After I moved everything into a small storage unit down the street, I realized that I needed to think of ways to organize and simplify the space. I started looking through the things that I had, getting rid of items that I didn't need anymore, and working hard to clean up my belongings. It was a lot of work, but I was able to completely overhaul my storage experience by learning to simplify. Check out this blog for more information about streamlining your storage experience and learning how to eliminate problems along the way. You never know, making storage easier might even make you happier.
Books, while individually fragile, can take up a massive amount of space within your home and can actually be quite heavy when taken in aggregate. In order to free up storage space inside of your home, you may want to consider moving your book collection into a self-storage facility. However, before doing so, you should understand some of the things that you can do to protect your books from experiencing environmental damage while sitting in storage.
Climate-Controlled Storage
Before you start packing your books up for long-term storage, you should first consider the unit that you are placing them within. Traditional storage units that are not protected from the elements can result in significant damage to your books since temperature fluctuations can damage the bindings, the ink, and the paper. Humidity levels can also cause mold growth and water damage if too high and cracking and physical damage if too low. Climate-controlled storage units represent an additional cost each month, but they ensure that your books are kept in moderate environments that will not damage them, making them well worth the cost for added protection.
Packing Boxes
You can't simply throw a bunch of books into a storage tote or cardboard box and expect them to be in good condition months later when you take them out. Look for heavy-duty, acid-free cardboard boxes which will allow air to properly circulate around the books. For particularly valuable editions, you'll want to wrap them in cloth to protect them from the elements and to ensure that the dust jacket does not tear due to contact with other books. Avoid stacking books lying down: this can cause them to compress and damage the spines. Instead, stack them standing up, as if on a shelf. Further, you don't want to cram them together, which can compress and damage their covers and bindings. Allow for a little bit of squish or movement between books packed in a box.
Organizing the Storage Unit
Within the actual storage unit, you'll want to make use of shelves or tables to keep your boxes of books off of the ground. If this is impractical due to the size of your collection, you should lay down wooden pallets or something else to lift your boxes up. This ensures that moisture and temperature from the concrete floor of the unit are unable to actually damage your book collection. Further, you should make sure that you don't stack boxes of books on top of each other: as already mentioned, this can compress and damage books on the bottom and also increases the risk of boxes falling over and damaging the books inside.
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