How to prepare your furniture for long-term storage

There are a lot of reasons why you would use reliable long-term storage units. You might be moving away for some time, and you want to rent a house. Or, you are doing a huge remodel, so you will need to keep your furniture safe. Or you need your household movers NJ to keep your items safe until you arrive in your new home. Whatever it is, you will want to prepare your furniture for long-term storage. If you worry about how to do it – you can stop! In this article, we will give you amazing and helpful tips to ensure the safety of your items!

Thinking whether you need to store your furniture

The first thing you will want to think about is whether or not your items need to go into storage. You might be sad about tossing your items or selling them, but a minimalist move is perfect when using international movers NJ, for example. Or, if you do not need an item and do not see yourself using it again, then you should not store it.

However, if you do decide to store your furniture, then a good storage unit will be what you need! You do not want useless items cluttering up your home. Sadly, this happens way too often as people decide to keep things they never use again. So, for a monthly, fee, you can make more room in your home and also get rid of the clutter!

The same applies to some highly comfortable or stylish furniture. Discarding these would be a waste – so you should not do it! Similarly, family heirlooms are something that you want, but can sometimes take a lot of space. So, instead of selling them or throwing them away, you can keep them in a safe storage unit!

Do a clean-up to prepare your furniture for long-term storage

Once you decide to place your items with some reliable storage services, you will want to clean them up thoroughly. First, you want to remove all dust and dirt on your items’ surfaces. These can accumulate and cause damage or stains which you do not want and cannot repair. To do it, simply wipe your items with a dry cloth. If you have some upholstery, you will want to vacuum it. Then, work in a fabric or leather cleaner, depending on your case, let it sit for a short time, and then clean it with a damp cloth.

When it comes to wooden surfaces, a wood cleaner and a damp cloth will do wonders! For the metal surfaces, you will need to do some extra polishing so tarnish will build slower. It might also be a good idea to leave your furniture in a well-ventilated room so it can dry. Moisture is probably the biggest danger when storing your furniture long-time, so you will want to protect it as much as you can from it. It can cause mold to grow or color to disappear – which you do not want to happen.

To finish it up, you can add a coat of furniture polish or paste wax on all your wooden surfaces. This will seal up the wood so it does not start to dry out. For leather and different fabrics, there are also protectors you can find in your local hardware store!

Disassemble your bigger pieces

After you clean everything up, you will want to take apart the bigger items in your collection. Remember, to prepare your furniture for long-term storage, you need to think in terms of how much space they will take up. The less space they take, the more you can store! Sadly, larger pieces of furniture will only take more room, so a smart choice would be to disassemble them. This does require you to do some extra work, but the payoff will be great!

Start by taking the drawers out of the dressers, and removing legs from any item that has them – sofas and tables alike. You will want to remove the mattress and the box spring form your bed, as well as the frames if possible. Even bookcases can be disassembled!

Keep in mind that giving you extra room in your storage unit is not the only purpose of this exercise. Instead, you will be able to pack your items without any hassle and even further reduce the risk of damage. This is because smaller items have less surface to bump around or scratch! However, make sure you are doing this carefully. If you are not experienced, then you can damage your items even more than you would by simply storing them away!

Pack carefully to prepare your furniture for long-term storage

Finally, you will want to pack your items for their storage in the right way. We need to stress out that the packing process is often long and exhausting – and can literally take days. You need to think about the right packing materials, as well as find them. Then, you should create a good “packing station” in your room by clearing out everything from it. Finally, you proceed to pack each item with care and thought.

If this seems too hard, or like something you have no time for, then we encourage you to get our packing services. We will help prepare your furniture for long-term storage with ease. We have the tools and experience you need, and we will take this awful chore off your hands! All you need to do is call!