Knowing how to properly store your personal documents is important, no matter the reason. Whether it’s your personal birth certificate or your businesses contracts, it’s important to know the special ways to practice safe keeping these documents. Think of the reasons you’re storing the documents in the first place. Most likely, those reasons are to keep the information close to you, and also keep the information safe from fire, theft or other things that could damage them. Here are a few tips on how to ensure that your documents are being stored safely.
Organize your documents
One of the first things you’ll want to do is to make sure you have all of your documents organized and accounted for. Make copies if you need to, sort into specific piles and make it easier for you to find the documents for the next time you need to use them. This will also give you an opportunity to throw out documents you might no longer need. For extra precaution, make sure to shred any unwanted documents that have any kind of personal information on them.
Neatly pack them away
Once your documents have been filed through and organized in the way you want, it’s time to start the storing. For the best safekeeping you can use a safe deposit box or just a basic office document storing box. Use filing tabs to keep your organized documents in their piles and add them to the box you decide to keep your documents in. When storing your documents, you want to make sure that you pack them away from any element that might impact them. Airtight packaging is the recommended way to go. Steer away from using newspapers or other kinds of packaging material with print on it as it has the possibility of transferring onto your documents.
Find your storage facility
Do some simple research by finding the closest and best self-storage facility near you. When researching, security and climate control should be your top priorities to ensure that your documents are going to be well taken care of. Go through each facility’s lists of what they offer on their site and determine what the best fit is for you.
Climate control
Your documents can be affected by changing temperatures, excessive moisture and humidity. Facilities that offer climate control are probably the best way you can go when deciding what kind of unit that you want to go with. With the help of the climate-controlled units, you can maintain a consistent temperature in your unit at any time of the year ensuring that your documents will not be affected by such factors.
How much space do you really need?
Another important tip when choosing your storage unit is to consider the amount of space you might need. If you are only storing your important documents in the unit, it could be smarter to get a smaller unit. But, if you’re storing your documents with other things like larger household items, you’ll want to be careful. If you store your documents in the same storage unit with other items, you want to make sure not only that everything can be stored at the same temperature, but also that everything can fit in there safely. You don’t want to set your box of important documents down next to something that could fall or be knocked over onto the box, crushing the documents. Consider all that is going to be stored in the unit and position things accordingly.
Noah’s Ark Self Storage is here to help you with your self-storage needs. Contact us today to find the perfect self-storage unit for your important documents.
