You can use self-storage for a variety of purposes. You can store appliances, seasonal tools, excess clothing, and hobby-related items. You can also use self-storage to house your valuables in a safe environment outside your home. If you are planning on putting expensive silverware, collectible items, name-brand clothing, or even jewelry in storage, make sure you do the following things to ensure they remain safe while in storage away from your home.
Choose the right facility
A self storage unit should be one that is not easy to access. You don't want an outdoor-facing storage unit that anyone could drive up to and vandalize. Choose a facility that has indoor storage units to help lessen the chances of theft from opportunity seekers. An indoor storage unit should have 24-hour security around it, whether it has security cameras visible from multiple angles in the hallway or a person on staff at the main office at all times.
Some storage unit facilities require that you have a cylinder lock on your unit. For this, you may pay a one-time fee for the convenience of having this ultra-secure lock.
Change your lock often
When placing valuables in self storage, you want to do what you can to increase the security of your unit. One way to do this is to change your lock every month. While this may seem like a large investment on top of your storage unit fees, you have the security of knowing that you are the only person who has access to the keys. If you misplace a key, you can worry less because your locks are changed often enough that even if someone were to find it, they wouldn't be able to use it to get into your unit.
Make sure your items are insured
Many homeowners insurance policies include coverage for your items even if they are in a facility off your property. Make sure this applies to your belongings, and if not, ask your insurance company if you can add this benefit to your policy for a fee. Make a list of all the items you have in storage to ensure that you have the right coverage amount on everything in the event of a fire, theft, or breakage of your items. Your insurance company may require pictures of your items and of the storage unit you are using so they can add this information to your policy file.
You want your valuable belongings to be safe while they are in self storage. In choosing an indoor unit, changing your lock often, and keeping these items insured even when they are off your property, you can have better peace of mind placing nearly anything in a storage unit.
Share24 November 2015
After my boss told me that I would probably be moving a lot for work, I realized we needed to get a little more organized. Instead of gathering produce boxes and hoping for the best, we started analyzing our mistakes and successes of previous relocations. We realized that we usually got hung up on the packing, which is why we asked my employer to pay for a professional service. Our next relocation was a breeze. This blog is all about identifying storage problems so that you can avoid hassles, delays, and expensive mistakes that could destroy your overall budget.