Self storage is the ideal choice to ensure you are storing your belongings in a safe, secure way. No matter what reason you might need a self storage unit, there will be one that will be perfect for you. Perhaps you’re moving home, and you need to store some items during the move. Maybe you’re renovating, and you want to keep your furniture and other precious belongings safe. You might be going traveling, and you’ve decided to end your lease or sublet your home, and you don’t want anyone else touching or using your things. Self storage can help you in all of these situations and many more.
However, simply going to your nearest self storage facility and picking the first unit you see is not a good idea. Much like anything in life, the more research you can do first, the better the outcome will be. With that in mind, here are 5 self storage tips to help you make the right choice.
Always Plan Ahead
The first thing you’ll need to do when you are considering secure storage of any kind is to plan ahead and to do it as far in advance as possible. Start with determining what it is you want to store because this will help you understand what size self storage unit you need. While doing this, you can also plan how to store the items. This is more important than you might think, and it will depend on what you want the unit for. If it’s for short term storage, you probably won’t need to access anything in the unit, so you can opt for a smaller one without so much space to move around as it won’t be necessary. If it’s much longer term storage, a slightly larger unit is a better idea, plus you’ll need to consider racking and shelving, and you’ll also want to ensure that little-used items are further back than those things you’ll need more often.
There are other questions to ask, too; do you need climate controlled storage, for example? A climate controlled unit can be useful if you’re storing delicate fabrics and other materials that could be sensitive to changes in temperature. If you’re unsure, you can always ask the experts at Storage Area for advice, as we will know how to help you.
Add Shelving
We’ve briefly mentioned how shelving might be useful above, but we can now go into it in more detail. When you need extra space, shelving could be the perfect solution, and it will save you money as you can rent a smaller storage unit.
When you use shelving in your storage unit, you’ll instantly be able to see everything you have in there much more clearly, allowing you to safely find and access anything you might need. Also, if you are storing more delicate, fragile items, you can place them on a high shelf so they won’t get knocked or damaged when you are moving other things around.
As an extra tip, if you have items such as a closet or chests of drawers in your storage unit, you can use these to house delicate items too.
Use Protection When Packing
You’ll want to protect your belongings as much as you can; that’s one of the reasons you’ll have searched for a good, highly recommended self storage near me. However, accidents can still happen, especially when you’re not used to storing items and perhaps haven’t stacked them quite right.
In order to prevent any breakages, you’ll need to protect your items even if they are in storage. Treat them how you would any item that needs to be moved, even if they are just staying still in one room. That means packing fragile things in bubble wrap and paper and using soft packing materials in the boxes themselves. If you want to be more eco-friendly, you can use old newspapers and magazines. As long as you use something, the choice is yours.
Remember to never store any organic materials that can perish. It’s likely that your storage unit will have a clause preventing this anyway, but it’s a crucial point to remember. If you’re unable to get to your unit for any reason or if you haven’t thought things through, you might find that these goods spoil, and that could contaminate everything else. At the very least, it will make the unit an unpleasant place to be.
Always Have A Strong Lock
In the majority of self storage facilities, you’ll need to purchase a padlock to keep your unit secure. This will depend somewhat on the type of lock on the door already, assuming there is one, but if you do need to buy a padlock, make sure you get a strong one for the ultimate peace of mind.
It can be tempting to try to save money, no matter what financial situation you might find yourself in, but saving money could be highly detrimental when it comes to a good storage unit and a good lock. In order to keep your belongings secure and to feel happy to leave them in place, the better the lock, the more comfortable you will be, and the safer your possessions will be.
Even when storage facilities have all the most up-to-date technology, guards, and other security in place, leaving your unit unlocked or with a weak, easily broken lock is never a sensible option.
Do Your Research When It Comes To The Storage Facility
There are good storage companies and poor ones. If you want to ensure your belongings are kept somewhere safe and secure, you’ll need to know which kind of storage facility you have chosen. It’s crucial that you do plenty of research before making a final decision, as if you find you have made a mistake after you have already paid and moved your things, it could be expensive, not to mention time-consuming, to change to a different facility.
You need to look out for what type of security the facility has, the prices, any recommendations or testimonials, reviews, the condition of the facility and the units, and the location. If you’re happy with all these things, that’s excellent. If anything seems wrong and you’re not comfortable storing your things there, it’s time to look elsewhere.