How to Safely Prepare to Store Pillows and Cushions in Your Rental Unit

How should you store pillows and cushions? Before you store these everyday home accents, take a look at what you need to know about properly preparing and packing pillows, couch cushions, and other similar foam or feather-filled items.

Understand the Material Makeup

What are the pillows or cushions made from? The contents inside may require special preparation or storage. Your pillows and cushions should have a tag that details the materials. If this is missing, feel the pillow to get a better idea of what fill it has inside. Common types of pillow and cushion materials include:

• Feathers. This type of natural fill is usually from down — the fluffier under-feathers. Down pillows are typically softer than synthetic (man-made) cushions. If the pillows are older or worn, you may see a few small feathers poking out of the outer covering.
• Foam. Foam pillows are harder than natural or other synthetic options. You can feel either a solid mass or chunks through the cover and may see the contour or shape of the inner stuffing from the outside.
• Synthetic. Man-made pillows have polyester or another manufactured fill inside. These pillows range from soft to firm and are typically less expensive than foam or natural fiber cushions. 

Now that you know more about the pillow's or cushion’s filling, take the next step and learn how to prep, pack, and store each type of cushion.

Gather the Right Materials

What materials do you need to store pillows safely? If your plan is to toss the cushions on top of your couch, bed, or dresser after you move the larger furniture pieces into self-storage, think again. While you can leave a pillow out in storage, this strategy could cause excess wear or result in a dirty, dusty cushion that you won't want to use again. 

To store pillows and cushions safely, you will need:

• Cotton storage bags. These bags are ideal for down or other natural fiber pillows. The breathable cotton allows moisture to escape — but still keeps these potentially pricey pillows safe from dust and debris while in storage.
• Vacuum storage bags. Polyester fill is easy to compress for vacuum storage. These bags help you to save space in storage and will stay almost completely flat. This allows you to stack your synthetic pillows on a wire shelf or place them into larger plastic bins.
• Bins. Clear plastic bins allow you to see what's inside and can protect pillows and cushions in storage. Use bins for rigid foam or memory foam pillows.
• Moving quilts. Your oversized couch cushions won't always fit into cotton bags or bins. Wrap these with moving quilts separately or cover the entire couch (with the cushions on it) with the heavy-duty fabric.
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Add labels to space-saving vacuum bags and bins. Include the type of pillow and which room it belongs to. This can help you to easily find and remove pillows from your self-storage unit.

Bring Your Pillows to the Storage Rental

Unlike bulky furniture, boxes of books, and other heavy or large items, you won't need to rent a moving van to transport pillows and cushions. These light and easily bendable items can go into your vehicle. 

When you get to the storage rental:

• Choose a pillow storage strategy. Make it easy to locate these items with a thoughtful storage strategy. Store the stash of pillows in one area, place the cushions with other items they belong with (such as a couch or chair), or store them by room.
• Avoid over-stacking. Don't stack pillows — unless the cushions are flat in vacuum bags. This can cause down pillows to fall flat or may permanently misshape memory foam.
• Don't store on the floor. Keep bed pillows or cushions that will go near your face off the floor. Even though your storage rental is clean, you need to pick the most hygienic place possible to store your pillows.

You don't need to buy a pricey shelving unit for your pillows and cushions. Instead, use what you already have in storage. Place these home accents into a toy chest, wardrobe, bench, or large chest of drawers.



Do you need to rent a storage unit? Contact Tysons Self Storage for more information.