Lucy’s Choice of Unit Size

LockBox Storage Rangiora has a huge range of unit sizes available.  There is sure to be one to suit your needs.  They range from 3x2m – 9×6.5m (6m² – 58.50m²)

Below is an indication of some of the common unit sizes and examples of what would fit into them.

Considerations:

• An efficiently packed small space will cost less than a larger space but it may make it harder to access your goods if needed on a regular basis.
• Utilize the height of the unit by stacking items, starting with the large and solid items on the bottom and sofas, beds and wardrobes on their ends.
• Label it – on 2 sides!  State the room it is from and general description of contents.
• See our  Tip 2 – Lucy’s Packing

Our 3x2m Unit  can accommodate something that looks like this.

• Suitable for a large room of belongings or 2-3 rooms worth of belongings.
• Could store the entire contents of a small one bedroom apartment.
• Ideal to un-clutter the house during sales process, or store seasonal equipment e.g. garden tools and large sports toys.

 

Our 3x3m Unit  can accommodate something that looks like this.

• Suitable for the contents of a small home or two bedroom apartment.
• Suitable for small office storage and achieves.
• Ideal for small retail warehouse.

Our 6x3m Unit  can accommodate something that looks like this.

• This unit would hold the contents of a large family home (as 3×3 above but double area)
• It is ideally used for commercial storage of tools, equipment or products and large archival record storage.
• Allows for easy access to goods in storage.
• Is equivalent to a typical single garage or standard commercial container.

Lucy’s General Packing Tips

LockBox Storage Rangiora has a huge range of unit sizes available.  Lucy advises that you pack efficiently and effectively to make the most of space and ensure your goods are best cared for.

General Considerations:

• Plan your storage space.
  • Place those items that you need to access often in the front of the unit.
  • Leave a small space around the perimeter of your storage unit to aid circulation.
  • Look Up!, Utilise all of the space available to you, including the height.
  • Stack the lighter boxes on top of the heavier boxes.
• Don’t over-pack cartons or they will be too hard to lift.
• Label cartons – on 2 sides!  State the room it is from and a general description of contents.
• If tables won’t disassemble, place a mat or protective plastic on the ground and lay the tabletop face down on the floor with the legs pointing up.
• Cover stuffed furniture with cardboard, blankets or plastic covers to protect against dust.  (See Furniture tips below)
• Don’t place heavy or sharp objects on top of upholstered furniture.
• Never lay paintings or mirrors flat. Ensure they are wrapped or placed in proper picture/mirror cartons.
• TO ENSURE SAFE STORAGE: Do not store anything COMBUSTIBLE (i.e. paint thinner, gasoline, solvents, paint, etc.).
• Do not store any living things (including plants), or perishable goods (especially foodstuffs).
• Empty petrol from mowers, whipper snipers, etc.
• Ensure gas bottles are empty and BBQ or cooking surfaces are clean.

Packing your items properly to begin with will save you time and ensure your goods are maintained in the best possible condition.

Make use of the specialist packaging materials at your local self storage facility, from high quality boxes and bubble wrap to port a robes and boxes for plasmas and LCD televisions.

Your local self storage centre can supply all your packing needs.

Furniture

• Don’t move wardrobes, drawers etc while full, you can break them.  Only fill them when they are in place and fully assembled.
• Clothing and personal goods should be packed in strong secure cartons.
• Cushions should be wrapped in plastic.
• Where possible remove the legs from items of furniture e.g.. bed bases, tables etc. to avoid damage and save space.
• Vacuum food crumbs from lounges to prevent attracting vermin.
• Furniture shouldn’t be placed directly on the floor, use plastic or material to cushion heavy items.
• Stack chairs seat to seat with cloth or paper separating them.
• Place a cover over all furniture, especially sofa’s, recliners and anything of value.

Whitegoods

• Make sure all white goods (fridges, freezers etc) are empty, clean and dry before storing.
• Leave doors slightly ajar to prevent mould build up.
• A deodoriser placed inside fridges or freezers is also a good idea to maintain freshness.
• If you pack items inside your fridges and freezers you scratch the insides or damage the shelving, best to leave them empty.

