Top 5 Summer Self Storage Tips
June 20th marked the first day of summer. If rising temperatures mean going on vacation or just going home after a semester of college, it’s time to talk self storage. Renting a storage unit for the summer is a great way to declutter your home before you host all of those backyard parties or stowaway your stuff near campus. However, as with any season, using self storage during the summer months requires a few precautions.
If you’d like the peace of mind that comes with locking up your stuff in a storage unit from June through September without having to worry about what it’ll look like when you take it out again, read on for our five essential summer self storage tips.
1. Protect Your Stuff From the Heat
This one’s a no-brainer. Obviously, your first priority when renting a storage unit over the summer is to make sure your belongings aren’t damaged by the heat. In some climates, that means heat and serious humidity. In others, it means heat and dryness. Either one can be detrimental to your stuff, but heat and humidity is arguably more damaging. This is why you might want a storage unit with climate control. A climate controlled storage unit keeps temperature and humidity levels in a safe range so that your stuff can stay cool all summer long.
Consider climate control if you’re storing in a hot and humid area and are storing items like musical instruments, artwork, antiques, photographs or your bicycle. If you’re storing in a hot and dry climate, you may want climate control if you’re storing leather furniture, which has a tendency to dry out and potentially crack in hot, dry enclosed areas.
2. Protect Yourself From the Heat
A storage unit with drive-up access may seem like the most convenient thing in the world until you’re unloading heavy furniture outside on a 100 degree day. If you’re going to be making frequent trips to your storage unit over the summer, consider indoor storage or strategize when you visit your storage unit. Most facilities are open slightly longer than standard office business hours, so for the trips to your storage unit that involve lots of time outside, arrive as early in the morning or late in the day as you can.
Always stay hydrated, take breaks when lifting items and never enter an outdoor storage unit alone and close the door behind you. In other words, practice common sense. If the day you’re planning on going to your storage unit falls in the midst of a heat wave, postpone.
3. Unload Seasonal Items
A summer storage unit is the perfect place for all of your college textbooks, or the junk you cleared out of your home during a late spring cleaning session. But don’t forget that it’s also the perfect place to store your seasonal items.
Before filling your storage unit, go around your house and pull out Christmas decorations, ski gear and all other holiday or winter items that you definitely won’t need during the warmer months. This includes winter jackets, hats, mittens, skis, snowboards, sleds and all things used to trim the Christmas tree.
4. Plan for Vacation
If you’re going to be going on vacation or studying abroad, don’t let bills get in the way of having fun while traveling. Your lease on your storage unit will dictate when your rent is due (it’s usually the first of the month) and how much you’ll owe at that time. When you’re filling out that lease for the summer, talk to your storage facility’s friendly employees about options for payment. You may be able to pay online, pay several months in advance or set up automatic payments. Figure it out before you’re in vacation mode, and leave your financial worries behind when you get on that flight.
5. Reserve Early
Summer is a busy time for the self storage industry. This is especially true if you’re storing near a college campus. Many storage facilities reach full capacity or get pretty close to being totally occupied.
Reserving early will allow you to get the storage unit you want with the features you want at the facility you want. Don’t leave renting until the last minute. If you make your self storage plans as soon as you realize that you need a storage unit, you’ll get exactly what you want. And with online reservations, you can rent a storage unit in just a few clicks, that way you can get packing, get storing and get on with your summer vacation.
