When looking for storage, people often forget that many facilities carry moving and storage supplies.  This can be a huge time saver if you are setting things up at the last minute.  Many people think storage is just that, storage.  This is the common misconception about self storage. It is sure that in the early days of self storage, maybe the facilities did not have everything you needed in the office. The companies were most likely solely looking for storage and that is it.

 
However, most companies now offer a wide variety of boxes, packing supplies, and furniture covers.  Usually, the prices of these items cost less than at a retail store.  This gives self storage an extra layer of convenience.  Not only can you store your things, but everything you might need is right on site whenever you have to have it.  How could it get any better than that?

 
The answer to that question is you cannot. For the average self storage customer who is in a rush to get every thing done on their moving day, they can get everything they need from one place. They do not want to move into a storage unit and then have to leave to go get a lock, box, or any other storage supply they need. They can turn around in the office and grab the lock they need off the wall. Most self storage facilities now are considered to be your one stop shop for storage.

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Self storage does not have to be a difficult or stressful situation. In fact self storage can be an easy solution if you allow it to be. Every now and then a manager at a self storage location will encourage a current tenant who does not fully agree with what the manager told him or what is on their lease. This is one of the reasons that self storage facilities will tell you to sign a lease in order to go back and reference it if need be. In most cases, the manager will be able to diffuse the situation.

 
People can often get worked up over small things.  Tenants sometimes call into their self storage facility in order to get a second storage unit, only to find that the rate of said unit was twice the price they are currently paying. They will immediately began ranting and raving and threaten to go to a different facility or even file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau. Most good managers will allow the customer to let out their steam and then let them calm down. Then the manager will politely explain to them that the price quoted was the current rate for new tenants.  As a current tenant, sometimes the manger can sometimes offer a multiple unit discount, which cuts the cost for multiple spaces owned by the same tenant.

 
The attitude of the customer would then change as they realize, they may have over acted. This happens very often in these kinds of situations. Without really knowing the whole story a customer can get extremely upset and sometimes it will be too late in order to reconcile. Always make sure you understand the full situation before going off the handle, even when in need of self storage.

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When it comes time to move, everyone seems to have a different idea on how to store their items. When you think about it, you will be packing your belongings twice. One time you will be packing it for the transportation process and then again inside your storage unit. So you should ensure that you are packing your belongings, especially your bedroom furniture correctly. Here are a few things to look out for when storing bedroom furniture.

 
Try to break down the bed in order to save space. You are not trying to set up your storage unit like you would your bedroom. If you can break down the bed and put it up against the wall you will be good to go. If you are not able to break it down to the point where it is all in separate pieces, position the bed to where you can place things on top of it and underneath it. It would be the best idea for you to put the bed in the corner so you are not taking up as much floor space. Not being able to break down your bed could lead to needing to get a bigger size. That bigger size is going to cost you more money.

Label all boxes so your clothes go straight to the bedroom if moving, or can be accessed easily if storing. With doing that, you can easily find what you are looking for when storing. Not everyone will be able to put up everything from their move quickly. Some people take weeks or months to get everything completely unpacked from their moved. Labeling boxes makes two processes a lot easier. One process is where the box will go after leaving the rental truck and the second is letting the movers know if they can stack things on it during the move. A difficult part of packing and moving knows if a box can handle the weight of another box on top of it. With labeling the box, you now know.

Remove all drawers from dressers and nightstands. This will make the furniture that you are lifting a lot easier to lift. If you are moving everything yourself, this will take significant strain of you. If you are having your move professionally done, then you can ask the movers whether or not they want the dressers and such out. Some movers will want them out while others feel moving it all together will decrease the amount of trips. So depending on who is the one moving the furniture, maybe the drawers will not need to come out. When they go into the moving truck, the drawers will go back into dresser anyway to save space.

Remove the furniture last, but store first. This is one of the best ideas because when you put the big pieces where they will go in the house, you can put little things on them. It is very hard to do the reverse of that. A lot of times the little things will get in the way and you will not be able to put the furniture where you want to. For many that is very counterproductive. There are people that will say they like to load the big furniture first for their own reasons. It will always come down to the person doing the moving.

