Storage space is very important to any household. We all have a lot of items that we keep just for the sake of keeping them. It is a given fact that most houses, if not all, have items that we do not really need inside the house. However, we still keep them either for sentimentality’s sake or because we foresee a great use for them in the future.
Some of these items that fall under these categories are baby equipment, art supplies, and personal mementoes. You can rest assured that your items will be safely stored ready for when you want to get them. You can finally declutter your house while not throwing away your items. Many are afraid to declutter because they don’t want to lose items. With a storage facility, there is no need for that fear.
However, while storage facilities save you a lot of money, it is still an expense. This may seem problematic for people who have tight budgets. If you’re getting a storage facility or thinking of getting one, here are 8 smart tips on how to save on a self-storage facility.
Store Only What You Need
One common mistake that happens with storage facilities is that it becomes an overpriced garbage can. Because of the extra storage space, tenants just store almost everything from their house into storage units without discernment of whether they should actually store it or throw them away.
Before you store your items into a storage facility, you should check each item and ask yourself whether you want to see them again or not. Don’t just stuff your units with worthless trinkets that you don’t want anyway. It may worth hiring a skip to get rid of rubbish and larger items you don’t want need to store. When you sort out your items, it is a guarantee that you would need a smaller storage unit which would cost a lot less.
Ask for Discounts
One trick of the trade in the self-storage industry is that the longer you stay, the more discounts you can ask for. Often, companies give out 10-25 percent discounts off the regular price or if you’re staying for more than just a few months, companies would be more than happy to take off a few months off the bill for free. You just need to ask the storage industry manager for some discount or another.
Check Out Your Options
Don’t be too impatient with renting a storage facility. Take the time to compare the available storage facilities in the market. There are a lot of factors affecting storage facilities. Try to play with the variables such as size, location, and amenities available. WhatStorage has an advanced search filter tool that you can use to sort out storage facilities by size, location and amenities. This means that you can choose the best storage facility that would fit you price-wise.
Pack Your Items Properly
Another mistake that people make when renting a self-storage facility is to just store their items in without packing or storing them properly. This means that their use of space is inefficient and thus consumes more than they should. Be economical when you prepare your items for your storage units. You would want to put your stuff in boxes so they save more space. If you are storing furniture, disassembling them would be great for its safety.
Do It While Moving
Hit two birds with one stone by using the truck you’ll be using for your move to a new place to also move your items into storage facilities. Most Man and Van companies are partnered with Storage Companies which could lead to more discounts for you. It doesn’t hurt to ask. If you’re going to be moving, try to do both at one time. Often times when people move, they don’t
Sharing
Have you ever heard the adage ‘Sharing is Caring’? When you get a big unit that will fit for you and two of your friends, it would be much cheaper than all of you three getting a small storage facility separately. If you trust your friends then you can talk to them and convince them to go halfsies on a bigger storage unit. This also drives down the costs of the moving truck as you can divide them too.
Once in the storage unit, you can create boundaries to make sure that your items do not get confused with each other.