As a college student, you tend to move around a lot. You move from the dorms back into your parents' house for the summer. You move from one apartment to another when you get an internship in a different city. Whatever the reason for your move, at some point you may need to rent a self storage unit to stash some of your things away for a while. As you do so, make sure you follow these tips.
1. Choose a climate-controlled unit.
Plans change. You may not plan on keeping your things in storage for more than a few weeks, but then maybe your new apartment lease falls through and you need to find another one—or a friend moves out, and you take their space. To make sure your items are not damaged by changes in temperature and climate during their time in storage, rent a climate-controlled unit. This is especially important if you're storing any leather furniture or clothing, wooden items, or electronics.
2. Consider sharing the unit with friends.
Renting a storage unit can be a big expense when you are in college. To cut costs, try sharing the unit with a friend or two. Generally, the cost to split a larger storage unit with three friends will be less than the cost of renting a smaller unit for just yourself. To avoid problems down the road, type up a contract together in which you all agree to pay the official leaser of the storage unit a certain amount of money per month.
3. Don't store junk.
Be honest with yourself as to whether you really need to keep the items you're putting in storage. You don't want to keep storing and moving items again and again over the years if you don't really need those items. Worn out old furniture, clothing that no longer fits, outdated computers—these are all things you should throw away or donate rather than pay to store.
4. Consider location carefully.
Is it more convenient to rent a storage unit near your parents' house or near you new apartment? Think about your schedule and where you spend most of your time—then choose the most convenient storage location. It's worth paying a few more dollars for a storage unit that does not take you an hour to drive to!
Renting a storage unit as a college student can come in handy and following the tips above can help.
Having lived in a 1,200-square-foot home with my husband and two children for many years, I've learned a lot about storage and maximizing space along the way. Once a year, we do a "purge" of each room in our home to get rid of unnecessary clutter. We then hold an annual garage sale, where we're able to make money selling this "stuff" for our yearly vacation. For extra space, we also have a small storage unit that we use to store seasonal things, such as Christmas decorations and bikes. If you've been looking for tips on maximizing storage in even the smallest of spaces, I hope the information on my blog will be useful to you!