How Canadians Can Safely Store Property During a Renovation

A recent survey by Rates.ca revealed that half of Canadians would choose to renovate their current home instead of moving house. That’s no major surprise in a housing market that is exceptionally harsh and has seen average prices in Canada soar by 24 percent in two years.

However, renovating does throw up some complications for homeowners. Here, we will look at a specific aspect that is often overlooked; the question of how to safely store property during the renovation.

How to Safely Store Property During a Renovation

Whether you’re updating a single room or undertaking a full-scale renovation, ensuring your property is safely stored is crucial.

This guide will provide Canadians with practical tips and strategies to safely store their property during a renovation, ensuring peace of mind throughout the process.

Dirt and Clutter Everywhere

Carrying out a home renovation is an exciting project that can breathe new life into your living space, improve quality of life, and increase property value. Just how much depends on the scope of the work, but it could be as much as 12.5 percent according to a cross-Canada survey by Royal LePage.

But managing your belongings while the work takes place can be a genuine challenge. Even if the work is restricted to one or two rooms, dust and debris have a knack of getting anywhere.

Besides, simply shifting the content of one room into another causes chaos and is a recipe for things getting damaged.

Consider Renting a Self Storage Unit

With a major renovation like a new kitchen or an extension, it often makes sense for Canadian homeowners to rent a self storage facility to temporarily store property safely but accessibly. Canada’s self storage industry is buoyant, and there are secure storage facilities across the country’s major cities.

Make sure you choose the self storage facility with care. First and foremost, always use a professional storage company. That way, you know that your belongings are stored in safe conditions, secure from environmental damage or vermin.

A “friend with a barn” might sound like a cheap alternative, but it proves a false economy when your belongings end up damp, rat-infested, or even stolen.

Secondly, location is important. You never know when you might need something you put in storage, so you want your property to be stored locally.

For example, Access Storage has 11 self-storage facilities in and around Toronto, so it’s always possible to find somewhere within a few minutes’ drive.

The third consideration is the size of the self-storage unit you will need. Storage units typically start at five feet square, which is enough for the content of a small room such as a study, up to 20 by 30 feet, which is enough to store everything in the average three to four-bedroom house during a major renovation. You can also rent garage units, should you need to store a car or a boat.

Preparing Your Items for Storage

Declutter and Organize

Renovations present an excellent opportunity to declutter your home. Sort through your belongings and decide what to keep, donate, or discard. Organizing your items before storage will make the process more efficient and reduce the amount of space needed.

Inventory Your Belongings

Before deciding on a storage solution, take an inventory of your belongings. Categorize items based on size, fragility, and frequency of use. This inventory will help you determine the type and amount of storage space needed.

Prioritize Essentials

Identify items you’ll need to access regularly during the renovation and set them aside. These might include important documents, daily clothing, and kitchen essentials. Keep these items easily accessible to minimize disruption to your daily life.

Use Proper Packing Materials

• Pack and protect your belongings carefully. They will be perfectly safe in a self-storage unit, but the risky part is transporting them there and carrying them to and from your vehicle.
• When packing, use sturdy storage boxes and or plastic containers. Make sure you clearly label each box the contents and the room it came from, and don’t make the mistake of thinking you will remember.
• If you have fragile items like crockery, lamps, or ornaments going into storage, use plenty of padding and bubble wrap for extra protection.
• Furniture cannot be boxed up, but you can cover large items with drop cloths and you could consider wrapping smaller articles in plastic or paper. Again, this is mostly with a view to protecting them in transit to and from your self-storage unit.

Maximizing Space Efficiency

• Maximize storage space by stacking boxes and using shelving units. Place heavier items at the bottom and lighter, fragile items on top.
• Using uniform-sized boxes makes stacking easier and more stable. It also helps to maximize space within storage units or containers.
• Vacuum-seal clothing, linens, and other soft items to reduce their volume and save space. These bags also protect against dust and moisture.

At the same time as you pack, create a manifest of exactly what is where. This is useful for you in case you need to retrieve something quickly and it is required by most Canadian self storage companies for insurance purposes and to confirm there are no prohibited or hazardous goods in your storage unit

Finally, think ahead. Make sure the things you are more likely to need, such as household equipment or documentation, are stored close to the door of the storage unit for ease of access.

Renovating your home is a significant undertaking, but with proper planning and organization, you can ensure that your belongings are safely stored and protected throughout the process.

By assessing your storage needs, choosing the right storage solution, preparing your belongings, ensuring security and safety, maximizing space efficiency, and maintaining accessibility, you can navigate your renovation with peace of mind.