Storage Tips

Depending on the time of year, it may be tricky to find available self storage space right away, especially if you live in a small to medium-sized college town.  It may even be nearly impossible if you try to search within the last month of the semester unless you are willing to travel a few extra miles from campus.  However, if you are looking just to free up some space during the year and you do not want to ship your “valuables” across the country to mom and dad’s basement, then renting a small storage unit may be worth the cost.  There are just a few things you may want to ask a company before renting a unit:

• What are the security features?

• Is there a sign-up, administration or deposit fee?

• Do you need to provide your own lock?

• What are the unit access hours?

• What happens to your stuff if you forget to pay or your automatic credit card payment doesn’t go through?

• Are there late payment fees?

• What can you store there?

• Are there any student discounts?

Some places offer outdoor storage, which works great for your car if you have to leave it over spring or summer break. Others offer special features like air conditioning or climate control that protect your goods from extreme temperatures.   

Here are a few tips to help make things easy to find in your self storage unit:

• Label boxes.

• Place least likely to be used items in back.

• Place breakables on top.

• Leave space between rows of boxes, so you can walk between them.