General Articles

A Few Tips for Homeowners in Utilizing a Storage Unit

Our lives our certainly busy these days and there are a lot of items constantly moving in and out of our house. Whether it’s a family passing on furniture or a student returning home from college, self-storage units are a great place to store your belongings until the time is right for them to reenter the home. Below is a list of a few tips for homeowners and how they can effectively utilize a self-storage unit.

You may have a college student(s) and realize that once they have moved to their dorm room, their old room is now filled with items you did not know where to store, with today’s economy chance are they are going to need a place to stay for the summer or camp out until they find the right job. Store those belongings in a self-storage unit.

Family heirlooms are an important part of most every family, and whether it is sitting high up on a shelf, proudly displayed on a counter, or simply out of site, it is always smart to find these possessions a safe and secure location to be. Consider using a storage unit to safely stow these items until it is time to pass them along to other family members.

Rooms in your house that are not being used for anything important are usually stored with random belongings. Maybe it’s about time you opened that room up into a new office and stored the kayak, boxes, and lamps in a more suitable location until you decide to use them again. Self-storage units provide excellent accessibility and should be open 24/7.

Bills over the years are starting to go more electronic and you may have paper files filled with excess information that just may be useful if an issue arises, these files are best stored in a self-storage unit where they will be closely monitored.

Many storage facilities provide excellent security systems which leave you feeling assured your belongings are safe. They are open usually 24/7 so you can personally access your items in case of that last minute emergency. If you would like more information, go online and search “self-storage units” followed by your city or desired location.…

Crisis – Really?

The news about the so called crisis just does not stop. Every day we are confronted with it on the news and in the papers. Everyone is talking about it and everyone is scared for their jobs or to lose their house.

Many think that people are being scared by all the commotion. It’s almost like a panic wave throughout the globe. But how much of this actually affects the normal people living in your street? We all understand one would be afraid to lose the job, because companies are very careful with expanding and investments. We also know people cannot get a mortgage for a new house that easily at the moment.

Would it be possible for the normal people to make the economy roll again like it did a year ago? How can we convince everyone that the crisis is not as bad as the media make it look? Some say that we can overcome this by living our lives more or less like we did before this worldwide problem. For some this will be easier than for others, but it’s possible to give the economy a slight boost by continuing to spend money. Any money spent will help. That doesn’t mean we should all start spending money like mad, but perhaps people shouldn’t be too careful. When the cash flow stops the economy stops.

Companies could cut down on expenses for marketing and research for example and focus on continuing to sell their products using different strategies. Play with special offers and lower prices on certain services. Anything to make sure people WILL spend money, because we all know everyone will spend money easier when a product or service is cheaper than it was.

The key is: Don’t stop consuming. Keep the cash rolling and boost the economy. Keep buying presents. Just check out the special offers, so you won’t spend too much.

Together we can help solve the so called crisis.…

Organize Your Stuff in Self Storage Units

The concept of self storage does not only focus on keeping your valuable personal possessions in a safe place. Its other important purpose is to help people organize their stuff.

Let’s face it, not many people have the right skills in organizing their belongings. Some are just content stacking their things in different areas of their house, apartment or office. But for those who are particular about creating space and keeping things in proper order, they would normally prefer to use boxes when storing important items and documents that no longer have a space in their cabinets and drawers.

So if you think that self storage units are good for storing only items that you won’t be using for a long time, think again. Even if you have stuff that you use every now and then such as clothes and sports equipment, you can still keep them safely in the facility and still have fast and easy access to them should you need to use those belongings.

Your first consideration is the size of the unit you will be renting. The smallest unit available is usually the size of a bathroom which is ideal if you’ll be storing only several boxes containing your personal belongings. For those wanting to store furniture and bulky appliances, a bigger unit may be necessary.

An important tip to consider here is to use boxes of different sizes. You can use the carton type or the plastic ones when packing your items. The sizes will depend on the items you will be storing. What matters is you organize them properly.

Use separate boxes for your shirts, pants, sweaters and jackets, sports gear and shoes. The shoes can be further divided into the sneakers, high heeled ones and flats most especially for women. For other items such as electronic gadgets, dinnerware and cookware, group them together to make it easy for you to locate them later on. If you have children, provide a box for each child and label accordingly.

Remember to label after packing each box. Don’t wait until you have packed your things in all boxes before labeling as you risk forgetting what items have been stored in what box.

