Your personal or home circumstances may have changed during the Covid-19 pandemic. You may find that family members need to return home to live with you as they may be one of the victims of this pandemic who have lost their jobs and be unable to afford their rentals. Or they may be students who need to carry on with their studies online as the universities and colleges remain closed. Self Storage Units Runcorn
Whatever your circumstances are, you may find you need to reorganize your household in order to accommodate extra family members. This may well necessitate creating more space in your home. Using a self-storage unit to store your belongings that need to be cleared out is an option to consider.
This will no doubt entail having to make extra space available in your home by packing away or getting rid of items that are not in frequent use or are only used seasonally, like Christmas decorations or your bulky camping equipment and sporting equipment. If you are unsure about disposing of them permanently if you have no extra storage space available in your home, hiring a self-storage unit could be the perfect solution to your problem.
A self-storage facility such as Stop & Store Runcorn can help you with either short-term or long-term storage and may be the perfect solution to solving your space problems at home.
Here are some important points to consider while you decide on a self-storage rental.
Accessibility
– The facility should be near to your home or at least easily accessible for you to be able to take your belongings and store them with the minimum hassle.
– You will need to access your unit whenever it is necessary, so check that the facility you choose makes this possible for you 24/7. Check whether anyone other than yourself can access your unit, for e.g. do any of the staff have your access details?Customer Service
– Choose a facility that is well maintained and cared for. A clean, well-kept facility indicates a well-managed operation and one that will be careful about your possessions and look after them too.
– See whether the facility allows you to enquire, book, and pay online to make the entire process as easy as possible for you.
– Choose a facility that doesn’t lock you into a long-term lease because your circumstances may change, and you need to reconsider your arrangement. Check whether their prices are competitive and if they offer any specials for long term rentals.
– Check the customer feedback on their website.Security
The facility you choose should have security features such as 24/7 CCTV monitoring and limited access so that you can be assured that your belongings are safe.
Maintenance
Is there a maintenance and cleaning programme in place? Pests can cause major damage to your stored belongings, so you need to safeguard as far as possible against any pests.
If you need a self-storage facility in Runcorn or surrounding areas, Stop & Store Runcorn ticks all of the above boxes. We offer a variety of indoor self-storage units ranging in size from 12 to 200 sq. ft for both short term and long-term rental. To help you choose the correct size of storage unit we have a handy Space Calculator on our website. Sometimes it is difficult to imagine how big 200 sq. ft is, so if you need some assistance with your choice, we are only too happy to oblige.
Once you have decided to place your belongings in storage, here are some tips to help you keep your self-storage unit organised.
- Storage units should have flooring that is moisture-proof, but just to be sure that your items in long-term storage will keep dry, place a piece of tarpaulin on the floor under your boxes. Moisture can cause mould and other damage to your belongings.
- Ensure that your belongings are packed correctly in strong cardboard boxes for long term storage. Recycled boxes are not as strong, and boxes you obtain from the supermarket may contain moths’ eggs or other pests that you do not want breeding in your unit.
- For long-term storage, it is advisable not to use plastic bags to store your items. Not only are they impossible to label, but they fall apart after a few months, which will leave you with a jumbled mess to sort out.
- Take time to pack properly and in a logical fashion. Wrap breakables in bubble wrap and paper and use plenty of tapes to ensure your boxes are strong and don’t fall apart. This effort you put into packing your belongings will help with them not being damaged or broken at this time.
- Label your boxes and keep a detailed inventory of the contents. The more detailed the labels are, the better they will be for you when you need to unpack. Pack your boxes in a logical manner so the contents aren’t a jumble and a mess. Number your boxes and storage boxes from an area of your house, for e.g. your study, together.
- By creating a master list on an excel spreadsheet of all box numbers and what is in the boxes, you will be able to keep track of what is in your unit. If you remove any items, remember to record them. This way you will always have an updated record of what you have in your unit.
- Add shelves along the sides of your storage unit to take advantage of all the space offered. Label each shelf to make your items easier to find.
One of our self-storage units at Stop & Store Runcorn could be the perfect solution to your dilemma of creating more space in your home. Our facility is well maintained and protected by state-of-the-art security. Once you have rented one of our secure storage units you will be able to access it from 8am to 8pm, any day, weekends and holidays included.
Please contact us on 01928 246400 for more information. We look forward to hearing from you.