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Are you preparing to pack away a lot of your stuff in storage—whether in your attic or basement or in a storage unit somewhere away from home? If so, you are probably looking up the best prices on storage containers and getting ready to place an order. Before you do, though, you should familiarize yourself with the basic steps for packing a container. Yes, it all sounds very basic, but there are right and wrong ways to pack. Knowing what you are doing can make a difference!

1. Start by picking the right container.
There are a lot of criteria to consider. You need the right dimensions as well as a sufficient weight capacity. You also need to decide whether you want a clear bin or an opaque one—as well as the color if you are going with the latter. Do you need a storage container with a lid and handle? Does it need to be a storage container with hinged lid?

If you buy the wrong bin, you will have a hard time optimizing your storage.

2. Don’t store items you don’t need to.
Quite often we are so desperate to get our clutter squared away that we just buy a bunch of plastic bins and stash it all without thinking—but if you do that, you will store a lot of items that you probably should donate. Be patient and clear out the clutter first.

3. Make a master list.
Before you start putting everything away in plastic storage boxes, you should write down a master list of all the items you are storing and exactly where you are putting them. That way if you need something, you can find it right away instead of digging through box after box!

You are going to need to label your boxes after you pack them (more on that in a moment). I recommend that this is something you think about before you make your list, since you will need the labels to align with your list.

4. Pack your container and label it.
Now you can pack your containers! Do not just stash everything inside at random. Try to group like items by box, and within each, group other similar subsets. You can even pack smaller boxes inside of larger ones—or just purchase bins with compartments. Make sure your items are all protected and won’t break from being jostled around. Add in padding if you need it! Once you are done with that, you can label each of your containers. Make sure that you use a system which you can correlate easily with the master list you have created.

Now you know how you can pack a storage container the right way! As you can see, packing storage boxes correctly starts with decisions you make long before you actually put your items inside your bins. You need to have a plan before you order your boxes. That way you can get the right supplies for the job.