When you enlist in the military, you know you’re not exactly signing up for the most stable lifestyle. Chances are you’ll be moved from one base to another, and will often be deployed internationally for different missions. On average, active military personnel must move every two years. When you have to move frequently, it’s important to know how to pack light, and remember the important role a storage unit could play in simplifying your life. So where exactly does storage come in? Let’s take a quick look.
Why not Keep Your Things with You?
If you’re a military member stationed in Michigan, chances are you’re at the
Selfridge ANGB Air Force Base. Given that the base is 640 acres, you would think that you’d have enough room to store your things. But with 1,000 full-time personnel and 2,000 family members living on the base, and only 633 family housing units and 160 unaccompanied personnel spaces to accommodate them, you know you’ll need more room to store your stuff. A lot of times, sizes of the housing units on different bases don’t match up. You may be in one place where you can easily keep all of your furniture and personal things at home, whereas in another, you may not even have room for your couch. It’s always best to scout out nearby storage facilities so if you have to make that sudden move, you know exactly where to go. There are 16 storage facilities in Detroit and the surrounding area.
Mt. Clemens Mini Storage is particularly close to the base; it’s only six miles away! Storage facilities like Mt. Clemens can help you decide what to store, how to most efficiently store your things, and where to store them. Most facilities offer
climate controlled units for those who need it for long-term use, as well as indoor and outdoor storage units. At Mt. Clemens, you can also find units of various
sizes.
Up in Arms
Detroit is awesome, but it does have a tragic flaw—its high crime rate. Detroit’s average annual property crimes amount to about 33,000 per year, making it safer than only 2% of the cities in the U.S. Military members can obviously defend themselves, but they can’t always keep an eye on their property and belongings, especially if they’re deployed. Luckily, storage facilities take a high degree of security measures and provide surveillance. The average storage facility is gated, has security cameras with 24-hour surveillance, and provides passcode-protected security systems to ensure that your belongings are guarded. So how do you know if that’s enough security? There’s a lot of information on what kind of
security considerations you should have when picking a storage facility. Do some research on the facility you’re planning to use. A few minutes of your time is a small price to pay to protect your things.
Being Shipped Off to War?
When you’re about to go to battle, you don’t want to be worried about breaching a leasing contract or trying to make payments on time. Thankfully, the storage industry understands your circumstances. Not only do they generally have special rates for active military personnel, they also have flexible lease options. Generally when a tenant defaults on payments for his/her storage unit, the facility manager has the right to auction off the contents of the unit. This is not the case for active military members, especially if they have been deployed. Your items will remain just as you had left them and you can make up the payments as soon as you get back. They can’t punish you for serving the country, right?
Another thing to keep in mind when leaving for an unpredictable amount of time is storing your car. It’s common for storage facilities to have outdoor and indoor storage for vehicles, but given the high likelihood of snowstorms in Michigan, we would suggest storing your car in an indoor storage unit to avoid long-term damage. You don’t want to come back from a long mission only to see your car buried in snow.
