A lot of what we willl state in our self store packing guide may seem obvious once you read it, but, you would be amazed at how many people don't do the basics and regret it later.

Small / Loose items

Small items, books, cds, dvds, clothes, crockery etc should ideally all be packed into strong double ply boxes (not the rubbish single ply that collapse and the bottoms fall out, they are a false economy).

Don't overload a box in terms of weight, even the best boxes will collapse, bottoms will drop out, nobody can lift them safely, so mix the heavier items with lighter items. No box should really be more than about 15kg.

Label the boxes with your name and a unique number, then on a sheet of paper write down the box number and make a note of what you put in that box. Trust us, you will put your stuff into storage and then want to get one item out, and, if you have not made notes you won't have a clue what box it is in, and you know it will be in the last box you open!

Fragile items

Items that are fragile should be properly protected. Crockery / ornaments should be wrapped in paper or bubble wrap (paper is more ecological), placed then into strong boxes, ideally then you would use towels or clothes around them to further protect.

Mirrors / Pictures should be very well protected. You should ideally wrap in bubble wrap, you would also ideally get a good strong piece of card the size of the front face and you would put the card on, the wrap in bubble wrap and then tape it all up in tape marked "fragile".

Furniture

Furniture should be dis-assembled as much as possible, legs off tables, legs off beds, screws, dowlings, shelf supports removed, bagged up and taped inside a draw or other sensible location.

Dis-assembling furniture will not only help protect your items (screws left in shelves will no doubt scratch your furniture or rip your sofa, or, get ripped out and break that piece, but, it will also save on storage space, saving you money.

Glass table tops or glass shelves should be treated like mirrors and pictures, using card, bubble wrap etc, otherwise you will put down your piece of glass on it's edge and it will inevitably chip the edge.