Using self-storage during emergencies

Australia has been dealing with all sorts of weather related emergencies this year. Major bushfires in Tasmania, New South Wales and Victoria, flooding in Queensland and New South Wales – it does make you concerned for your house and your belongings. A great use of self-storage, which people don’t often think of, is in these situations. With a bit of luck, you’ll have some time up your sleeve – more particularly in a flood situation – and you can begin to think about what you can save by using self-storage. Getting some of your most valuable possessions into self-storage can significantly diminish the loss should your house be touched by disaster.

During most emergency evacuations, valuable possessions would get loaded into your car, furniture secured on higher ground, and you’d have to just hope that maybe it won’t be so bad. By using self-storage, you can help to eliminate some of that risk. Cars and evacuation spots can only hold so much – but self-storage can take care of the rest. Utilise your evacuation time by loading more of your stuff into self-storage, and a storage unit that’s safely away from the emergency area.

Dealing with emergency situations like flooding or even severe storms can cause major stress when you think about the danger for yourself, let alone all your belongings. Organise self-storage and keep your possessions away from the danger – and there’s your stress-free solution.

Storage Space and Retirement Homes

My grandfather recently moved into a retirement home. He’s got a small room (and no storage space) for all his things; he gets a meal cooked for him and people to look after him. He’s well set up. What has proved to be a problem is the lack of storage space, and what to do with all of his possessions. It’s not as though he’s died, it feels strange to be dividing up all his furniture amongst the relatives. Renting storage space turned out to be a great solution.

Rather than having him go through his things, and decide what he wants to keep, what he wants to give away, what he wants to sell – the consideration of which was making him feel sad about moving into a home – renting storage space allowed us to keep all of his things easily accessible if ever he suddenly realises he needs them. We don’t have to deal with dividing up his estate, as it were, too early, and he doesn’t have to say goodbye to a lifetime’s worth of belongings – it’s all in storage space.

Though he doesn’t have the storage space to keep all of his things in his room at the home, this way he didn’t have to make hard decisions and throw anything out. Storage space has made him feel much better about moving out, and gave us less to deal with, beyond sorting him and his things for the move. Storage space simplified the process for us, and has proved to be a great, and affordable, decision.

Access Self Storage's Centrally Located Facility

There are a number of reason's why Access Self Storage's centrally located facility near Melbourne's CBD makes it an incredibly convenient storage facility. And it's not just because it's in close proximity to Melbourne suburbs like St Kilda, South Yarra and Windsor.

Although it's near to the CBD, Access Self Storage isn't located in the CBD. So when you need to return to your storage unit urgently, you won't be hindered by heavy CBD traffic. But its central location does mean it's easily accessed even if you're not coming from home. A trip to the Access Self Storage facility could easily become part of your route to or from work in the Melbourne CBD. You could incorporate a visit to the grocery shops in South Melbourne with a visit to Access Self Storage, and pick up an unused dining table from your storage unit before you buy food for your dinner party.

Location is really important when you're considering a storage facility, which is why Access Self Storage chose their location carefully. It's easy to get to, so fetching your storage from Access Self Storage is never inconvenient. It's easily accessible by main roads, on the corner of Normanby Rd and Montague St, so moving vans will have no problems driving to and from Access Self Storage. And it is conveniently located to numerous suburbs in Melbourne, which means Access Self Storage is a very convenient location to many Melbourne residents. Check out the Access Self Storage facility today, and find out just how convenient using self-storage will be.

Be Your Own Removalist for Storage Rental

Hiring a removalist - with their own van, and their own packing materials, and their own muscles - can seem a lot easier when starting storage rental. Strong people will come in, pack up all your stuff for you, load it into a truck, take it away, and then all the storage rental out again for you. But sadly the whole escapade can be quite a costly process. And when your just using storage rental, and not packing up your entire house, is it really worth it?

There are a couple of ways to make storage rental much easier if you decide to be your own removalist. You will have to get packing materials on your own, but they're usually available from the storage rental facility, and come fairly cheap. And there's one major advantage to avoiding the hire of removalists: you can take as much time as you need to pack it into storage rental. Divide it into sections, or pack up two boxes each night, until the whole task is done. Pack smaller boxes, keep them light, so that when you do start moving it into storage rental, they're all still easy to carry - remember you're probably not as well built as the removalists are. And if you're putting mostly books, CD's or wine into storage rental, your packing boxes will get pretty heavy, pretty quickly.

Being your own removalist doesn't have to make storage rental harder, and it can certainly make the process a lot cheaper. At Access Self Storage, we provide a free move-in truck, making removalists even less necessary. Doing it yourself is well worth considering.

Storage for Your Camping and Sporting Gear

About this time of year, shortly after Christmas, a lot of us will start to pack up our cars with tents and sleeping bags, kayaks and water skis, and carloads of food, and head out into the wilderness for a filthy week of camping. The tents and sporting equipment will be pulled out of storage, their cramped little hiding spots, and loaded up into the car.