Then position the boxes in the self storage unit in a way that you can easily identify each of them upon entering the room. Make sure as well to seal them to avoid dust and dirt from gathering in your items and prevent pests, if any, from entering the boxes.

Organization is key to fitting your items and boxes in a self storage unit. Avoid piling your things in the room without having an organizational plan. If you do this, you will only have a hard time finding your things when the time comes for you to pull some of them out.

This skill not only applies when using self storage units but even when organizing your personal stuff at home or in the office. An organized …

Helpful Financial Tips for New Parents

It is the most exciting time in your life when you have a new child in the family. This time is also the start of an expensive journey. You can easily spend $250,000 or more raising your child until they turn 18. You need to make smart financial choices from the very beginning to ensure financial stability for your family.

Create a Budget

You need to create a household budget. Before your baby is born, determine how much you will need to spend each month on diapers, baby food and related expenses. Add a few extra dollars each month to your estimate since babies have a lot of needs. Include your estimated expenses into your budget.

As you are creating your budget, determine if there are any expenses you can cut out. Perhaps you can give up that daily coffee or settle for a cell phone plan with less frills. Now is the time to cut down on some of your unnecessary expenses. Once you create your budget, do everything you can to stick with it!

Pay Down on Debt

If you are planning to start a family in the near future, you should start to pay down on some of your debt. Work hard to pay down on your (or your spouse’s) student loan debts. Try to pay off credit cards and other revolving debt. If you have already started your new family, pay more than the minimum payments on this type of debt (add these payments to your budget to help ensure they can be afforded).

Plan for the Future

You are probably not thinking about retirement when you are just starting out in life. It is the last thing on your mind when you have a new baby in the family. However, you should not neglect your retirement fund. It is important to still work to place at least 1/10 of your income in your retirement fund.

Open a college account for your child. It is never to early to start saving money for college. Shop around for college account options in your state that provide you with tax saving benefits. Consider asking relatives and friends to make contributions to your child’s college fund rather than buying them gifts.

Buy Insurance

It is important for you and your spouse to have life insurance. This is not something you want to think about when you are starting a new family, but you should. You will want to make sure that your spouse and children would be in a good position if something where to happen to you. It is also a good idea for you both to purchase disability insurance in case someone becomes sick or injured and is not able to work for a while.

Plan to live within your means

Plan to always live within your means. Do not buy your child the most expensive toys and baby items. Chances are that they will do just fine with moderately priced …

How to Operate a Self Storage Business and Make a Profit

The question that haunts most, if not all, of the self storage business owners, both past and present, is the one about profiteering. The self storage industry requires intelligence, patience, personality, mathematical ability, and above all, a good sense of salesmanship or sales womanship. See, that example right there is what it is all about, equality and equitable sales acumen. The answer to how to make a profit in the self-storage business is not so complex that it cannot be either learned or expanded upon. There is always room for improvement, always.

Basics are Important

In order to make a profit and a very sizable one at that, one needs to be able to understand the basics of what makes a great business. The foundation that has sent sole proprietorships into franchise heaven is the same across the board in the self-storage business atmosphere. Good business plan, sound financials, great customer service, fantastic sales figures, and a winning attitude are all points of light for the business that makes a big splash. The amount of effort that is placed into an efficient self storage business is immense and never ending. The big boys in the industry, such as U-Store It and Bob’s self-storage both have that winning edge and retain the market share by never letting up. There is no time or reason for that as this race is run in an oval track and the laps are as numerous as the amount of competitors pitching for a piece of that market share. Never-ending.

The Operation of the Self Storage Business

The self-storage unit business is an efficiently operated well-oiled machine that can virtually run itself. This is the feeling that should radiate throughout both the office and the storage unit area. The feeling should be all about winning and all about retaining and accumulating new and existing customers, perpetually. The office environment should be clean and professional at all times with no signs of neglect or mismanagement. These signs are easily picked up by the foot traffic and the existing customer base as they come into this area to pay the rental, update customer information, or refer a friend or family member. Recall that every instance when a customer or a person inquiring about a unit, comes into the office, this is the moment that must be treasured. It is the most important part of office-operational standards, the sale is the boss, and everything else follows its lead. This can be argued by those that will say that customer service should be first, and the answer to that is without sales, the need for customer anything, is a moot point.

