Important Tips for Storing Your Books

Any avid book collector will know that there is no worse feeling than having to pack up your books and store them somewhere away from your home. However, there are multiple reasons why you might need to do this. From moving houses, downscaling or traveling, one of the most important things to do when packing up, is to ensure that your beloved book collection is safe and secure. Read more below to find out how you can ensure that your books are protected whilst being stored.

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Take stock of what you have

First things first, take stock of the number of books that you have. Before choosing the size of the unit, you need to spend a few hours (or days), going through all of the books you have and making a note of what needs to be stored. This might sound tedious but it will help you when it comes to packing and sorting out your collection. We suggest categorising the books by size to help make packing easier. You could also get colourful post-it notes to stick on some of your books to help make categorising them easier. Of course, if they are delicate or the spines are old and worn, then steer clear from sticking anything on them as you might cause more harm than good.

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Choose the unit size

Luckily, today there are a lot more variations in storage unit sizes available than before. When storing something like books or other essential documents (perhaps you even need to store your scrapbooking material or files from work), it is important to really check the sizes of the storage units available since you most likely won’t need as much space as you think you do. At Rent-A-Store, we offer a variety of different storage solutions, from something as small as a locker space to one that can store the contents of 9 rooms or the size of a vehicle! We also pride ourselves on pest and fire control, ensuring that every need is taken care of when you rent a unit with us.

Clean all the books

Books are one of the main attractors of dust so before you safely pack them up, be sure to wipe each one down with a soft, chemical-free cloth. Hold each book tightly closed and wipe the spine first before moving onto the cover. Once done, gently wipe the tops and bottoms of the book to remove dust that might get stuck in the pages. Once the books are dust-free, it’s time to protect them with dust jackets. While we know that they are not the best to look at, these protective sleeves are specifically made for your books and will ensure that the cover, spine and pages of your books are protected from dampness, dust and even insects.

Take care of those books

Once your books are covered in dust jackets, it’s time to invest in some acid-free archival paper which can be found at good stationary and bookstores. Be sure to first remove any bookmarks or pieces of paper that have been stuffed between the pages of your books before wrapping them up well. Steer clear of wrapping books in plastic or newspaper as they can cause the books to go mouldy or even cause mildew which will ruin the books for good.

Pack them up

Now that all of the books are protected with dust jackets and acid-free paper, pack your books into boxes. If you will only be storing them for the short-term, then cardboard boxes should be fine but for the long-term (and for better preservation), plastic boxes (with lids) are your best bet. Try not to pack too many books in one box as this might make it hard to transport. It is also important to ensure that books of similar sizes are packed together to make them easier to fit in the boxes.

Make a note

Once they are boxed and ready to go, print out a sheet of paper per box that contains the names of the books within each box. This will not only make it easier for you to find what you need when it’s time to unpack but will also serve as a check-list to ensure that nothing is lost during the move.

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