Easy and convenient access to your storage unit is important. If you’re going to move across town, it may be wise to look for storage near your new home. You will want it to be convenient for you to move items back and forth from the storage to your new house. It may not be necessary that the storage be close to your house, if it's on your way to work everyday. If you drive by your storage facility several times a week, then it may be very convenient for you to drop off and pick up things. For business related storage, you’ll want storage fairly close to your office or storefront because time is money. Sending an employee across town to retrieve records or inventory is costly. Your storage unit is going to be more valuable to you if it’s convenient. Even if you plan to put items in self storage for months or years, plans change, and having storage close by makes life easier.

Access hours are a part of convenience. Be sure the gate hours are workable for you. If you’re in the construction business and need tools at 5:00 in the morning then it’s important to know that you can get to them. Office hours may be important. If you work from 8-5 and the office is only open from 8-5, it will be challenging to take care of any issues or make payments.

One other point in access and convenience concerns your storage unit keys. You should have the only keys to your storage unit and you will likely have two keys for the lock. Be sure and separate those keys!. Too often our tenants lose both keys. It is inconvenient and expensive for you to have to hire a locksmith. If you lose one of your keys, either buy another lock so you have two new keys or have another key made. There is one other issue related to access and convenience. If a tenant forgets to make a payment or is late, it is common practice to over-lock their unit or code them out of the access gate so they have to come by the office. If you know about a problem, it’s easy to fix. If the storage facility can’t easily get in touch with you, it may cause you some grief. Be sure to keep your address and phone numbers up to date with the storage facility so that you will know about issues before they become a problem for you. One of the questions to ask is in what ways would I be locked out, so you know what the rules of the game are when you rent the unit.

There are usually several facilities nearby that will fit your needs and you have a choice. Many people shop for price, but there are several other factors that may be more important than the cheapest monthly rental rate. Of all the factors to consider, location is probably going to be one of the most important. If you’re clearing clutter out of your house or your garage, you need self storage that is close so you can make a quick run to either drop off or pick up things you need. If you’re moving across town, you’re probably going to want to find a storage unit that’s close to the new apartment or house so it’s convenient once you move in to the new place. If you’re using self storage for storage of extra retail merchandise or records, you want something close to your storefront or your office so it will be convenient and quick for you or your employees to retrieve the things you want. Storage doesn’t necessarily have to be close to you if you won’t be needing things immediately. If storage is on the way to someplace you have to drive a number of times per week, then it will be convenient for you because you can plan to drop by your storage unit on your way.

Where to go From Here

Insurance discusses why insurance may be important and several ways your stored items may be covered.   Site Contents gives you an overview of the site and a quick summary of each page.