How To Store Books In A Storage Unit:A complete book storage solution
How to store books in a storage unit? It is the first question asked by the people who are searching for storage facility for their books.
Books are amazing. They will engage, delight, and educate. But they also take up so much space.
Even if you have the luxury of a library, your collection will eventually grow to a point that will force you to consider decluttering.
This is why storage units are so important.
The right storage unit will keep your growing book collection safe and intact for years, if not decades.
So, we have presented in details guide below about how to store your books in a storage unit and how to prepare your books for storage.
Why You Need A Storage Unit to Store Books?
What makes a storage unit so appealing? First of all, readers never stop reading. That means they never stop buying books.
So even if you think your book collection is manageable today, it will eventually overrun your storage capacity.
Storage units are like insurance. They allow you to keep buying and reading books knowing that you will always have the space to store them all.
Secondly, even if you have space in your home to store all your books, storage units will help you declutter.
If you have a library, a day will come when your book collection will overwhelm the capacity of your shelves.
And on that day, you will begin to shove books under beds and over cabinets and in corners just to keep them out of the way.
But such a tactic, though perfectly valid, will eventually turn your home into an unsightly mess.
You will begin searching for additional storage space to store your books just so your home can regain a semblance of normalcy.
And that is where storage units will come into play.
Preparing Your Books For Storage
The purpose of renting out a storage unit isn’t to store your book collection.
The purpose of renting out a storage unit is to store your book collection safely and to do that, there are preparatory steps that you must take beforehand.
1.Cleaning your Unit
Every storage facility must be thoroughly cleaned before it can store your valuables.
This is especially true for books which are crafted from delicate material.
Dust and grim will kill the texture of your books and cause the covers to fade.
So not only should you clean your storage unit of choice before depositing your books but the unit and the books should be dusted on a regular basis.
At the time of cleaning the storage unit, you should kill rats as rats can destroy all of your books. To eradicate rats from the storage unit, you may use rat poison for storage units.
2. Organizing Your Books
Take an organized approach to storing your books.
Once you have cleaned your unit, it isn’t enough to simply dump your collection on the floor or in any corner you find.
First and foremost, you need to take stock of your collection. Count your books.
Take measurements of their sizes if necessary. Make an estimate of the space they will probably occupy and then buy or build shelves.
You need a design that will simplify the process of viewing the books.
That way you don’t have to keep touching and possibly damaging them when you are searching for particular titles.
3. Cleaning Your Books
When it comes to keeping your book collection dust free inside your storage unit, you are encouraged to invest in some magnetic or lint-free cloth.
Magnetic cloth attracts and traps dust and it will allow you to thoroughly but gently clean your books.
If you scrub book covers too roughly, you will damage them.
It is probably for this reason that some professionals encourage the use of feather dusters and small hand vacuums.
4. Sorting Your Books
Do not forget to sort your books before dumping them into your storage unit.
Any approach will do. Some people prefer to arrange their collection according to the genre.
Others group them depending on whether or not they are fiction or nonfiction.
You also have individuals that organize their collections in alphabetical order.
Find a format that makes it easy for you to find the titles you need whenever you visit your storage unit.
You can also arrange your shelves accordingly. Your storage unit can become your second library.
5. Considering the Weight
If you decide to store your books in boxes rather than shelves, keep the weight in mind. You can use the best storage unit boxes for storing book in the storage unit.
Books are heavy. Throw too many of them in a box and they will become impossible to move.
Some people prefer boxes to shelves because boxes make it easier to move the books around later on, especially in case of an emergency like a fire.
However, if you want to utilize this benefit, be sure to prioritize small cardboard boxes of six books or so that will simplify transportation.
Also, if you overload boxes with books, the books will deform over time.
6. Wrapping Your Books
Once you rent out a storage unit, your first instinct will be to seal your books in plastic bags before throwing them on a bookshelf or in a box.
And that isn’t bad thinking. After all, plastic will provide protection against dust and pests.
However, plastic bags will also increase humidity and trap moisture.
This is on top of producing dangerous gases that will, at the end of the day, corrode the integrity of your books.
Invest in some Mylar book covers or even plastic sleeves.
7. Storing Books in Boxes
If you decide to use boxes, as explained above, you need to avoid the plastic variety because they will trap moisture and encourage the growth of mould.
You should also avoid secondhand boxes that were used to carry items with pungent odors.