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Most people do not think about their pets often when moving.  However, just like with everyone else, pets have to make changes too.  Most pets can accommodate very well if given a little time to adjust.  It has been found that if you think about what to do with your pet first, the move goes easier.  Many people typically think about what they have to move and how they will get it to their storage space. If they love their pet as much as they say, then they have to figure out how to make them comfortable in their new space.

When people add a pet to their family, some would say they are adding another member of the family while others would say they are just adding a good friend. Pets comfort their owners and others protect. It would depend on the home and the person on how their pet will affect their household. Moving can be a difficult time for your pet. They are used to their surroundings and the smell of where they live.

When moving, not everything will go into their new home. Some things will go into storage. Many people store their pets until they can get everything moved into their new home. When everything is moved, they will then bring their pets into their new home and let them get acquainted. If everything goes according to plan, their pet will act like nothing has changed and all will be well.

Don’t move with your pet running around. Get everything moved and then bring them to your home. No matter how good your pets are, they can get in the way. When moving day is here, it is not a place for pets. See if a friend or your local shelter can hold them for a while until moved. Even though they can not tell you, they will appreciate you thinking about them during your move.

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The moving truck is one of the necessities of moving. Without it, it would be a lot less convenient to move. You would need to make more trips or get rid of some things that you now hold dear. When you are looking to store, you should really consider getting a moving truck.

 
The fee would be pretty low if you are looking to do just a local move. There are many that believe that a moving truck is very expensive, but there are many companies out there that don’t hold true to that stereotype. Companies that just offer moving trucks could rent it out to you as low as free if you find the right deal and company. Now the actual truck might be free or low cost to rent, but most of the time you will have to pay for gas and insurance. Even with those cost, renting a truck is still more convenient and could cost less than driving your car multiple trips.

 
When you are looking to get a self storage unit as well, you might luck out to find a facility that will rent you the moving truck for free. You can not beat that deal. You need a self storage unit so it makes sense to need a moving truck as well. It is good for a facility to be able to offer both. When shopping around for moving trucks, do not forget to call around to local self storage facilities, they could be of assistance as well.

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Some self storage sites will hold units kind of like a hotel reservation. It is free to hold so there is no reason not to hold the space. You will still have time to visit the site so that you are able to make sure that everything meets your standards when storing. You should be able to hold a couple of different sizes if you are unsure of what size you will need. Even if you need a different size, you can still switch when you get to the site. If it was this easy why don’t more people do it?

There is a simple answer to that. When it comes to reserving a space, many people like the idea of it not costing them any money, but many hotels hold the funds in your account until you come in. Well not a lot of people think that is a good practice. For that reason they shy away from reserving the space. Also people do not want to use their credit card in order to hold the space. They want to pay in cash and not use any form of credit to hold the space.

If the space really is free to hold, then make sure that the customer knows that. Saying that holding a self storage unit is just like renting a hotel space is not really the truth. Make sure as a facility manager, you are explaining that correctly or people might shy away from reserving a space. So with that said, why not reserve a self storage space today? It’s free.

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No matter what time to the year it is, the seasons can be very hard on your belongings that are in storage. Depending on where you are you can go through some serious temperature changes. It would be in your best interest to look into a storage facility that has climate controlled units. No matter what the weather is doing outside, your belongings will be safe inside.

 
When you are storing in the winter it is important to get a space that is climate controlled so that your belongings are kept nice. Also, it is nice that it is not freezing when you go to get things from your storage unit. If you are unsure of whether or not you should get the space, you should see if the manager can make a recommendation of what you should do.

 
The summer can get hot and a climate controlled space will be cooled. When the weather is to hot for words outside, you will know your belongings will be hanging out in the cool temperatures. Even if you are not able to escape the heat rays of the sun, know that your belongings will as long as they are in a climate controlled unit.

