People tend to underestimate the importance of storage. Just knowing you have a place to put Christmas/festival gifts, that table or couch, or necessary work tools, is a big stress reliever. A storage unit doesn’t have to be as massive as Stadium Merdeka, or even expensive to make a huge difference. If you move from a larger home to a smaller one, it can take some time to be able to realistically gauge how to maximise your new place’s area. A self-storage unit can help you enormously.
Take it steady
There are bound to be surprises when you move from one land and culture to another. You may find you hate the furnishings in your furnished apartment. A self-storage unit will give you somewhere safe to store your landlord’s old stuff. If you find that you have no space for some things, a storage unit will come in handy till you can plan what to do next. Or it may be that your familiar items just don’t seem to fit (physically or by appearance) in your new abode – the same solution applies!
During your posting abroad, storage units can also be a place to keep special items you’ve acquired. If your new land has a couple of rainy seasons and a drier one, storage units can hold unseasonal items till you need them again, without their tripping everybody up in between. With so much to acclimatise to, you want your new home to feel spacious, even if it happens to be a little smaller.
Essential: Secure, 24-hour access
Having 24-hour access to your stuff can open up your options massively when it comes to scheduling your trips. You do also have to plan for your travel time, though. Quick, easy access allows you to use self-storage like an extra room or large cupboard. Having that extra room for temporary or permanent storage can really make life easier.
The best facilities boast security features like 24-hour cameras, motion-sensitive lighting and strong fences. To deter thieves, customers have to punch in codes or have keys to clear both the front gates and their individual units.
Size matters
With the right approach, you can cram a considerable amount of stuff into a smallish space, but you’re not going to get four rooms of furniture into a space intended for one. You shouldn’t pay extra for space you aren’t using, either. You can save yourself headaches and money by choosing the right size storage unit.
The staff at any storage unit will be more than happy to have you visit the facility so they can help you decide what size and type of unit is best for you. It’s best to have a good idea of the total number of boxes you’ll have, before you go. Listing your items will help, plus the rough size of the larger items, as you can bring this with you when you visit.
If you know that the volume of your storage items will go up and down a lot as you add things and bring others home, plan to rent a unit with a capacity matching the absolute maximum you might conceivably store. This will reduce the amount of time you need to spend moving everything from one unit to another regularly. You might want to think about renting two or three smaller units as your needs make themselves known.
If your storage volume is going to remain predictably stable, a knowledgeable storage expert at the facility will be able to size up the volume of your stuff and recommend a good fit. You might even be able to do this on the phone.
In the second article in this mini-series, we’ll talk you through organising a plan for your storage unit, plus space management.