Renovating a kitchen, replacing the floors, or remodeling a living area usually requires clearing out a significant portion of the space before work even begins. Furniture must be moved, cabinets emptied, and everyday items protected from dust and potential damage.
But where should we put all this during the renovations?
This issue is particularly important when you live in a condo or a multi-family building. Without a garage, basement, or large yard where you can temporarily store your belongings, the solution is often to pile everything into the rooms that aren’t yet under construction. You clear out the kitchen by filling up the living room, and then the living room, in turn, has to be cleared out as the work progresses.
Moving your furniture into the next room doesn't really free up space. It just shifts the clutter.
In these situations, temporarily renting a mini-storage unit allows you to actually move your furniture and personal belongings out of the construction area and free up some space at home while the renovations are underway.
To renovate a space, you first need to be able to work in it
Even when you’re renovating just one room, the project tends to quickly spill over into the rest of the house. Tools get moved around, materials have to be relocated, and dust sometimes finds its way much farther than you might have imagined.
Temporarily removing furniture and personal belongings obviously helps protect them better, but it also makes the job easier for the people doing the renovations. An uncluttered room provides more space to move around, work, and transport materials without having to constantly go around or move existing furniture.
According to the plan, a mini-warehouse can accommodate, among other things:
- Furniture for a living room or dining room;
- The contents of the cabinets during a kitchen renovation;
- Books, decorations, and other personal belongings;
- Certain household appliances;
- Outdoor furniture during construction work around the property;
- Items from multiple rooms during a major renovation.
The project may take a few weeks or several months. And as is often the case with renovations, the initial schedule may also change along the way.
A particularly practical solution for condos
When you own a condo, every available square foot is usually already part of your living space. Without a garage, basement, or large yard where you can temporarily move your furniture, clearing out a kitchen or living room often means filling another room with furniture and boxes.
Instead, a mini-storage unit allows you to remove these items from your home entirely while the work is being done. This way, you’ll have more usable space at home, while knowing that your furniture and personal belongings will still be accessible whenever you need them.
What about a storage container for home use?
A mobile storage container can be a practical solution if you have an entrance or enough space to accommodate it for the duration of the construction work. In particular, it allows you to store your belongings right next to your property.
However, this option is not suitable for all situations. The container must be able to be placed somewhere without interfering with construction work, contractors’ movements, or material deliveries. For a condo, a multi-family building, or a property with limited outdoor space, finding such a location may simply not be possible or practical.
In these situations, the mini-warehouse offers an alternative approach: the goods are removed entirely from the construction site and moved to a dedicated indoor space.
Protect your belongings from dust and construction traffic
Dust is a common part of many renovation projects. Even with protective coverings and clearly defined work areas, furniture and personal belongings left nearby may require extra cleaning once the work is complete.
Moving them also helps reduce traffic-related risks on the construction site. A piece of furniture that isn’t in the room can’t get caught when a large board is being carried, moved multiple times to access a wall, or covered with materials and tools as the work progresses.
So the goal isn't just to make room. It's also to keep the items you don't need for a few weeks out of the renovation area.
A space that can adapt as construction progresses
Renovations don't always go exactly as planned. A second room may end up being added to the project, some furniture may need to stay in storage longer, or, conversely, part of the house may become available sooner than expected.
At Mon Sspace, storage units come in a variety of sizes. Depending on availability, this variety allows you to adjust the space to accommodate the volume of belongings you need to move as your project progresses.
Making it easier to get around during renovations
Choosing a mini-storage unit obviously means transporting your belongings to the facility at the start of the project and then bringing them back once the renovations are complete. It is therefore important that these trips be as simple as possible.
At Mon Sspace, the carts, loading dock, elevators, and large parking lot make it easy to move between your vehicle and your storage unit, especially when you need to transport furniture or multiple boxes.
While the work is progressing room by room, you can also come back to pick up certain items as spaces become available again, rather than having to bring everything back all at once.
Leave a little space to live in while the work is being done
A renovation temporarily changes the way we live in our home. For a few weeks, the kitchen may be out of commission, the living room may become a passageway, and we’ll need to adjust some of our daily routines to accommodate the construction work.
In a condo or other home where space is more limited, adding several pieces of furniture and dozens of boxes to the remaining rooms can make this time even more difficult.
Temporarily storing the items you don’t need frees up a little more space so you can continue living normally while the construction work progresses. The workers have the space they need to do their jobs, and you, for your part, can avoid as much as possible having to live amid all the items that had to be moved.
Make room before renovating your space
Temporary storage is obviously not necessary for all renovations. Some projects are small enough that you can simply move a few pieces of furniture to another room.
But when an entire kitchen needs to be cleared out, when several rooms are being renovated at the same time, or when the available space in the home is already limited, temporarily moving some of your belongings out can make the renovation process much easier.
At Mon Sspace, our range of unit sizes, our indoor facility, and our moving equipment allow us to offer a flexible solution to homeowners who want to free up space during their renovations.
Because before you can transform a space, Sometimes you have to start by making a little room for it.
