Moving house is said to be the third most stressful major life event, with the first and second being childbirth and divorce, respectively. You can expect the stress and hassle to increase substantially when you’re moving further away, or even to another country.
Many people nowadays choose to rent accommodation while they’re between houses, which frequently leaves them with nowhere near enough room for all the possessions they previously had in their home. Self storage offers up the ideal stress-free solution to the problem, allowing you to stop worrying about the safety and condition of your bulkier possessions while you’re dealing with all the other nitty-gritty aspects of moving.
Here’s some key reasons why, if you’re moving, you should be making use of self storage.
Obviously, moving is never easy. Endless packing, preparation, research and hassle. You’re forever contacting people and checking that things are going smoothly. Self storage can take away from that stress by offering an easy, functional and reassuring solution to one of the key problems, what to do with all the stuff you don’t have room to store. Finding a reputable and nearby self storage facility can be very reassuring for a variety of reasons. Plenty of these facilities feature cutting-edge security features ranging from computerised access to monitored security cameras, individually alarmed units and extensive security lighting. As well as this, many self storage facilities offer guarantees and insurance on your stored items.
There are plenty of self storage facilities dotted around the country, meaning you’ll always be able to find one at the appropriate distance to wherever you’re staying. Depending on what you’re storing, having the storage facility nearby may or may not be important. If you’re going to be making regular trips to pick things up and drop them off, then you’re going to want somewhere nearby, otherwise, you can get somewhere cheaper, further away. Facilities that are further away from cities and built up areas always tend to be cheaper, due to reduced overheads on the business, meaning you get a better deal. However, if you’re going to be dropping in twice a week, don’t rent a unit an hour away. It’s not worth the fuel you’ll waste doing the trip regularly!
Compared to the other, very limited, storage options, renting a self storage unit is definitely the cheapest and safest. Not to mention far more reliable and dependable. Renting a unit is always going to be a lot cheaper than upgrading wherever you’re staying to having a spare storage room. Moving is expensive enough already without adding unnecessary costs on top. Do your research properly on the facilities however, with plenty of comparison between quotes, features and offers, to guarantee you the best value deal on your storage unit.
You have to work out exactly how much space you need to store your specific belongings. You can do this by purchasing thick, double-wall, stackable, collapsible cardboard boxes, and work out how many you will be filling, and from that the required space. Get the most of space within storage units by stacking right up to the ceiling, with heavier and sturdier boxes and furniture on the bottom and lighter and more fragile pieces on top. Metal items, like bicycles and garden tools should be lightly oiled prior to long term storage to prevent rusting and corrosion, and you need to make sure fridges and freezers are completely defrosted and dry, as you don’t want unnecessary moisture causing mould and damage in your unit.
Making solid, well-researched use of self storage facilities can really streamline the moving process for you, and really, when you’re in that jungle of bookings, arrangements and hassle, streamlining is what everyone needs. As long as you make sure you thoroughly research, compare and check out all your storage options, you’ll save plenty of money for more important things once you’re settled in your new home.