For both businesses and individuals, documents can pile up over time. You may need to keep and store a wide array of documents ranging from birth certificates to tax records to client files. Should you store these in a self-storage unit? And if you do, how can you protect your important papers? Here are a few tips anyone can follow.
1. Keep the Most Sensitive Items
When preparing your documents for their move to storage, prioritize a few of the most irreplaceable or sensitive. Things like family heirloom documents, birth certificates, or paper stock certificates might be best kept in a home safe. If you move the vast majority to off-site storage, you'll have space to keep a few items closer to your person.
2. Choose Climate Control
The best storage unit for papers and files is one with climate control. Climate control maintains the humidity and temperature of the unit relatively constant. This reduces the potential for damage through moisture, condensation, high heat, and rapid changes in weather. If you can't get climate control, look for an interior unit whose surrounding building will act as insulation.
3. Use Good Containers
Because documents in self-storage are unattended most of the time, they need extra protection against natural elements and damage. Skip the cardboard boxes and opt for more protective materials like metal filing cabinets or sturdy plastic storage bins. These protect the files from being invaded by pests and allow you to store them vertically without risking box failures.
4. Check In Regularly
Make a schedule to check in on your storage unit on a regular basis. Set it for an easily-remembered schedule, such as the first of each month. This check doesn't have to take long, but it ensures that small potential problems don't linger so long that they become big problems.
5. Organize the Space
Don't haphazardly fill the storage unit to the rafters with boxes of files. Not only will this make it impossible to find anything, but it camouflages problems like pests, leaks, or moisture. Instead, make a floor plan and organize the space in advance. Include aisles so you can reach everything conveniently. And use shelves, cabinets, and solid organization tools to keep things accessible and safe.
Where to Start
Want more tips for storing valuable documents in ways that are safe and secure? Start by touring self-storage facilities in your area today. With the expertise of storage facility staff and these few tips, all your files and papers will stay dry, accessible, and protected.
