Fort Collins, CO: Top Things to Know About Storage

What You Need to Know

With its outdoorsy vibes and laid back attitude, Fort Collins is not only a great place to live, it’s a great place to store your stuff too. The small city is home to 161,000 people who occupy about 66,494 homes. There are 43 storage facilities in town, which adds up to about 24,000 individual units. If you assume that the people occupying those 66,494 housing units will likely be sharing spaces, that allows for a reasonable amount of space for everyone. Given that the median income in Fort Collins is a pretty impressive $53,780, it’s safe to assume that the city’s residents have a healthy disposable income which means they can afford more stuff. And more stuff means more storage. While you shouldn’t have too much trouble finding a storage unit in Fort Collins, you can expect to see less availability during what we like to refer to as “storage crunch times,” or in other words, the times of year during which more people are likely to need storage. In Fort Collins, this usually happens during the late spring, when students from Colorado State University are looking for a place to keep their belongings for the duration of summer vacation.

Fortunately, since Fort Collins is basically just a really big town, it’s much easier to get around than its larger neighbor, Denver. This means that you can feel free to expand your search radius when looking for storage to include all 43 of those facilities as they’re all easily accessible thanks to Fort Collins’s lack of crazy-stressful busy highways. It’s an easy place to drive around, an easy place to live, and if you pick your facility right, as easy place to store.

College Storage

For a more in depth look on how to utilize college storage as a student, check out our article below on the subject. But if you don’t have the time or the desire to spend your whole day reading about storage (We think you’re crazy.), here’s what you need to know. Colorado State University is home to 32,236 students. However, typically 70% of each freshman class comes from Colorado (Hooray for in-state tuition!), so even if the 30% of out of state students all need storage, that only amounts to approximately 9,670 people. Still, full time Fort Collins residents need storage too, so if you’re if you’re a student looking for summer storage, don’t hold off until the last minute. Most facilities won’t let you reserve your spot super early, but it still pays to start looking at least a month before you need the space. Ask about student specials (like one month of free rent, free truck rental, free moving supplies) and don’t forget to bring your Colorado State University ID just in case you’re able to get a student discount.

Front Range Weather

The Colorado stereotype of snow-capped peaks and frosty mountain air isn’t always true. Sure, if you live in Fort Collins, you’re probably pretty familiar with that white stuff that falls from the sky, but you’re also familiar with 300 days of sunshine a year (!) and summer days that can easily top out at over 90 degrees. The Front Range is known for its semi-arid climate, so while it’s not exactly as dry as the Arizona desert, it’s certainly not giving Seattle a run for its money anytime soon either. Whenever we talk about weather and how it affects storage, we like to address humidity first. Why? It’s the one climate element that can do more damage to your items in storage than anything else. Moisture in the air can rust metal objects, warp wooden antiques and turn art and photos into gloppy messes. Fortunately, Fort Collins isn’t humid. However, it’s still worthwhile to consider the season and the accompanying weather whenever you’re putting anything in storage. Overall, the mild climate in Fort Collins negates the need for climate control. However, you should still consider it if you’re storing something like a bicycle, musical instrument, artwork or anything that’s important enough that it’s not worth taking chances on.

If you’re going to be using storage over the summer, the largest potential hazard to your stuff will be Fort Collins’s frequent after thunderstorms. These happen almost daily and while they don’t last long, they’re still pretty intense. If you’re renting an outdoor unit, all of that fast and heavy rainfall can potentially pool on the ground and seep into your unit. Fight back against water damage by storing items in non-absorbent containers that offer protection and place them on pallets that way they’re raised up from the floor of your storage unit. If you’re storing in the winter, expect those 59 inches of snowfall to potentially impede access to your storage unit. Don’t force yourself to drive on icy roads only to have to load and unload boxes at a snowy facility. Opt for an indoor unit if you’re storing during this time (especially one with a heated loading area) and be sure to ask your facility manager what methods are in place for snow removal and whether or not extreme weather conditions will affect the hours of operation. And to ease all of your other weather related concerns, consider self-storage insurance. Just make sure you read your policy carefully so that you know exactly what it covers.