Some things are easier than others when storing your stuff. For example, storing books, everyday clothes, linens, toys, and other items is relatively easy as they aren’t fragile. In most cases, you can just toss them in a box, tape it up, and you’re done! Storing acceptable items, however, is a different story, especially delicate décor items. If you use the correct packing materials or pack them correctly, your delicate décor items might be damaged or even destroyed while stored.
To help you avoid that, the storage experts at Northwest Self Storage put together the following list of 12 tips on how to store delicate décor. Read on to discover them all and ensure your fragile items stay safe and sound when stored!
Top 8 Tips on How to Store Delicate Décor
1. Get Your Packing Supplies Ready
If there’s one tip that’s most important when storing delicate décor, it’s this one! It would help if you had the correct packing supplies and, depending on how many delicate items you have, enough to pack them well.
Unlike, for example, toys or shoes, which can be packed with barely any extra packing material, delicate décor demands packing materials like styrofoam “chips”, acid-free packing paper, box dividers, and more. Below is a list of the packing supplies you should purchase and have on hand before packing your delicate décor for storage.
- Cardboard boxes or, better, clear plastic containers with lids that seal
- Clean packing paper
- Packing tape
- Box dividers (for crystal ware like champagne and wine glasses)
- Styrofoam chips
- Bubble wrap with tiny bubbles
- Tissue paper
- Ink marking pens
2. Invest in Sturdy, Clear Plastic Storage Containers
We mentioned it above under packing supplies, but using sturdy containers to store your delicate décor is worth mentioning again. The reason why is simple: clear, plastic containers, in most cases, are much sturdier and will last much longer than cardboard boxes. Also, because they’re clear, you can easily see what’s inside each container if you need to remove something from storage to use it. (Think Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah, or Easter dinner, among other special dates.)
3. Use Plenty of Cushioning on the Bottom of Each Container
This simple tip can save you a lot of sadness due to broken items. Take multiple sheets of packing paper, crumple them nicely, and place them in the bottom of each box to form about a 3-inch layer of paper. This will get crushed down much lower as you put items in, which is precisely what you want. It will form a protective cushion that will keep your items from breaking when the box is moved into or out of storage.
4. Don’t Stack Boxes or Containers Too High
One mistake many folks make when storing delicate décor is they stack their boxes or containers higher than they should. Here’s a fact: the more boxes or containers you stack on top of each other, the more weight will be on the lower boxes or containers. If you stack too high, this weight could crush, damage, or destroy the items further down. We recommend stacking boxes or containers filled with delicate items at most 3 high for this reason.
5. If You Use Cardboard Boxes, Buy Double Corrugated
When packers are out on the job, they use double-corrugated containers to pack the most fragile items. That’s because double-corrugated boxes are twice as strong as single-corrugated boxes. Specialized boxes called “dish packs” are double-corrugated and almost always used to pack and store fragile items like crystal, dinnerware, and delicate décor items. Dish packs are usually 6.1 cubic feet, so look for this size when purchasing.
6. Ensure There’s Plenty of Space Between Each Item
Depending on the space you have to store your stuff, you should place as much in each container as possible to save space. That works for non-fragile items but isn’t the best choice for fragile décor. It’s better to ensure that there’s plenty of space between each item so that if the container moves around or is jostled when being moved into storage, fragile items don’t bang up against each other and get damaged.
7. Save Box Dividers for the Most Fragile Items
If you’ve never packed and stored fragile décor, box dividers are a great choice. While that may be true, some people overuse box dividers because they need to figure out their packing skills and want to ensure their stuff stays pristine.
That’s problematic for two reasons: the extra cost and the extra space dividers in each box. We suggest using box dividers sparingly. They’re best used for glassware, dishware, and crystal. If you use plenty of packing paper and leave plenty of space between items, most other items should be fine without box dividers.
8. Take Extra Care when Storing Delicate Heirlooms
Let’s be honest; nobody wants to see anything break while stored. However, losing a delicate heirloom is even worse due to its sentimental value. Therefore, it’s best to take extra time and care when storing delicate heirlooms. Be sure to use extra packing paper, leave extra space between each item, and mark the box or plastic container well. That way, if anyone moves the container, they know the items inside are precious and will be more careful.
Store Your Delicate Décor with Northwest Self Storage
If you need to store a lot of delicate décor and other items but need more space in your home, Northwest Self Storage can help! We’re the storage leaders in the Northwest, including Oregon, Washington, and Idaho. Our storage facilities offer safe, clean, and affordable storage units of various sizes.
No matter what you need to store, Northwest can help. We store household goods, collectibles, antiques, and even cars, boats, and RVs in our secure storage facilities every day. If ready, you can reserve a storage unit online from Northwest. Until then, we hope the tips we’ve provided on storing delicate décor correctly have given you the information you need to ensure your fragile items stay in pristine condition for many years.