Moving Out? Self-Storage is Your Friend

Moving to a new home can be a very stressful endeavor. Sure, sometimes the process of moving goes super smoothly. You find a new place to move into as soon as you start looking, and your previous place is purchased as soon as you put it on the market. All your items are easy to pack up and load, you hire a moving crew, and you get everything moved into the new place quickly and easily. Voila! Everything you own fits perfectly into the new place. You think to yourself, “Why was I worried?”

The other ninety-nine percent of the time, moving is a complete pain in the you-know-what. There’s no telling how quickly you’ll get an offer on your old home, and even less guarantee that you’ll be able to find a good one in your price range. The housing market seems to be ever-changing these days, and downsizing may very well be a factor in your move. It may take you weeks to pack up your belongings, and if you can’t afford to hire movers, getting your friends and family to help you move on their free day may not be easy either. And what do you do with your possessions if you have a month between moving out of one place and moving into the next? Or if you pack up your home to move, then the purchase of your next home falls through and you have to keep looking? All of those boxes have to go somewhere!

When you find yourself in a pinch while moving, consider self-storage as an option. A storage unit will allow you to keep all your possessions safe when you have nowhere else to put them. So, if your sale falls through, never fear! You don’t have to live among the boxes indefinitely. Instead, you can put them in storage while you continue your search.

Here are some pros to using self-storage while moving:

1. The contracts go month-to-month. As we know, moving can be very unpredictable. Finding a buyer can be just as difficult as finding a new place to purchase yourself. Sometimes you may have to move out of your old place before you’ve found a new one. Other times, you may end up stuck in  your old place with mountains of boxes before you can get into the next place. The month-to-month nature of the contracts gives you flexiblity to renew the storage unit as needed while you’re dealing with the unpredictability of moving.
2. You can select your ideal storage unit size. Most storage units have a variety of sizes to choose from. Whether you just need to clear out a few boxes or you need to store all your belongings between homes, you can find the appropriate sized storage unit for your needs. Choosing the smallest possible size will save you money, but having larger options is also nice when necessary.
3. Many facilities offer pest control and climate-controlled options. Both of these options will help protect your belongings from the elements. Pest control will help keep bugs, rats, mice, and other potentially damaging creatures out of your storage unit. Cliamte-control protects against extreme temperatures and humidity, preventing your items from being warped by temperature changes or growing mold and mildew. These features can give you peace of mind that your items are well taken care of while you’re in the moving process.
4. Many facilities have security systems in place. You may be nervous that your items could get stolen while moving. After all, they are conveniently packed up for someone to just take the boxes. But putting your items in a storage facility is likely more secure than you think since most storage facilities have theft and vandal prevention measures in place. This can vary facility to facility, but many common security measures include alarm systems, access control, cameras and monitoring, and security guards on site.
5. You can purchase insurance for your storage unit. If you are still concerned about weather, pests, or theft, you can purchase storage insurance for the possessions in your storage unit while you are moving. Whether you purchase from the facility or from an outside provider, you can find insurance that will give you that extra little bit of comfort knowing that even if something were to happen to your belongings, you will be able to replace or repair them.

Moving Tips for Self-Storage

1. Determine your size needs and budget before renting a unit. When you begin the moving process, take stock of the items you have while you’re packing. Count up your boxes and about how much space they take up, and also consider what can be stacked and what cannot. Never stack anything on top of a fragile box. Also consider any furniture you may have in a unit. Moving can also be expensive, so checking your finances before renting a storage unit is always recommended. Knowing the space needed and the price range you’re willing to meet will help you find the facility that best meets your needs.
2. Research which items are not allowed in your storage unit. There are some items that are prohibited in storage-usually flammable or explosive items, food, weapons, or money. There are certainly more items on this list, so check with any storage facility you’re interested in. Since moving requires you to pack up everything in your home, you may end up packing up some items on this list. If you feel that you’ll need a storage unit, you may want to pack any item on this list separately from everything else when you start preparing for your move.
3. Clean items before packing up. Clean items stand a much better chance of coming out of storage undamaged and clean. If you put dirty items into your storage unit, odds are much higher they will come out with mold, mildew, or pest issues. While the facilities certainly control for these issues as well, it’s important that you take precautions to keep your items in mint condition. Moving is already time-consuming enough, but making sure your items are clean doesn’t take a huge deep cleaning. For most things, a dusting or wipe down is enough and more than worth it.
4. Label and organize your boxes. Organizing your boxes by the items inside and the room they go in can be very helpful when you’re through with moving and it comes time to unpack. It’s also useful to label boxes with fragile items so you can make sure you don’t stack any heavy boxes on top of them in the storage unit. This will also tell anyone helping you with the move to be careful when moving fragile boxes so your breakables don’t get shattered or damaged.
5. Check for the security, insurance, and climate-control measures you want. As previously mentioned, many storage facilities have precautions in place to keep your items as safe, clean, and undamaged as possible while they’re in storage. However, the level of precautions varies from facility to facility, so make sure the one you select has the specific features that you want. Ultimately, it will take some level of research to select a facility that meets your price range and your level of security.

Moving can be exhausting and unpredictable, but self-storage is there to help you manage your move more efficiently. Visit our website today if you’re in the Asheville area and in need of storage solutions for your move.