Patio Furniture, Winter Gear, and the Seasonal Self-Storage Transition
Are you ready to transition from winter to spring and summer? With the change of the season comes a change in your outdoor home activities and décor. Take a look at what you need to know about removing warm weather items from self-storage and replacing it with your household's cold-weather gear.
When Should You Remove Patio Furniture from Storage?
There's no one-size-fits-all answer to this question. Storage item removal isn't always an easy process — especially when you need to move big, bulky outdoor furniture out of a crowded rental unit and transport it from the facility to your home. Before you move your spring/summer patio furniture out of storage, ask:
- Are you ready to use the furniture yet? If you've already planned a spring-time outdoor get-together with family or you enjoy nightly time in the yard, it's time to remove these items from self-storage. But if you won't use the table and chairs until your Fourth of July party, you can wait.
- How much space do you have in your storage unit? Do you want to move winter gear into your storage unit? If the rental is packed from side to side and top to bottom, now is the time to move the spring/summer furniture out. This leaves extra space for your winter-time items.
- Do you have a way to move the furniture? Unlike a box of books or a bag of clothes, patio furniture won't fit in your car. Before you decide to move the items, rent a moving van, ask a friend to help, or hire movers to transport the items to your home.
After you choose a move-out date, it's time to take the next step and make sure everything is ready to go from the storage unit to your home. If you packed your patio furniture well (for storage), you shouldn't need to re-pack it right now. But if you didn't cover the table or forgot to wrap the chairs, bring along bubble wrap, towels, plastic sheeting, or painter's tarps for the move.
When Should You Move Outdoor Winter Items into Storage?
Now that you have a better idea of when you should or could move your patio furniture out of storage, you need to decide when to move outdoor winter items in. Before you dive into the moving process, you need to inventory your winter gear and decide what household picks you want to store.
These items could include shovels, unused bags of rock salt (if the storage facility allows you to store salt), a snowblower (drain gasoline, oil, or any chemicals from the machine before you store it), sleds, or winter décor (Christmas wreaths, twinkle lights, or yard inflatables). If you're not sure when to bring these items to your storage unit, ask:
- What is the extended weather forecast? Even though the warm spring weather is here, it could still snow or sleet. If you might need snow melter/rock salt and a shovel, leave these items out of storage for right now.
- Will you need any of these items during the warmer months? Will you use holiday twinkle lights to decorate your summer-time backyard barbeques? Anything you might need over the summer months can wait to go into storage.
- Do you need to declutter? Do the shovels and snowblower take up too much space in your yard, shed, or garage? If you can't find a suitable storage place for winter equipment and gear, bring it to your rental unit as soon as possible.
Make it easier to remove these items next fall and pack winter-time gear securely. Carefully clean and dry your shovel or other outdoor items. Wrap everything in a protective layer (such as a moving quilt or tarp) before you transport it to the storage unit.