Over time, those odors will sink into your books. Try to find some new cardboard boxes.
And once you actually secure your boxes, keep them off the ground.
Some professionals make it sound like you have to choose between using boxes and shelves for your storage unit.
But you can use both. Place the books in boxes and then position the boxes on shelves
That way your books are less susceptible to floods and spills.
8.Use moisture absorber in your storage unit
The books are very sensitive to moisture. The pages of books easily attract moisture. Consequently, moisture can easily damage the books. So to save your stored books from moisture and mildew, you can use moisture absorbers for the storage unit.
Other Packing Techniques
A) Using Tubs -
There is a lot of positive information surrounding the use of plastic tubs and bins to store books in storage units.
These opaque devices will keep your books from pests and the sun without attracting moisture or mould.
B) Standing the Books –
Whether your books are on a shelf or in a box, never stand them on their spines.
Over time the spine will weaken and the integrity of the books will suffer.
Lay your books flat on their backs or stand them on their bottom edges.
C) Avoiding Food –
Do not store your books in the same unit as your food items. Food will attract cockroaches, beetles and the like.
Such insects will eventually eat their way into your books. If you can, rent out a unit just for your books.
D) Using the Freezer –
You have been told to keep your books away from plastic bags.
You have also been encouraged to protect your books from pests. But if insects ever infest your book collection in your storage unit, there is a remedy.
Place the books in plastic bags and then insert them in a freezer. Keep them there for a few hours. The insects will eventually die.
E) Deploying Conservators --
While storage units are effective tools for storing valuables, some books are so rare and precious that they cannot be trusted to a storage unit.
That is where a conservator comes into play. These entities, which include libraries, museums and private collectors, will take your rare books and safeguard them.
Keeping Water and Humidity Away from Stored Books
Hot climates with high humidity will damage books. To be more specific, they will cause binding to warp and paper to curl.
But if you live in a humid area, you do not have to migrate to a cooler city just to store your books safely.
All you need is a climate-controlled storage unit.
Climate control features will allow the interior of your storage unit to adapt to any external changes in temperature which will, in turn, keep your books safe.
A climate control system in a storage unit will operate as an air conditioner and a humidifier.
Accounting for Security
Before you can trust your books in a storage unit, you need to make sure that the storage facility is safe.
This is especially important if your books are very valuable to you.
Make sure that your storage facility is in a safe neighborhood. Ensure that reliable surveillance and alarm systems are deployed.
There must also be security personnel on hand at all times to apprehend any intruders.
This is on top of additional personnel that can secure your books if an emergency situation ensues.
Even when all these amenities are in place, do not forget to place your own locks on your storage unit. That is the only way to truly safeguard your books. Otherwise, an unexpected person can enter your storage unit by cutting your lock.
Maintaining Order
Try to keep order in your storage unit. A lot of people will lose valuables from their storage units and they won’t realize it until it’s too late because their units are so messy.
This is why you are encouraged to use a shelf system to store your books.
Try to arrange your collection in a discernible pattern that will enable you to find what you need as quickly as possible.
You can use crates to arrange your books by size and shape, possibly even color.
If one unit gets too crowded, rent out another. Do not crowd your storage unit. At the very least, you will invite pests.
Checking on Your Books
You need to check on your collection from time to time. It doesn’t matter if you have read every book in your storage unit.
Your books need to be dusted. If pests have infiltrated the collection, they must be eliminated.
You might even need to replace a few boxes. You can’t just throw your books in a storage unit and forget them. They will eventually rot.
Create a strict schedule detailing the days of your week or month that you will use to check on your books.
Follow this schedule to the best of your ability.
Tips for Storing Books in A Storage Unit
If you are new to storage units and effective book storage, here’s what you should keep in mind:
A). When using boxes and tubs, the heaviest books should always go to the bottom.
B). For an optimal organization, you should always label all your boxes.
C). If your books are very rare, and you cannot afford a conservator, place them in paper towels or even bubble wrap before positioning them in boxes or on shelves.
They will maintain their pristine form for a much longer period of time.
D). Do not pack your books too tightly. The covers and the spines will eventually degrade.
E). If you decide to use boxes, you are encouraged to utilize the rigid sealable variety.
Conclusions
A storage unit is appropriate for storing all valuable items. Moreover, There is a large storage unit also which provide both outdoor and indoor storage facility for big items. You can even store your Jet Ski for the winter here.
Enter your text here...
