal storage allows you to increase the usable space within your home while also storing your seasonal items safely and off-premise. From bicycles to kayaks, lawn mowers, patio furniture, and summer vehicles, there’s a storage unit for everything you don’t need until the next season.
However, not all storage units provide optimal storing conditions and some of your belongings will need some prep prior to being placed in storage for the next few seasons. So, before you start packing up your summer belongings, here are some seasonal storage tips that will help you find the best storage options and storing processes to keep your items in mint condition until you need them again.
Give Your Patio Furniture a Good Wash Prior to Placing in Storage
As a rule of thumb, anything being put into storage should be thoroughly cleaned before being packed away. This is particularly true for patio furniture, as it likely collected a lot of dirt, water, grass, bugs, and other debris throughout the season. Failing to remove these things from your patio furniture increases the chances of the items becoming damaged while being stored, as they can deteriorate the surface of your belongings.
Additionally, you want to minimize the number of insects you bring into your storage unit to ensure all of your belongings remain in optimal condition.
Store Items Off of the Ground
Despite some items being perfectly okay when stored on the cold, concrete flooring of a storage unit, layering the floors with blankets or wood pallets is a good habit to get into. This ensures that, regardless of what you’re storing, they have an extra layer of protection.
Clean Out the Garage
Chances are, you’ll want to use this space to keep your vehicle in throughout the chilly season. Clearing out seasonal items, such as pool equipment, bikes, and gardening tools will free up a significant amount of space so you don’t have to squeeze in and out of your vehicle each time you park it in the garage.
Trade Out The Seasonal Stuff
There’s no need to upgrade to a larger unit just to store some seasonal belongings. Instead, choose a storage unit that fits all of the items you intend on keeping in storage plus one season’s worth of items, such as a lawn mower, patio furniture, and a couple extra boxes of décor. Then, come the next season you can simply make the switch; remove your summer belongings from storage and replace them with your winter items, such as your snow blower, holiday decorations, bags of road salt, etc.
The items you intend on storing each season or year-round will help you determine the type of storage unit that is best for you. However, these fall storage tips will help you store your seasonal items throughout the chilly climate that’s fast approaching.
