Tips For Renting A Self-Storage Unit As Someone With Ongoing Back Pain

Ongoing back pain can greatly impact your daily life. Even tasks like washing the floor can be painful, so the idea of doing something more extensive — like renting a storage unit — might be pretty terrifying at first. Thankfully, there are some tips you can follow to rent and load a storage unit effectively as someone with back pain.

Choose a ground floor unit.

If you are renting from a self-storage facility that has two levels, a layout that is becoming more and more common, then you want to make sure you rent a unit on the bottom floor. Even if the facility has an elevator, having to load your items into that elevator and wheel them down the hall to your unit is an extra step you don't want to have to take as someone with back pain. When you choose a ground floor unit, you can just pull the moving truck right up to your unit and unload the items directly. (Check to ensure the unit you're renting is directly accessible by a moving truck, too.)

Use smaller boxes.

Packing everything into smaller boxes may take more time than packing items into a few larger boxes. But after you've already lifted and carried 10 boxes, you'll be really glad that the 11th one is a small, lighter box. Plus, it is easier to lift smaller boxes up onto stacks, which you will usually have to do when loading a storage unit.

Rent a dolly.

Make sure you have a dolly on-hand so you can wheel things instead of carrying them. This comes in handy both when you're loading the moving truck and when you're unloading the moving truck into the storage unit. Some moving truck rental companies also rent dollies. Some storage facilities have them on-hand for customers to use, too, so call the facility you're renting to find out about this.

Give yourself two days, if needed.

If you are afraid that your back will be too sore to load and unload everything at once, then do things across two days. Load the moving truck on day one, keep the items inside all night, and unload them into the storage unit the next day. Most moving truck rental companies will allow you to keep a truck for two days for a small extra fee.

Back pain can make it harder to load a storage unit, but with the tips above, you can make this task far more manageable.