When you get back, packing it all up into storage seems much harder. The garage is probably already full of the storage of other equipment; it's probably going to seem impossible to squeeze all of that camping gear back into the storage areas it came from.

So how about storage rental as a solution? Rather than getting home and stuffing your garage full to the brim, come home from Marysville or Ninety Mile Beach and take all your gear to a storage unit. It could be like having an entire spare garage. Pile the tents, the sleeping bags, the kayaks and the water skis - even the trailer, if your storage unit is big enough - all inside the storage unit, ready to access again next holidays.

Using a storage unit to house your camping gear will make it easier to pack and unpack, and leave much more storage space in your garage at home. As a storage solution, storing camping gear isn't always something people would consider, but storage rental really will help make the whole process much easier.

Keeping Storage Rental Safe in the Long Term

If you're planning to use storage rental in the long term, there a couple of things you should consider to keep your storage items safe and well maintained.

The first and most obvious step is to pack them well. If you're storing smaller objects, wrap everything carefully and keep them in boxes. Pack boxes with packing material or bubble wrap, so if anything falls or is moved during the storage rental, your things will still be safe.

It's also a good idea to give the storage unit a clean out once in a while during your storage rental. It may seem silly to be dusting out your storage unit, when the furniture in it is just going to stay in storage rental, but it will help to keep the furniture in good condition.

Keep in mind that certain items may not survive well in a storage rental environment, especially in the long term. Computers shouldn't really be stored for longer than six months. Clothes, if they haven't been packed carefully in a clothes box, may come out of storage rental a little worse for wear.

As long as you check on your things fairly frequently, long-term storage rental should work out fine. At Access Self Storage, our storage units are well maintained and very clean. Just remember to follow these few steps, and to check up on your storage unit every once in a while, and your long-term storage rental should definitely work out successfully.

Packing Up Self-Storage into the Truck

One major step in using self-storage is transporting your goods from your home to the storage unit. This may seem like a relatively simple task, and certainly it is if you've chosen to use removalists. But sometimes when you use self-storage, and only have to transport a few items, it can seem easier to hire a truck and move it yourself. Here are a couple of tips on packing up your moving truck to make moving your self-storage a little bit easier.

If you're putting mattresses into self-storage, load them up first and against the walls. The heaviest of your self-storage items should be loaded up the front, and longer furniture against the longer walls. Drawers and doors should face the walls of the truck, so they don't swing open. Keep the heavier boxes for self-storage on the floor, and lighter boxes on top. Fill any gaps with smaller items, to minimise movement on your way to the self-storage facility.

Remember to spread out the weight relatively evenly, so the trip to self-storage is as safe as possible. If there's a lot of room left when you've packed everything up, keep it all stacked low. Using blankets, sheets and towels as packing pads is a good idea, and pack rugs on last, so you can put them straight on the floor when you arrive at the self-storage facility.

Just a few steps to help making the transportation easier, and help to make your self-storage experience a little more stress free.

Drawing Up a Plan for Your Storage Rental

Planning your storage rental is going to seem obvious, but it's such an important step in making the storage rental process much easier.

Having a plan to pack up, a plan to pack the storage unit and a plan to unpack again after your storage rental will help make things run smoother. It doesn't have to be complex and detailed. As long as you note down what storage is going into what boxes, and where those boxes should be kept in the storage unit, your storage rental will go along much more smoothly.

Having a plan can mean making a list of all your labels and what they mean - which "kitchen" box has which kitchen utensils, for example. Noting down everything that you're putting into storage rental, which boxes they've been stored in, and where these things will need to be unpacked once you have finished with your storage rental is a pretty easy, but important, step.

Drawing up a plan for your storage rental will also help you think about where your storage is going to go once you unpack. Maybe some things that belonged in the bedroom in your previous house might serve better in the living room in your new place. Plans will help you think about these things, and ensure you stay on top of everything while you use storage rental. This way, your storage rental can be hassle free.

Inspecting Your Storage Facility

You might think rental storage is a fairly simple thing. You hire a unit, pack up your stuff, pay the bill, and then come collect it all when you need it again. But careful thought and planning should be undertaken before you choose your storage facility – because all self-storage is not created equal.

It’s important to consider what you really want out of your storage unit. For storage of valuable items, you’ll want to see what kind of security the storage facility offers. Are there security cameras and alarms? Who can access the storage unit? How often does the company check the locks to the storage containers? You should also consider insurance – Access Self Storage provides free insurance cover up to $5000, but are you going to need more cover than this? Your insurance company might already cover items you’ve put in storage, so it’s best to check this out.

Looking at the unit itself before choosing a storage facility is also important. You will need to see how clean the storage units are, what the space looks like, and whether the company provides good quarantine services. Also consider the packing materials you will need. Access Self Storage has a variety of packing materials available onsite – will you need anything else to store your things?

Spending a bit of time considering the storage facility itself is important, and is sure to help you find the right storage facility that suits all your needs.