Though many owners and renters of buildings purchase property that they believe is big enough to house their belongings, we can all benefit from having some extra space at some point. Maybe you are choosing to renovate? Perhaps you have just started a new hobby that involves large vehicles or equipment? Alternatively, you could be moving home and need storage space whilst the sale goes through? Whatever your situation, it is a good idea to look through the options available prior to making a decision. This article analyses those options, but begins by exploring the need for extra storage.
Items for storage
The choice of storage unit you choose will ultimately depend upon the items that need to be stored. This could be furniture (for example if you are moving home or simply replacing large amounts of furniture in your home), documents and books (more relevant to re-location of offices), vehicles (a new car might take up storage space that is unavailable to you – a yacht or boat is likely to need specialist storage), junk, tools or even antiques. In fact, any item that consumes space that you don’t have needs a place for storage and there are a wide range of options available to you; each of which is different to others.
Climate-controlled self-storage units
As their title suggests, these storage units help you to keep your documents, books, antiques and other items that require a consistent temperature to maintain them in the best condition possible. Though they can be expensive to rent, it is often worth spending the cash required to retain the value of the items entering storage.
Vehicle storage units
Another source of storage that ‘does what it says on the tin’ so to speak, vehicle storage units are designed to specifically keep cars, trucks, motorcycles, boats and yachts away from the potentially damaging elements. Alternatively, these storage units can also be rented for cars and vehicles whilst you are on holiday, or away from home for a long period of time. The advantages of using a vehicle storage unit, include the fact that they often contain CCTV or alarms which keeps them free from theft, allowing you to relax and enjoy your holiday!
Nowadays, a lot of new-builds, flats and homes in city centres come with limited parking available. As a result, vehicle storage units can also be used for longer-term parking and storage as an antidote to problems with parking spaces.
If you are lucky enough to own a boat, having a vehicle storage unit by water is often the only option available to you. Living in a city or town more centrally in the UK rarely gives you the option of enjoying life on the water, so a suitable storage unit for your vehicle can be extremely handy. You then have the perfect opportunity to enjoy life on the waves when you pick up your boat!
Personal and business storage units
If you work in an office and are in the process of relocating or renovating, it is handy to have a storage unit that enables you to place furniture and other items into a separate unit whilst the work is being completed. This is often a short-term rental option that is taken up whilst a project is being completed, though it could also work for people who need to store some extra personal items such as antiques or books. Additionally, some entrepreneurs need storage space for products they are selling online, so a storage unit such as this could also come in handy for these purposes. Or, perhaps you own a lot of tools that you need storage space for?
Portable container storage units
Another option for people moving home or renovating, is a portable container storage unit – perhaps a lesser known type for many. The items that need to be kept in storage is collected from your premises, and taken away being placed into storage. One of the benefits of these types of units is that you don’t have to do the storing or travel to pick up the goods; once you need them back, you can ask for them to be re-delivered.
This type of option is particularly useful to people who are constantly moving about and may not have one fixed abode. Less time is spent placing the items in storage – they are there when they are needed.
Temporary on-site storage
If you are renovating, you might need to remove a large amount of items from rooms whilst still needing immediate access to them. This is where temporary on-site storage comes in – you can simply move the items into the on-site storage and simply locate them when they are needed. On-site storage is particularly useful for offices that are being renovated. For example, files that still contain essential, urgent information, can be moved to storage located nearby whilst the office is being worked on and this allows it to be easily accessed.
Wine storage units
Wine is one of the world’s most popular alcoholic drinks, and it can be bought from countries all over the world. As a result, some people love to collect and store different bottles of wine, to bring them out on special occasions (or simply keep them as a collection!) When doing so, wine takes up storage space that can become unmanageable. Alternatively, the conditions within a current cellar or location may not suit the wine being stored.
Certain storage centres have insulated, climate-controlled storage spaces for wine that resolve these problems. Simply store your wine and retrieve it when you are having a dinner party – or simply fancy a bottle of something different!
As we have seen, there are many different types of storage units available for different purposes. Your personal circumstances will dictate the method that you choose. Before you do this, it is often wise to call around and compare different prices being offered as these are also likely to differ from place to place.
