When (And When NOT) To Use Self Storage’ 

Self storage involves renting space for storing possessions. There are many useful reasons to invest in self storage, however there are also many instances where you shouldn’t rely on self storage. This post lists the times when you should and shouldn’t use self storage. 

When to use self storage…

Moving home

A great time to use self storage is when moving home. If you’ve had to move out of one property and are in temporary accommodation until your new property is ready, self storage could be necessary for helping you to store all your possessions. Many students can benefit from student storage over the summer when moving between accommodations. Long-term storage could be useful if you’re temporarily downsaving to save up for a bigger home. 

Travelling

Thinking of travelling abroad for a year or two? Taking your possessions with you may not be an option, but you may not be able to afford to pay bills for a property back home. Putting all your possessions in self storage could allow you to move out so that you’re not having to pay bills back home while travelling. When you finish travelling, you can then move into a new property and get all your possessions out of storage. 

Storing company equipment

If you run a business, you could use self storage as a place to store company equipment. This could be useful if you don’t have business premises or if your business premises are very small. Some self storage units charge you every time you access them, so you may want to use it purely for equipment that you don’t have to access too regularly. 

Storing seasonal items

Certain personal items may only need to be used at certain times of the year such as Xmas decorations, suitcases or seasonal sports equipment (such as skis and snowboards). Renting self storage could free up space in your home to store these items. 

When not to use self storage…

Relocating clutter

Self storage should not be a means of enabling a hoarding habit. If you’ve got too much stuff in your home and you need to free up space, it’s important that you take the time to declutter by selling, donating or scrapping items you don’t need. There are some cases where you may want to use self storage to relocate clutter so that you can sort through it at a later date (such as storing inherited possessions while still dealing with a loss), however it shouldn’t be an excuse to put off decluttering indefinitely. 

Stashing illegal goods possessions

This is pretty obvious, but you shouldn’t use self storage to store illegal items such as drugs, stolen items or laundered cash. Storage companies typically do not inspect units, but can issue a search warrant if they believe the contents may be illegal. 

Storing perishable goods

Most self storage units are not a good environment for perishable goods. Some units may get very hot, which may cause items to perish faster. Items like foods can also attract pests. Unless it’s a specialist self storage unit such as a refrigerated unit or climate-controlled unit, it’s best to keep these items elsewhere. 

Storing hazardous items

Many self storage services will not allow you to store hazardous items in them such as fireworks, gas canisters and dangerous chemicals. If there is a disaster, you’ll be the one who pays for the damage. There are some specialist self storage service out there for these types of items, but you’ll need to search hard for them as they’re not very common. 

Leave a Comment