Use Self Storage For Your Valuables

Use Self Storage For Your Valuables

People collect numerous personal belongings through time. This is a reality regardless of a person’s status in life. Even those who remain single in their lifetime can still accumulate valuable items.

Among people’s valuable possessions are antiques and art works such as paintings and sculptures. As these are collector’s items, they are usually bought at a high price and as such, they deserve to be well taken care of and stored in the proper place by their owners.

For people who have no extra space in their homes to keep their antiques and art collections, the self storage facility is the perfect solution. This is a popular storage place today which an increasing number of homeowners, students, professionals and business owners facing space problems utilizing it to their great advantage.

Here are some ways then you can follow to ensure your most valuable collections are kept safe and in good condition at self storage units.

Cleaning

Before you pack your belongings, a very important step to take is to clean them. Keep in mind that you’ll be storing them in a room for a certain period of time so you might as well keep them clean beforehand. Do remember as well that dust, dirt and other allergens that settle on antiques and textiles can result in the deterioration of your items.

Wrapping

Make sure to wrap your antiques and art works with products free from chemicals. Avoid items with acid such as certain types of tissue paper as it can cause damage to the item.

If you have antique furniture you need to keep, use a bubble wrap or cloth to wrap it entirely. Ensure then that you don’t put other items on or close beside it.

With regards to paintings that are framed, using the glassine paper for wrapping purposes is strongly recommended. This will prevent air, water and grease from penetrating the items. The next step is to wrap the entire painting again using a cling plastic wrap followed by putting cardboards on each side. Finally, tie packing foam around it for added protection.

For certain items, you may want to disassemble them to make sure they don’t get damaged in self storage units. Wrap separately the parts and mark them properly for fast and easy identification later on.

Treating

Before storing your valuable antiques and collections, apply the appropriate treatment product. This will ensure that the items will retain their good condition for a long time. So for wooden antiques, you can purchase a wood conditioner and an appropriate one for leather antiques.

For other items such as textiles and quilts, these should be kept in a flat manner and then covered with a cotton sheet. For clothes, using an acid free tissue paper and placing them in between the folds will be helpful. Silverware should be ideally placed inside a wooden chest or if not available, just wrap it in a soft cotton cloth.

You may also want to request for the use of a dehumidifier at your chosen self storage facility. The purpose is to avoid humidity inside the unit that can affect your beloved antiques and art collections.