Outside the Office

The office area is an important facet of any self-storage establishment yet there is another region that shares in the load and that is the outside area. This involves everything that is not inside the confines of the nice and clean and pleasant self-storage office. …

Analyzing Your Personal Finance

As you are reading this article, you may already know the majority of people who overspend. The best way to prevent this bad habit (overspending) is to analyze what you spend. It is as simple as that.

The first step you need to do is see where you spend. Even if you are a high-income earner, your big salary will still get flushed down the toilet quickly if you do not track your finance. Know where your cash is flowing.

Should you keep notes of your spending? If you the following is true for you, then you have to.

– You know you are not saving much money to achieve monetary goals (if you have any)

– You have the intuition that your bad habit of spending is spiraling out of order. Suddenly all your income seems to disappear to unknown locations.

– A major event in life is about to happen. This major event can be marriage, quitting your day job to start your own business, having an offspring and retirement.

You may not need a spending analysis if you are a thrifty person. You already have the good habit of saving at the first place. No analysis is necessary at this point.

However, bear in mind that you do not need to keep track of everything till documenting takes up much of your time. In this case, tracking becomes meticulous. Instead, do the spending analysis in a way it reminds you of where your money goes to. This is a smarter and better way to analyze your finance.…

How to Keep Your Self Storage Units Rented

There are many ways to keep your self storage units rented. The most obvious one is making the pricing attractive to the potential renters. With this said, while we want to make sure that the renter is happy with the price, we also need to be happy with the income from the units. Do some market research in your area and see what the competition is charging.

Attractive pricing comes in many different ways. One way to make the self storage units financially attractive to potential renters is have lower rents that beat the competition in your geographic area. Better pricing from a renter’s perspective also can come from various concessions. Whether it’s a half month free rent, one month free rent or more, these are the types of discounts that can also attract renters. By advertising this boldly on banners outside of your facility will attract renters. Also, consider offering a concession yearly, if needed, to keep the existing tenants. Many owners neglect to consider this. Getting the renter in is one thing, keeping them is another.

Having a safe and clean facility is also important to renters. How many times have you driven past units that just didn’t look clean or safe and thought that there is no way that you would store anything there? Common sense tells us to keep a clean and safe appearance and you will not discourage individuals from renting, especially if the competition is not taking care of their property.

Depending on the geographic area where you are located, climate-controlled self storage units may also be important. While some things that are stored are not affected by the weather, others are directly affected by the hot and the cold temperatures. Being able to offer both types of units will help both increase and maintain occupancy.…

Features Of Car Storage Facility

Car storage facility has many attractive features. It is one of the best alternatives to parking lots. In fact, there is a growing demand now for vehicle storage due to the rising prices of parking facilities. Besides, the biggest problem that people are facing today is the lack of parking facilities. There is congestion not only on the roads, but also for parking your vehicle. Storage facilities offer a respite from this problem. Besides, your vehicle in kept the best condition and protected from outside damage. Extreme weather conditions can have devastating effects on your vehicle. However, self storage can come to your rescue.

Features And Benefits Of Car Storage

Here are some of the features and benefits of car storage.

Prevents Weather Damage: Weather damage is a common complaint. It can affect the functioning and appearance of your car. Extreme weather conditions like humidity, moisture or dryness can cause damage to your vehicle. For instance, your vehicle will be prone to rusting due to dampness. Warping and formation of mold and mildew is another problem that affects the vehicle. Weather damage is not only exterior in nature; it affects the interiors too. Your vehicle may smell of mold and mildew due to high moisture content in the air. Car storage can eliminate this problem. It has de-humidifiers that keep moisture at bay. There is no scope of weather damage to your vehicle.

Climate Controlled Facility: This type of storage units maintains optimal level of temperature inside the unit. This means that your vehicle will be safe and secured in the enclosed climate controlled facility. Moreover, this type of unit has dust filters and active airflow systems. There is no question of weather damage or any other type of damage to your vehicle. In fact, you can also store your SUV or RV at RV storage with similar facilities.

No Maintenance Cost: Car storage reduces your maintenance and servicing cost because the vehicle is stored in the best condition. It will be ready to use at all times. When the vehicle is stored in good condition it doesn’t require repairing or servicing and thus reduces your maintenance cost. Moreover, you won’t even require a car wash before taking the vehicle out of the garage storage. The vehicle will be clean and free of dust.