 
The temperature inside a climate controlled space is typically set at a constant temperature set by the property. This will prevent anyone who believes their belongings need to be at colder temperature than any other space. If you feel you can leave your belongings in your garage and feel comfortable, then you do not need a climate controlled space. If you do not feel good about putting your things in a space that fluctuates in temperature, you should invest in a climate controlled space.

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There always seem to be a holiday that someone is celebrating. They are putting up decorations or taking their loved ones out to dinner to commemorate the event. Some people go overboard with the celebration and people laugh or poke fun. This is a joyous time for that individual so they do not care what someone is saying about them. Let them celebrate the way they want. Now the question is what to do with all those decorations when they are not being used?

 
While many use their garage or a spare room to store their out of season decorations, many decide it is best if they use a small self storage space. Depending on the quantity of decorations, they might need a mid size or a large storage unit. It is good to have something offsite so you do not have to worry about them getting in your way or cluttering up your home. Some people do not organize their decorations correctly and just place them to and fro.

 
When people store their decorations, they are not usually thinking about making sure to put every back into the box neatly.  Usually, people just want to get everything torn down, and be done with it.  However, it is important to stay organized, even if you don’t want to.  By wrapping the lights up when you take them down, you save yourself future time by not having to untangle all of them.  Also, if you package your ornaments properly, they are not broken when you pull things out the next year.  Simply planning can save you money on future decorations as well. That would be great.

 
No matter what holiday you are celebrating, self storage is available to help you stay organized. Your storage unit can be your holiday revolving door of what you will put in and take out of storage monthly. Now you have somewhere to put your holiday decorations instead of just leaving them up all year.

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When you think of storage properties you probably think that storage is their only service. There will be many times when a customer feels that they need to go some where else in order to get the rest of their things needed for self storage. This is not the case. While many just have storage, other facilities have all the moving and storage supplies that you need for storage. Some sites also have a big investment in the moving truck industry. So before you make any decision on which self storage facility you would like to rent from, see if they have all that you need in order to store.

 
As a whole a customer does not want to bother with going to many different places in order to get all their storage needs taken care of. They would rather go to one place to get everything taken care of. Typically when you are looking to store your belongings in a self storage facility, you will need a method to get your belongings to the facility, a lock on the door of your storage unit, and of course an array of boxes. A customer would be very happy if a facility said that they could provide all of those things for them.

 
In order to attract many new self storage customers, they will offer a moving truck for free if you are also getting a storage unit. Depending on the facility and the owner there could be one truck or a number of trucks that are available for the customer to use. The manager of the facility will explain to the customer the different restrictions on the truck so that the customer fully understands the costs.  The manager does not want any issues when it comes to the truck usage so they will have the customer sign a document that states they fully understand.

 
When a facility is able to give the customer everything that they need they seem to want to rent from that facility. When a storage facility is able to be a one stop shop for a customer to rent from, they are ensured to be a success in the self storage industry.

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Not all self storage sites were created equal. It is true that the different sites offer various features and benefits than other sites. When you are shopping around looking for the best facility to fit your needs, it is important to know how the facilities will do their billing. With this knowledge, you can truly understand how you are paying and also how much you are paying.

If you move in during the middle of the month, most sites will prorate your move in so that you are going to pay for the remaining days of the month. This is good because you are paying for the time that you are there and not the entire month. It does not really make sense to pay for the time that you are not storing. Prorating your move in days is very helpful to your peace of mind and also your pocket book.

If a site has 1^st of the month billing, they actually will not typically prorate the move out. If you are only there a couple of days, then that could potentially be different. Very rarely you will find that a facility will prorate the move out and you only pay for the time that you are renting. In most cases the facility will ask that you pay for the rest of the month even if you are not there. Not all believe that to be fair, but at the same time, this prevents customers from abusing the self storage facility. Leases are typically month to month so you can leave at the end of your prorated time.

Knowing how your billing works at your self storage facility is crucial. They will not send you a bill unless you ask for one. So just know that you will need to bring your account current each month on the first of the month if that is now it is set up. Before you leave, the manager will make sure that you understand the billing cycle.

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