When you’re planning a move, or getting prepared to make some downsizing decisions, you’ll need to take a look around your home and get an idea of what to expect. You might have massive accumulations of clutter, décor, memorabilia, and family heirlooms, but more often than not they’re easy to store. The challenge is when you need to store, and move, your larger items.
Large items are heavy and difficult to maneuver through homes, especially those with narrow doorways and tight corners. Rather than recreate Ross’ infamous pivot scene from Friends, there is an easier way to help you streamline the moving process.
The best way to make sure that you’re not creating more work for yourself is to break down all of your big items prior to moving. Breaking down big items like furniture not only allows you to move things easier, but it makes the storage process more efficient and helps save space. Obviously you won’t be able to break down items like a refrigerator or large appliances, but doing it with the items you can is a good way to reduce your workload. In this article, we’ll explore everything you need to know about breaking down big items.
Planning
The first step to anything that involves moving is planning. While you can start your projects with no idea what you’re going to do, it will often lead to more stress, wasted time, and an eventual impromptu planning session. Instead of wasting your efforts, begin with planning.
Take a look at everything that you own and decide what will need to be disassembled. Some items will be easier to leave alone, but knowing which category everything falls into first is crucial. Make a note of what will be broken down and what will be left as is.
The second step is to measure all of the furniture that you will be disassembling as well as all of your points of entry—main doorways, sliding glass doors, etc. If one of your doors is wider than the other, and is on the other side of the house, it’s better to know this before you try and lug your couch or refrigerator halfway across your floor plan only to have to turn around and take it back.
Finally, before you do anything else, decide whether or not you will need to protect anything before moving it. We recommend taking extra precaution before it’s too late with glass tables, mirrors, fragile items, or anything with sentimental value.
Disassembling
The next step involves the disassembling itself. For a lot of your things, this process will be fairly straightforward. Removing table legs with a screwdriver, lifting off any glass toppers, and separating pull-apart couches is easy. However, you may need more tools than you think. Be prepared to have a screwdriver, wrench, and maybe some power tools handy so you don’t need to start digging into boxes you’ve already packed.
If you don’t know how to disassemble something, consider looking at the owner’s manual. It’s better to make sure you’re doing something the right way then to risk breaking it. If you can’t find a manual, check online. More often than not, as long as you know the make and model, you can find a plethora of information online.
While you’re disassembling your items, keep any nuts, bolts, and screws together and organized. Get a Ziploc bag and label it with the piece of furniture that the accessories belong too and attach it to the undersize with tape. You can also opt to store all of the accessories separately from the furniture so you don’t risk having them fall off. Just make sure that you label things well enough to know what goes with what.
If the furniture has legs or bulky pieces that stick out from the main body, remove them—but only if they’re made to be removed. Don’t force anything if it doesn’t budge. Table and chair legs can be wrapped together and labeled.
Covering and Protecting
After you’ve broken down all of your big items, it’s time to cover and protect everything that is easily damaged. For fabric or leather furniture, find furniture covers that will adequately fit prior to moving and adhere them before removing the pieces from your house. This will not only protect your furniture, but it will help you avoid scuffing up the walls of your home or scratching entryways.
Take the same precaution with all of your tables, regardless of what they’re made out 
of. The corners of tables can be sharp and the last thing you want to do is cause damage to a home you’re trying to sell. This will also prevent your things from getting ruined during the move and in storage so you can continue to use them for years to come.
The same thought applies to other large appliances, electronics, or things that can’t be broken down. It’s always better to cover and protect them, especially if they will be sitting in storage for longer than a month or two.
Moving
After you’ve broken down all of your items, covered them, and protected them, it’s time for moving day. Luckily, you’ve already gotten all of the heavy lifting out of the way and now you’ll just need to grab a few friends and get to work. Offer to pay them in dinner or a few cold beers and make a day out of it. If you’re organized and have taken all of the preparation recommended, the actual act of moving will be a breeze. If you need to rent a moving truck, any moving supplies, or dollies, check out the accessories available at The Lock Up Self Storage. With most new self storage units, you’ll be eligible to receive and use a moving truck, free of cost, to help you get your things to your new self storage unit.
Organizing
When you get to your self storage unit, have a plan in place for how you will strategically pack your things. This will help you stay sane and organized during both the moving process and when you need to access anything from your self storage unit later. We recommend always putting the largest items in first, then filling in your unit with increasingly smaller things. You can line the walls with the big items on either side as well, as long as it doesn’t create a barricade to the rest of your unit.
Try and keep things directly off of the floor to reduce the chances of pests getting into things and the accumulation of mold and dust. You can achieve this by purchasing a few gently used wooden pallets and lining the floor with them. For smaller items, or things that can be hung, take advantage of the vertical space available and use racks whenever possible.
Another piece of advice is instead of just cramming everything together create aisles so you can walk around and in between your things in storage. This helps your items breathe and gives you ample space for everything you need. If you’re short on space, consider spending a few extra dollars a month to rent a larger self storage unit so you can organize accordingly. In the long run, it makes all of the difference.
Regardless of what you have that needs to move into storage, whether it is thousands of tiny décor items, family heirlooms and memorabilia, or large items that need to be broken down, The Lock Up Self Storage can help. The Lock Up is a family owned and operated company that has been in the self storage business for over 40 years, so our staff understands the importance of safety, security, and flexibility in self storage units. We take pride in being leaders in the self storage industry, which is reflected in all of our units. Each and every one is climate controlled to better protect your things for days, months, or even years down the road. All of our units are secure and safe for you to keep things without the constant need to worry. Each of our locations has a perimeter alarm, motion-sensor lighting systems, coded access gates, and 24/7 video monitoring to protect all of your assets, regardless of the time of day. Our state-of-the-art security means that you’ll be protected and each unit is available at an affordable price. We have a variety of options with flexible leasing plans for all of your needs and in case things change in the future. You’re guaranteed to find a self storage unit that is perfect for you and your family at The Lock Up Self Storage. To learn more, or browse our available units, head over to https://www.thelockup.com today. You’re also welcome to stop into any of our locations and talk about your needs with our dedicated staff members. We can’t wait to welcome you to The Lock Up family!
