Packing for Your Move to St. Thomas

• Because you can only get to St. Thomas, USVI by air or sea, many people moving to the island use air cargo services to ship their belongings. The least expensive way to transport a large amount of household items and car(s) is by ship using a professional moving company. When using these services, be sure to fill out all the necessary paperwork for your goods to clear customs. There are many companies that will help you with this entire process. Once these items are on the island, you can store them until you arrive and are ready to move them into your new home. Fortress Self Storage works with all the local shipping and moving companies and can easily arrange delivery of your items directly to your storage unit. Before you move, call us for recommendations.

When packing, you only have one season to worry about, and that’s summer. Only one wardrobe is necessary. T-shirts, shorts, and summer dresses are typical attire on St. Thomas. If you are shipping all of your belongings at once, it’s important to consider which household and furniture items you absolutely need or want to bring with you.

Packing Tips:

• Make sure you have the appropriate packing supplies, including sturdy boxes, packing paper, bubble wrap, sealing tape, furniture covers and marking pens.
• Label your boxes on all sides for easy identification and keep a list of your boxes and their content at home or office for reference.
• Clean appliances before putting them into storage and leave large appliance doors ajar while in storage.
• Pack books flat and not standing on end. Due to their weight, don’t pack too many books in one box or mix them with fragile items.
• Protect mattresses and box springs with specially designed plastic covers.
• Remove table and chair legs to conserve storage space. Wrap legs together with packing paper and tape. Wrap furniture with pads to protect against soil and scratches, and don’t forget to label everything.

Self-Storage Tips:

• Store the items you will need most often at the front of the unit.
• When you pack your storage unit, create a center aisle for easy access to all your items.
• Do not place boxes directly on concrete floors. Instead, use pallets or skids to allow air flow around and under items.
• Keep photographs and artwork flat by placing them between two pieces of cardboard and taping them together.
• Drain gasoline and oil from lawn mowers and other items with small engines.
• When storing metal items, wipe all metal surfaces with a rag containing a few drops of machine oil to slow down rusting.
• Always use high quality locks on your unit. Fortress Self Storage sells a variety of locks on site.

The managers at Fortress Self Storage are experts in packing and storing and have helped many of our customers with questions about their plans to relocate to St. Thomas, USVI. Please do not hesitate to talk to us about your needs or concerns with your move to St. Thomas.

For the self-storage voted the best on St. Thomas since 2007, call Fortress Self Storage toll free at 877-611-2852 or contact us here.