How to Pack a Storage Unit: Loading Plan for Bayonne & Anglet

The van is parked, the tailgate is open, and in front of you sits an empty storage unit, waiting. We all know the temptation: shove everything in as fast as possible and head home for a shower. Hold off for ten minutes. A little thought about the order you load things in will pay you back a hundred times over, the day you need the car's registration papers or the youngest's pushchair, stuck behind a wardrobe. Here's the method we share with everyone who has just rented a unit with us, in Bayonne and in Anglet alike.

It all starts the night before, at home

A tidy storage unit is prepared at home. No need to spend the whole weekend on it: a few simple steps are enough to avoid chaos on moving day.

Two or three box sizes, no more. Boxes of similar sizes stack straight. Wobbly towers waste space and end up leaning.
One label on top, one on the side. Contents and room of origin, written large. Once the stack is up, the side is all you'll see.
An inventory on your phone. A note, or a photo of each open box before you seal it. Six months from now, typing "drill" into the search bar will save you opening ten boxes.
Furniture taken apart. Table legs, bed frames, shelves: laid flat, they take up far less room. Put the screws and bolts in a small bag and tape it to the piece they belong to.
Fridge and washing machine emptied, unplugged and dried. Ideally a day or two before the move.
One last sort. Anything that isn't worth keeping has no business in the van.

The loading plan, from the back to the door

The principle is simple. Load things in the reverse order of when you'll need them, and split the unit into three zones.

At the back: the things that sleep

Against the back wall goes everything you won't be taking out for a long time: furniture from the home you're leaving, archive boxes, the dinner service for big family meals. This is also where the heavy items belong. A chest of drawers, boxes of books or an empty washing machine make a solid base, with lighter things on top. Height-wise, you've got room to play with: 3 m ceilings at Les Arènes, 2.5 m at Anglet and Les Pontots. Just keep the light boxes for the top, so you're not balancing on a chair.

In the middle: the occasional

This is for the things you come back for now and then: next season's clothes, the camping gear, the holiday suitcase. Turn the labels towards the aisle. A word on weight, too: the limit is 300 kg per m³. Boxes of linen are nowhere near it; books and crockery piled up in one spot are another story. Better to spread them out.

At the front: the everyday

Near the door, whatever you're likely to need soon: the toolbox, the bike, the "important papers" box, the children's toys.

And as soon as the unit is more than a few square metres, keep an aisle running to the back, even a narrow one. It's what makes the difference between a storage room you can move around in and a unit you have to half-empty to reach the last box. We see it often: without an aisle, people end up not fetching anything at all.

Mattress, sofa, mirrors: the right position for each

Some belongings don't like being laid down or squashed. In a clean, dry space they'll happily sit out months of storage, as long as they're set up properly.

Mattresses and bed bases: upright, in a cover, wedged against a wall. Laid flat, a mattress swallows the whole floor and soon turns into a shelf, which it really doesn't enjoy.
Sofa: in a cover, standing on a sturdy armrest if possible. Otherwise flat, with nothing heavy on top.
Paintings and mirrors: upright, protected, packed closely side by side like books on a shelf.
Fridge, freezer, washing machine: switched off, empty, dry, door ajar. A folded tea towel in the gap is enough to keep odours away.
Fragile items: always on top of the stacks. For wrapping crockery and keepsakes, we've written a separate article.

Maïder, between two flats

Maïder moved out of her three-room flat in Petit Bayonne while the work on her future home was being finished. She took a drive-up unit with its own outside door at Les Arènes: van parked right in front, loading wrapped up in a single Saturday morning. Dismantled furniture at the back, kitchen in the middle, bike and a "keep handy" box at the front. With her photo inventory, she came back three times to collect something, each time in under five minutes.

What stays at home

A few items have no place in a storage unit, for everyone's safety: weapons and ammunition, chemical or hazardous products, perishable food, animals, motor vehicles, and appliances left running. A fridge plugged in to keep drinks cold is a no. The same fridge switched off, empty and dry is no problem at all. Not sure about something? Ask the team before you load it; it's simpler than taking it back home.

On site, you're not left to do the heavy lifting alone

Our three facilities are clean, ventilated, CCTV-monitored buildings, designed to make unloading as painless as possible.

Trolleys and hand trucks free to use at every site, so you don't have to carry each box by hand.
A self-service goods lift at Les Arènes and Les Pontots, which you operate yourself, with stairs right next to it. In Anglet, everything is on the ground floor.
Generous hours: 24/7 access at Les Arènes, 6am to 10pm every day at Anglet and Les Pontots, Sundays included. Plenty of time to load early, before the traffic.
A small shop at our Bayonne Les Arènes facility, for the missing box or roll of tape, a cover or a padlock.
A free unit swap if, once the van is empty, yours turns out too small or too big. It happens, and the team will sort it out.

Still unsure about the size? You can estimate your volume room by room before giving us a call.

At the back what you won't take out, at the front what you'll need soon.
An aisle to the back wall as soon as the unit is more than a few square metres.
Heavy at the bottom, light and fragile on top.
Boxes of similar sizes, labelled on two sides, plus a photo inventory on your phone.
Mattress, sofa and mirrors upright in covers; appliances off, empty, dry, door ajar.
Unit too small or too big: swapping is free.

Not sure about an item, got a question while you load, or want to change units? The Dans Mon Box team is happy to help by phone, or at the Les Arènes reception from Tuesday to Saturday. We like your belongings well stored, and we've got a few tricks up our sleeve.