What Is Self Storage?

27th October 2022

Self-storage is the name of the industry that rents out storage space. These are storage spaces such as rooms, lockers and containers. Generally speaking, storage units are usually used on a short-term basis, often month to month as a way of tenants storing their belongings that they don’t have room for.
In this blog post we look at self-storage in more details. We talk about what self-storage is and what it is used for. We also share the benefits of self-storage. Finally, we answer one of the most common questions around self-storage; can you go in and out of a storage unit as you please?

Firstly, let’s look at what self-storage is used for.

What Is Self-Storage Used For?

We have seen a massive growth in the storage industry within the UK. This is because so many people find self-storage units to be an immense convenience. They are seen as a lifesaver to lots of people during significant changes in their lives when additional space is needed. Below we share some examples of what self-storage units are used for.

Downsizing

There are lots of reasons people choose to downsize their homes. It may be a way to save money, as children grow up and leave the nest, through divorce or with retirement. These life transitions happen to us all, and it often means we require a smaller home to live in.
Downsizing your home can be a tricky decision to make, and it is a very important decision. However, it can also be the best decision you ever made for yourself.
One thing that may be holding you back from downsizing is all the possession that you own. These may be family heirlooms, art work, furniture or belongings that you are saving to pass onto other family members, when they have the space in their own homes.
This is where self-storage units can come in extremely useful. They give you the space to store these belongings and enable you to move to a smaller home where you can be happier and save more money too.
When downsizing, think about what you are gaining from the move, not what you are losing. Think about the positives. For example, you have less garden to maintain and less rooms to clean. You’ll also have more money spare to go on more holidays or take up a new hobby for example.

Decluttering

We all build up our collection of ‘stuff’ over the years. They may be trinkets from holidays, unwanted presents from friends, old school books, family heirlooms and more. While they are still loved, they become unloved when they are constantly taming up space. They need cleaning and dusting or moving to get to other things. Your loved possessions quickly become annoying as they’re in the way and taking up space.
Self-storage can be really useful for decluttering your home. You can place the possessions you love in storage units. This way you don’t have to get rid of them and they’re not in the way. Instead, they are safe, secure and protected until you do need them in the future. It may feel like clutter in your home, but it’s still things you love, and you don’t want to give away or sell.
Could you use self-storage units to clear space in your home while keeping your much-loved possessions safe? Lots of our customers are doing exactly that and living happier lives in their homes from doing so.

Selling

When you are selling your home, you want it to look it’s best. You want the rooms to look lived in, but also spacious, big and bright. It’s important that the potential buyer can picture themselves and their family living in the home. For example, this might mean that a bedroom you use as an office, needs to look like a bedroom again. If your home looks bright, clean, spacious and well-maintained then it is more likely to sell quickly and for the best price.
Why not use our self-storage units, like many other people do, to give you the space you need for house viewings? Place the office furniture or other large furniture in storage so the rooms look bigger. If your garage looks messy, full and unorganised, then place some of the things in storage. This way you can show potential buyers how big and spacious the garage, for example, is.
Some sellers also use self-storage to meet tight deadlines on buyers moving in. If they haven’t found their dream home, they will use self-storage and move into rented accommodation until the new house is found or ready. This allows the chain to move on and for the house to be sold quickly, easily and for a good price.

Business Storage

As well as personal storage, a lot of our customers use self-storage for business storage. Maybe the business is expanding, and you’ve not found the right business premises yet? Perhaps you can get a great deal on a bulk order, but you have nowhere to store the stock? You might have documents you need to keep for legal reasons, but have nowhere to store them? These are all ways that our self-storage units can be used for your business storage needs.
Our self-storage units can be a great partner to support your business growth, expansion and sales. As a small business owner, you may find your business and stock is taking over your home, so why not use self-storage? It’s more cost-effective than a warehouse or business premise. You can also still gain access to your items, and you know that they are safe and secure.
These are just some of the most common things that self-storage is used for. Of course, there are many, many more. Basically speaking, if you need to keep something safe and don’t have room for it at home – then we can help.

What Are The Benefits Of Self Storage

Now we have spoken about what self-storage is used for, let’s look at the benefits of self-storage. Generally speaking, self-storage is an affordable way of safely storing your belongings. It takes the pressure off you when moving house, clearing out the home or growing your business.
There are so many benefits of self-storage, as well as uses. We have listed three of the many benefits of self-storage below.

Security From Theft

Your self-storage unit will secure your items from theft and give you that extra level of security, as well as peace of mind. Your storage unit will be under 24hr CCTV surveillance security. It will also be a locked unit, inside a locked building. There are alarms throughout our self-storage facilities and efficient security surrounding the self-storage facility too. You can rest assured that your belongings are safe in our secure self-storage units.

Additional Space

You gain the space in your home or your garage and shed that you need. Maybe you have a winter hobby such as skiing for example. While you need these things in the winter months, the rest of the year the ski’s, snow boots and winter clothing take up room. It’s the same for your hot tub and garden furniture that you only get out during the warm summer months, for example. They take up a lot of space when they’re not in use. You can gain this additional space back by placing these seasonal items in storage. Plus, they’ll be safe from damage from the elements or bad weather, where they may not be in your shed or garage.

Home Protection

One of the most common places we store ‘stuff’ in our homes, is in the loft. This is a great place for things like winter hobbies, festive decorations, photo albums and other belongings that aren’t needed throughout the year. However, there are some issues with placing your lesser-used items in the loft. It can quickly become messy and unorganised, making it hard to find things. This can be even trickier in smaller, awkwardly shape and dark spaces like many lofts.
The weight of the items can also cause serious structural damage to your home. There have been cases of ceilings dipping under the weight of the items in lofts, or people falling through lofts when moving things. This can be extremely dangerous for your home and those within your home.

Can You Go In & Out Of Your Storage Unit

One of the most common reasons that people are put off using self-storage units is because they think you can’t go in and out of the storage unit. Once your things are stored away, that’s it. You can’t get to them again until you take them out of the self-storage unit. However, that isn’t the case.
Here at Quick Self Storage in Peterborough and Darlington, we like our customers to think of a self-storage unit as a spare rom away from home. Some customers even think of their unit as their own warehouse. It’s your belongings, so you can gain access at times that work for you. This could be during the working day, at weekends or in the evenings. It’s totally secure and you can go in and out of your storage unit as you please.

Want to know more about self-storage facilities in Darlington and Peterborough? Call us now. We will happily answer any questions you have, and we can show you around if you would like? How will you use our self-storage units and what benefits will you experience?