Who's The Boss? Business Owner's Guide To Mastering Administrative Basics

Renting a self-storage unit is a great way to hold onto things as the years pass that you still occasionally use or want to keep possession of for sentimental reasons but don't have room for at home – such as large kitchen appliances and antiques. But if you plan to maintain easy access to the stuff in your storage unit, you'll need to keep it organized and make it convenient to find what you need quickly. Here are a few tips and tricks you can use to make access to everything in your storage easy:

Utilize Utility Shelves

Choose a storage unit that is big enough to walk through and line its walls with utility shelves to keep your valuable and delicate belongings off the ground. Using shelves to store your stuff will also give you an opportunity to keep things separated based on their uses so they're easy to find when you need access to them. For instance you can keep your kitchen stuff on the top shelves, jewelry on the next shelf down, clothing on the shelf below that, and boxes of family mementos or photos can go on the bottom shelf. Label each shelf to correspond with what can be found on them for easy identification.

Take the Time to Color Code

You'll find that color coding your boxes is another great way to keep things organized within your storage unit so everything is easy to find and keep track of. Incorporate reusable plastic boxes for stuff that will be stored on the floor to keep dirt and grime from getting inside. Cardboard boxes should work well for stuff stored on shelves and other items within the unit.

Pack your boxes in groups so that the same type of stuff can be found in any particular box when it's opened. Appliances should get their own box, as should cleaning supplies, household accessories, books, clothing, and toys to name a few examples. You can also pack everything based on ownership if there are several people in the household who will be storing stuff.

Once everything is packed you can use permanent markers, stickers, colorful tape, or even crayons to color code your boxes for convenient identification. Simply write the name of the room each box belongings to, create a symbol that corresponds to the type of belongings in each box, or assign a different color to each person in the family if you'll be color-coding boxes depending on ownership. With color coded boxes, anyone in the household should be able to enter the storage facility on the fly and find what they need without having to rummage through random boxes until they find it.

Choose a Temperature Controlled Unit

To ensure the safety of your belongings, it's a good idea to invest in a temperature controlled storage unit if possible. Temp controlled units are designed to stay above flood levels so your stuff stays safe in extreme weather and seasonal storms. Because temperature controlled storage units are typically located indoors, temperatures inside are easy to control year-round to suit the needs of what you're storing, which allows you to keep everything from jewelry and paintings to books and furniture safe from damage. You may even be able to purchase insurance for your belongings through the storage company to gain financial protection for anything you'll be storing of significant value, so be sure to ask about protection options before choosing a storage unit to rent.

When used in combination with one another, these storage organization tips and tricks should save you and others in your household quite a bit of time on the management and care of your assets and belongings. 

For more tips, information, and options, talk with a local storage company, such as I-70 Self Storage.