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.

The technical details of storage rental

Two things that are not often thought of when it comes to storage rental are insurance for your storage, and the storage rental agreement for the storage unit.

At Access Self Storage, our insurance will cover your storage rental up to $5000. So if you’re using a storage unit for documentation, children’s toys or old clothes, you should be well covered. However, if you’re using storage rental for more expensive items, such as valuable collectibles, designer clothing, or perhaps expensive electronics, then it might be an idea to look into external insurance, to make sure your storage rental is definitely covered.

When you sign up for storage rental, you are also entering into a rental agreement. If the storage facility you’ve booked doesn’t offer one, insist on making one. The storage rental agreement will detail things like the payment date for your rent, any bonds you’ll need to pay and under what terms this will be refunded or forfeited. A basic storage rental agreement will help to make things official for you, and give a permanent record of the conditions of your storage rental, so that you won’t have reason to be confused.

The storage rental agreement and insurance cover for your storage are very important aspects of storage rental. Make sure, when you’re looking into storage rental and different storage facilities, you ask about these technical details. Comparing insurance offers and storage rental conditions will help you make the right decision about which storage facility to trust your storage rental with.

Who is Access Self Storage

Access SelfStorage has been operating our self-storage facility since 1985. Our storage facility was one of the first storage facilities to open and operate in Victoria.

Access Self Storage has been in the business for over 25 years, which means we have a wealth of experience for you to draw on. Our staff are self-storage experts, and are here to help – if you’re just starting out with storage rental, or have any questions about our storage units or the Access Self Storage facility, one of our experts will be sure to help you out.

Our storage facility in South Melbourne holds several storeys with over 700 storage units available, in 60 varied sizes. Access Self Storage provides our clients with insurance cover, up to $5000, expert advice and service, and a fully secured and alarmed facility. Our location in South Melbourne puts Access Self Storage in the prime position for people near the Melbourne CBD, St Kilda, Port Melbourne and Southbank. Access Self Storage offers a free move in van and  7-day access to our storage facility.

Access Self Storage is also a founding member of the Self Storage Association of Australasia, representing over 80% of self-storage operators in Australia and New Zealand. Our membership at this association means we remain committed to the professionalism of the self-storage industry. Access Self Storage is proud to benefit from the shared knowledge, expertise and education that the association provides.

How to Avoid Inconvenience with Long-Term Storage

When you’re using long-term storage, the nature of self-storage changes. Rather than frequently returning to your storage unit to go through your self-storage, or returning your packed boxes to your living area after a couple of months, your long-term self-storage might stay in the storage unit for years, completely untouched, besides the occasional visit.

Long-term storage can mean several things for your self-storage. First, that your furniture, precious objects, old clothes, crockery – whatever – is going to be sitting in self-storage, unmoving, for a very long time. Pack your self-storage well to stop it from degrading, protect it from dust and dirt, keep the clothes in shape and not scrunched up. Consider just how long your things will be staying in long-term storage while you pack them up.

Long-term storage also means you have to be really careful about labelling. Because when you come back to your self-storage some five years later, there’s no way you’ll remember what you’d packed with what, or where it all came from. Clear and precise labelling is really important when it comes to long-term storage. Pack your self-storage well, in sturdy boxes, so that five years later if you do come to collect, the boxes won’t have all collapsed in on themselves.

Pack carefully, with precise labeling, and in strong boxes when you’re using long-term self-storage. Always keep in mind how long your things will have to stay in boxes, and don’t pack up anything you think won’t survive.

Business storage and self-storage

We haven’t touched on business storage and its uses in this blog, so I thought I would do so now. Access Self Storage is a great storage facility for personal storage, document storage and business storage – but what does “business storage” mean?

There are a variety of ways self-storage can be useful for business storage. During office relocation, self-storage can be used for any excess office furniture. For shops and tradespeople, storage units can house seasonal stock, equipment storage, sales team samples, imported and exported goods and stock overflow. A storage unit can help you de-clutter your office or your shop floor space. Business storage can give you more room to store bulk shipments, so that you can take advantage of bulk buying. Self-storage can become an extra warehouse, especially considering using storage rental for business storage is far more cost effective than buying or renting a warehouse. There’s no bond or leases – just pay month to month to keep hiring a storage unit for your business storage, for as long or short a time as you need.

Business storage can also mean archive storage for your business. When you have to keep your tax related paperwork for seven years, for a business this can mean quite an amount of paperwork. Having a storage unit to keep all your documentation is a great way to clear more space in the office.

Self-storage doesn’t just have to be about clearing space in your home, it can also be a huge help as business storage. Check out the storage units at Access SelfStorage today.