If you going to to defrost your fridge and freezer, do it no later than 3 days before your store them. Ideally you should run the contents of these down a couple of weeks before you store your appliances.

Kitchen appliances such as fridges, freezers or washing machines that contain water should be drained and allowed to dry thoroughly.

Carefully pack all fragile items separately and stack them at the top of all other boxes.

Most beds require to be dismantled before they can be stored. Consider this and plan accordingly.

Self assembly furniture does not usually store well over a period of time. Make arrangements to have it dismantled beforehand. You should also arrange for it to be packaged accordingly whilst being in storage.

Remember it is easier to stack your boxes on top of furniture, so always move your furniture into a storage unit first.

Do not overfill boxes, remember they have to be lifted both into, and later on out of the storage unit. Also, they may break under the strain. Try to distribute your things evenly in the available boxes

This may seem stupid after the previous tip but partially filled boxes may collapse if heavy items are placed on top of them.

Remember the boxes are protecting all your possessions. Do not be tempted to use just any box! Also be careful not to buy cheap, low quality boxes. Chances are if you are buying them online they will not be professional storage boxes even if they are advertised as so. We also see a lot of home mover packs, again be careful of the quality. Self Storage Boxes can be provided within your quotation if you require. We offer new or used professional storage boxes.

Make up a list to help you record what’s in each box. Devise your own system but keep it simple and ensure that it will allow you to easily identify where everything is packed. For example, you could use a number system and cross refer these to a list or notebook.

When packing your valuable and fragile possessions please remember that newsprint will rub off and does not protect belongings very well. Use Bubble Wrap for Glass, Ornaments, China and all delicate items. The boxes holding these items should be clearly marked as “fragile”.

Ensure that you don’t place heavy items with sharp corners on top of sofas and other upholstery. These can be damaged quite easily if you do this.

You’ve decided to hire a self storage unit at Bedford Storage, and are planning what to put in it.

There are actually a few types of items that cannot be stored in one of our self storage units. If you’re unsure please don’t hesitate to ask.

If you leave food unattended for long periods of time it will rot and the smell will attract insects and rodents.

This will potentially lead to an infestation of the entire facility. These critters can nibble their way through your belongings and even build nests in them.

This may seem like an obvious one, but please don’t leave animals in self storage units. Storage units aren’t well ventilated so are not suitable for pets.

Chances are, it’ll end very poorly for them. The same applies to plants. Plants, living or dead, cannot be stored in a self storage unit.

You are not allowed to turn a self storage unit into a permanent residence or use it as an office. It may seem highly unlikely, but there have been recorded cases of people living in their storage lockers.

This is dangerous and simply unsanitary as there are no bathroom facilities or anything else you need to be able to survive.

Items such as stolen goods, smuggled tobacco, unlicensed medicines and similar things cannot be stored in a storage unit.

Any sign of anything like this and we will pass the occupiers details over to the local police.

Chemicals and hazardous materials, along with flammable materials cannot be stored in one of our storage units at Bedfordshire Storage. This is because of the inherent risk they pose to the entire facility.

Please don’t store gas, paint, petrol, propane tanks, acids, asbestos or toxic waste in your storage unit. If you’re unsure as to whether an item is something you cannot store with us, please feel free to ask a member of staff, who will be happy to clarify for you.

Although we have high-end security at Bedford Storage, we’d still recommend you keeping money and very high-value objects somewhere more specialised, like a bank or secure deposit box or safe.

Due to the nature of money, it is not covered by insurance policies.