Glass and Breakables

• Wrap all breakable items separately in tissue or packing paper, box and ensure they are marked “Fragile”.
• Pack breakables in sturdy boxes.
• Protect fragile items by wrapping them individually in packing paper (newsprint can be very messy and possibly stain).
• Place packing in the top and bottom of cartons for added protection.
• Place plates, saucers and bowls on their sides to prevent any breakage.
• Empty space should be filled with packing paper.
• Ensure you haven’t stacked heavy items on top of cartons containing breakables.
• Pictures and mirrors should be wrapped in cardboard or proper picture/mirror cartons.

Electronic Items

• The original boxes are ideal to repack in.

• If the original boxes are not available talk to your self storage centre about specialty boxes for electronic items.
• Ensure all electronic equipment is clean and dry before storing.
• Ensure that items above or on top of electronic equipment will not fall down or damage the surfaces.

• If storing a refrigerator or freezer, be sure that the item is thoroughly dry and clean to prevent moisture and mildew from damaging any of your valuables. Store with the door slightly ajar.

Metal Items

• Wipe the item with a few drops of oil before storing them away to minimise rust.
• Pack these items away from goods that may be stained such as furniture.
• Wrapping silver in NON ACID tissue paper or plastic bags can help reduce tarnishing. Wipe chrome or cast iron with a little machine oil to help retard rust.

What you Can’t Store

You should not store any Goods that are:

• hazardous
• illegal
• stolen
• inflammable
• explosive
• environmentally harmful
• perishable
• that are a risk to the property of any person – this includes items like petrol tins, paint thinner, full gas bottles or chlorine.

Lucy’s Packing Tips for Household

Self storage is your ultimate room away from home. It is the place for you to store whatever you need to that you can’t fit into your own home.  Ideal for de-cluttering, storing seasonal clothing, sporting items, collections, memorabilia, kids toys, records, anything at all.

The advantage of self storage is that you keep the key to your unit, so no-one else has access to it unless you give them the key. You can access your goods anytime you need them without having to pay anything. This means you can visit your unit as often as you want, whenever you want for no extra cost. It really is your room away from home.

Re-claim that spare room, put the car back in the garage, free up space in the shed so you can actually get to your gardening tools. Make space in your own home but using a self storage unit.

Lucy’s Packing Tips for Documents

Whether it be for home office records, tax files or just personal documentation, Self Storage is an easy affordable way to store your records and documents.

De-clutter your home office, take away those boxes of files you don’t need all the time knowing that you can still get them whenever you want and they are stored in a safe, secure and dry environment.

Lucy’s Packing Tips for Cars and Machinery

Whether it be a classic car, caravan or RV, boat or Jet Ski, or maybe just that extra car that you have nowhere to park.

Self Storage can solve all your vehicle storage needs. From fully enclosed garage spaces to secure outdoor storage and everything in between, there is a solution for your budget and requirements.

Consider how much money and effort you would save if your boat was stored near the lake, river or beach that you use it in, rather than having to drive it all that way.

Do you really need your RV or caravan taking up all that space in your driveway or yard while you are not using it?

What about the kids cars while they are travelling? Store your vehicles in safe and secure environment and free up your own garages, driveways and yards.

Lucy’s Packing Tips for Business

Self storage is the ideal business partner. Particularly with the increasing home and e-business market, self storage can provide a flexible convenient way to store records, product, marketing material or any business material.

The advantage of self storage is that you can increase or decrease the space you use as often as you like.

In most circumstances the cost of self storage space is more economical than leasing commercial or industrial property for storage.

Self Storage can solve your distribution needs. Why have sales reps travelling wasted distance coming back to base to pick up product or samples, when they could be picking them up from a local self storage facility.

Self Storage is also ideal for all your document and data storage. Whether it be reference documents, archiving, accounting records or digital data backup, self storage is your safe, secure, accessible off-site storage solution.

Once again access is the key, while you might not need these documents every day, you have the peace of mind of knowing that whenever you want them, you can access them at your leisure, without having to wait.