You can be rest assured that these features will be of great help to you while storing a vehicle. If that is not enough; there is another exceptional feature of car storage. There are special units designed for classic cars. There are premium solutions of storage that use regulated airflow bubble. The storage facility is battery operated and is in the shape of a capsule. It is long enough to accommodate different types of classic car models. Usually, it is around 21 feet long and comes with dust filers and airflow system.

Storing a car in a warehouse or garage is very different from storing it in car storage. A good …

All You Wanted To Know About Storage Spaces

The economy is in quite bad shape and this has affected all of us. Corporate houses are downsizing their employee base while consumers are downsizing their monthly budget. Also, to save heavy mortgage or rentals on property, many residents and businesses are now downsizing their homes and offices. The small homes or offices would not be able accommodate all the goods without giving a cluttered look. For solving such problems, storage space is the ultimate solution.

Why Use Storage Units

Mostly, people use storehouse units when

* There is the need for extra space for storing personal belongings or office goods

* People move from one place to another

* Remodeling or renovation of home or office

* People want to store all their valuables, including antique furniture, heirloom artifacts, jewelry etc. in a secured place. A self storage facility, equipped with state of the art security features can safe keep these goods from any mishaps

* Businesses need a storage space for keeping their stocks

* People want storage for their seasonal goods and hobby equipment such as boats, skiing set and summer lawn

Advantages Of Using Self Storage Units

The storage facilities have gained tremendous popularity as they provide the customers with many advantages. Here is a list of some important advantages,

* The storehouse facility offers storing solutions of many kinds, including dedicated storehouse units for car storage, RV storage, boat storage, furniture storage and garage storage.

* The storage units offer a very cost effective method of storing your extra belongings as you would be paying only for the space that you need.

* The most important advantage that storehouse facility offers is state of the art security. There are several security measures at the storehouse facilities such as 24X7 security guards, CCTV surveillance, access card mechanism and bio metric entry.

* Most of these warehouse facilities offer climate controlled features so that users can keep their perishable and delicate belongings intact for a longer period of time. You can also store your antique items and expensive art work in them as these units are completely weather proof.

* There may be several items in your house that occupy a lot of space. You do not want to sell them as you are emotionally attached to them. You can use storage facility to safe keep such goods and remove the clutter from the house.

Before hiring a storing unit for yourself, it is very important to assess your exact space requirements. This way you would not be paying extra on rentals for hiring a larger unit. Depending upon the goods that are to be stored inside the units you can decide upon the storehouse facility. Do not hire an expensive unit with high end security and climate controlled features if you are just going to use it as a garage space. Similarly, if you want to store some of your most valuable stuff inside the unit then do …

Self Storage Auctions List – Your Guide to Finding the Next Auction

In the United States, storage facilities are legally bound to put out a self storage auctions list from time to time to vacate storage units whose renters have not been able to pay their rental fees for a period stipulated in the state jurisprudence covering storage facilities. Self storage facilities are popular in the country for the additional storage space it provides for people who have too much stuff to fit into their homes but are unwilling to let go of their personal items. Businesses have also been known to take advantage of these self storage facilities for their excess inventories, office equipment and supplies, and archived records. When these units are put on the self storage auctions list, the renters often do not have any other choice but to let go of whatever is in their unit. Although, the lien law provides that renters have until the starting time of the auction to negotiate with the owners of the storage facility and pay their overdue bill to take their units off from the listing.

Your local newspaper would be a good source of information on where the next auction is. The self storage and auctions section of your local newspaper’s classifieds pages would normally have a self storage auctions list – look for public notices for lien sales. Another good place to search for a self storage auctions list in your area would be the internet where you can find websites that specialize in publishing lists of self unit auctions in different areas all over the country. Independent auctioneers contracted by storage facility owners to conduct lien sales are also known to publish schedules of auctions in separate storage facilities or in a string of storage facilities known as “roving auctions.”

Majority of the people who are interested in a self storage auctions list in their area are usually doing it for business purposes, intending to make a huge profit by selling whatever they get from the auctions. It is important to remember that while you can make handsome profits from a “loaded” self storage unit, it is also possible for you to lose out by bidding too high on a unit that contains items that are only valuable to its owners such as old photos and memorabilia. By doing your homework and getting a self storage auctions list of lien sales going on in your area, you will be able to scope out your options. You can also plan your strategy beforehand and make the necessary arrangements to ensure that you will be able to bid wisely, take home your winnings in the most convenient manner, and then put up your winnings for sale.…