Guide to Storage for Renovating and Remodeling

All My Sons Moving & Storage offers storage solutions for all of life’s transitions, including renovation and remodeling projects. Are you looking to revitalize your space with a home project? Don’t get caught in home chaos, make a plan for storing your belongings or materials before any work begins.

Whether you bought your home with the intention of making changes or you’re looking to spruce up your environment after years of living there, renovation and remodeling projects can help create the space of your dreams. Transform your kitchen into a chef’s dream, create a welcoming guest bathroom, or turn an existing spare room into the home gym you’ve been itching to have. No matter what the new design look like, one thing is for sure: Home renovation and remodeling projects will disrupt your space until they are complete, and you’ll need extra space to help make it through the transition.

All My Sons Moving & Storage has been helping companies and families move for over 30 years, and we know how important storage can be during a transition. If you’re thinking about starting a renovation or remodeling project, this guide to storage is for you.

Before the sledgehammer can swing, a home renovation or remodeling project should be planned out in detail. One of the things you should incorporate into your plan is how to handle belongings that may be displaced by your project, and where to put building materials that are not needed in the work-zone just yet.

There are three major reasons you should consider storage for your home project.

• Clear the Work-Zone: A clean, organized workspace is a safer workspace. When you remove unnecessary clutter from your construction zone, you keep yourself and your workers from tripping over displaced belongings or building materials. Decreasing the work-zone clutter will also help you to fully see how your home remodeling or renovation project is coming along.

• Keep Items Clean: Storing your belongings like furniture, appliances, and décor keeps them safe from debris, paint splatter, dust, and accidental damage, all unfortunate hazards of the work zone. 

• Save Your Sanity: There’s no way around it, a renovation or remodeling project will disrupt the regular function of your home. Depending on the scope of your project, entire rooms or wings of your home or business could be out of commission for extended periods of time. If you have displaced belongings and building materials cluttered around your home then it may have a detrimental impact on your focus and productivity. Getting as many items out from underfoot as possible will help you maintain your sanity.

A simple bathroom renovation will have different storage needs than a kitchen remodel that involves tearing down a wall. You might need a combination of several storage solutions to make it through your home project, and your needs might even change as you complete different phases of the project. 

Here are some of the most popular storage options for renovations and remodeling.

• On-Site Spare Room Storage: If you have a large home, then you might be able to store your belongings in a spare room, garage, basement, or attic space. This option works best for people who want to maintain immediate access to their belongings during the renovation or remodeling period. Of course, this option only works if you have ample space in your home for your displaced belongings.

• Drive-Up Self-Storage: For this option, your displaced belongings and new construction materials can be stored off your property at a self-storage facility. You would choose a ground-floor unit that is on the outside of the building. These units are designed for easy access, you can drive a truck or trailer directly up to the unit.

• Climate-Controlled Self-Storage: Sensitive belongings like antique furniture pieces and precious media collections will be safest in a climate-controlled self-storage unit. For these units, the self-storage facility maintains consistent temperatures and humidity levels in order to keep your belongings in good condition during their stay. 

• Portable Storage Containers: A company drops a storage container off in front of your home and you load the unit as needed. You can ask the company to deliver the unit to a secure warehouse when you have filled it to your satisfaction, and then request it back when you are ready to unload your belongings again. This option allows you to pack and load the storage unit at your home. You may even keep the unit on site during your project if necessary.

• Full-Service Storage: Your moving and storage company packs up and takes the belongings you want in storage, secures them in a storage facility, and then delivers them back when required. Full-service storage is entirely hands-off, all the labor is included in the cost of your storage. This option works great for people who need someone else to do the heavy labor and do not anticipate needing to access belongings while they are stored.

Time to clear the area, your belongings are going into a self-storage unit. If you are packing your unit yourself, there are a few steps you should keep in mind to ensure your belongings stay in great condition during their stay, and you don’t wind up getting frustrated searching your unit for items later.

• Choose the Best Sized Space: You should choose the smallest unit that can comfortably accommodate your items, with some extra room for navigation.

• Prepare Items for Storage: Make sure items you put into storage are clean and dry. Wrap furniture pieces in breathable dust covers. Remove batteries from electronic items. Consider packing humidity-sensitive items with desiccants to cut down on the moisture in your unit.

• Label All Boxes and Containers: Never lose track of a precious item. Write the contents of your boxes and containers on the boxes in black permanent marker. Label boxes that are fragile or that need to be oriented a certain way so that you and your movers know to treat those boxes with care.

• Map the Unit by Ease of Access: Items that you need to access often such as tools or building materials should be in an easily accessible location. Any items that are safe to sit in storage for extended periods of time can be put toward the back of the unit or beneath other items. 

• Leave Aisles for Navigation: Units that are over-packed are difficult to access and sort through. You should leave a little space in your self-storage unit to allow for navigation so you’re not pulling everything out of your unit every time you visit.

• Create a Storage Inventory List: It can be helpful to know exactly what’s going into your unit, which is why All My Sons highly recommends you create a household or moving inventory. A storage inventory can even come in handy in the event of a moving accident or a disaster that damages your items. Keep a spreadsheet or use an app to document the value and condition of precious items going into your storage unit.

• Reassess Storage Needs as Project Proceeds: During the different phases of your project, you may reevaluate what you need in a self-storage unit. As projects complete and displaced items return to your home, you might want to downsize to a smaller unit. If new building materials are delivered before you are ready for them, you may need another unit to store them in. During each phase of your project, revisit your storage plan and think through whether or not it will continue to fit your needs.

Have a home renovation or remodeling project coming up? All My Sons Moving & Storage can provide full-service storage solutions or labor for local moves into storage. Our company has been treating every move we make with care since 1992, and we still uphold the traditional family values we were founded on. We believe in lending an honest helping hand, and treating all your treasured belongings as if they belonged to our own family. 

Choose the moving company that believes your things matter, and ask All My Sons Moving & Storage for a quote on your upcoming move.