Storage tips can be the difference between opening your unit in six months to find everything just as you left it, or opening it to a musty smell, a warped tabletop and a box of “who knows what”. After years on the trucks around Wollongong and the Illawarra, we’ve loaded a lot of storage units, and we’ve also unpacked a fair few that were packed in a hurry. This is the honest advice we’d give our own family on what to store, what to keep with you, and how to pack it so it survives.
Deciding what to put into storage
Storage works best when it’s a considered decision, not a dumping ground. Before anything goes in a unit, we tell people to sort their belongings into three honest piles: things you genuinely want back, things you’re only keeping out of guilt, and things you’d be better off selling, donating or tossing. Paying month after month to store a broken bookshelf or a box of odds and ends nobody will ever open is money down the drain. It’s worth doing a proper pre-move sort first.
What’s worth storing
Good candidates for storage are quality furniture you’ll use in the next home, seasonal gear (camping equipment, Christmas decorations, winter doonas), sentimental items you can’t replace, and anything you’ll need again but not right now — think a spare bed, a dining setting or tools during a renovation. Solid timber furniture, in particular, stores beautifully when it’s packed properly.
What to keep with you
Some things simply shouldn’t go into a unit. Never store perishable food, plants, or anything damp — they attract pests and mould that can ruin everything around them. Keep important documents, passports, medication, jewellery and daily essentials with you. And check your unit’s rules: flammables, gas bottles, paint and chemicals are almost always prohibited, for good reason.
The storage tips that actually protect your belongings
Here’s where most of the damage we see could have been avoided. The single biggest enemy in any storage unit isn’t theft — it’s moisture, dust and crushing weight. Get those three under control and your gear will come out the way it went in.
Clean and dry everything before it goes in. A fridge that’s stored with a trace of moisture inside will grow mould within a fortnight. Wipe down surfaces, let anything washed dry completely, and don’t box up items that are even slightly damp. It’s the same principle we cover in our how to pack for a move guide, just with the volume turned up, because items sit untouched for months.
Use proper cartons, not supermarket boxes and garbage bags. Sturdy, uniform boxes stack safely and resist collapsing under weight. Bags trap condensation and split. Label every box on the side (not the top) so you can read it once everything is stacked, and keep a simple list of what’s in the unit.
How to pack specific items for storage
Furniture
Dismantle what you can — bed frames, table legs, flat-pack units. It saves space and prevents joints from taking strain. Bag and tape the screws to the piece they belong to. Cover lounges and mattresses with proper covers or moving blankets, never plastic directly against the fabric, which sweats and breeds mould. Stand mattresses upright against a wall so they don’t sag.
Appliances and the fridge
Defrost and dry the fridge and freezer at least 24 hours before storage, then leave the doors slightly ajar with a rolled towel so air can circulate. A sealed fridge is a mould factory. If you’re storing a fridge, our guide on moving a fridge safely covers the handling side. Secure cords and remove loose shelves.
Electronics and fragile items
Wrap TVs and electronics in blankets and store them upright in their original boxes where possible. Wrap plates vertically like records, glasses individually, and fill every gap so nothing shifts. Our packing services in Wollongong exist for exactly these fiddly, breakable items when you’d rather not risk it.
Loading the unit like we load a truck
A well-packed storage unit is Tetris, plain and simple. Heavy, sturdy items and furniture go to the back and along the walls. Boxes stack heaviest on the bottom, lightest on top. Leave a narrow walkway down the middle so you can reach things without unpacking the whole unit. Keep anything you might need sooner near the front. And don’t stack right to the ceiling if the boxes aren’t strong — a collapse in month three will crush what’s underneath.
Lift furniture off the concrete on a pallet or timber slats where you can. It keeps air moving underneath and protects against any moisture that seeps across a slab floor, which matters more than people think in our coastal Illawarra climate.
Short-term versus long-term storage
If you’re storing for a few weeks between homes, you can be a bit more relaxed. For anything six months or longer, take the extra steps seriously: covers on everything, moisture absorbers (like DampRid) dotted through the unit, and a climate-controlled unit for anything sensitive — timber, leather, artwork, electronics. The cost difference is small next to replacing a ruined lounge. For a sense of how storage fits your overall moving budget, the Australian Government’s MoneySmart guide to managing moving house costs is a genuinely useful, no-nonsense read.
If you’d rather not juggle a separate storage provider, we offer furniture storage in Wollongong and can move your belongings straight from the truck into secure storage, so nothing gets double-handled.
Frequently asked questions
What are the most important storage tips for long-term storage?
Clean and fully dry everything, use sturdy labelled boxes, cover furniture with breathable moving blankets rather than plastic, keep items off the floor, and add moisture absorbers. For long stays, a climate-controlled unit is worth it for timber, leather, electronics and anything you can’t replace.
How do I stop mould and damp in a storage unit?
Never store anything damp, leave fridge and washing-machine doors ajar, avoid sealing items in plastic, raise furniture off the concrete, and place moisture absorbers around the unit. Good airflow and dry contents are what keep mould out, especially in our humid coastal climate.
What can’t I put into storage?
Perishable food, plants, liquids, gas bottles, petrol, paint, chemicals and anything flammable are almost always prohibited. Keep documents, medication, valuables and daily essentials with you rather than locking them away.
Do removalists move things into storage for me?
Yes. We regularly load belongings straight from the truck into storage. It saves you double-handling and means the heavy, awkward items are lifted and stacked properly the first time. Just tell us it’s going into storage so we pack the unit to be accessed later.
Store it once, store it right
Storage doesn’t have to be a gamble. Sort honestly, clean and dry everything, pack in proper boxes, and load the unit the way we load a truck — and you’ll open that roller door months later to find everything exactly as you left it. If you’d like a hand, our experienced Wollongong crew can pack, move and store your belongings in one smooth run. Call us on 1300 015 050 for a straight-up chat and a fair quote — the same advice we’d give our own family.
