We are into the second week of November, and that means the cold weather and snow is officially getting ready to settle in. That means cold mornings and trucking through the snow each day and warming that car up – after brushing off whatever has accumulated before you can even open the door to do so! Wait – if you have a garage, why isn’t the car parked inside, meaning a cold morning is just a little less cold!
For many of us however, the garage, meant as a place for the car, seems to become a makeshift storage unit over the years. A storage shed for tools, summer patio furniture, sports equipment – you name it and it has probably found a home in your garage at some point. After all, since many of those items in the garage are not used on a regular basis, especially during the winter, they don’t need to be close at hand.
What to look for. No matter what you are planning on keeping in your storage unit, you should always look for certain things to help ensure your stuff is safe, secure, and not going to be damaged by the elements.
- Make sure there is a stable security system in place. This should include cameras, security gates accessible only by those with units, and security measures in place to ensure that only the owner of a unit has access.
- Don’t go with a company that only offers limited hours of access. Sure, you may not plan on using the lawnmower in the middle of January, but there may just be an occasion to get out many of the other things you have stored there. Hours of operation should be convenient and reasonable.
- When you tour the facility, look for a few different things. Firstly, make sure that it is clean and well-lit. Make sure that units are climate controlled and protected from the elements – you don’t want your stuff to get wet or freeze while in storage. Also, try to find a facility that offers different sized units – if the only option you have is way bigger than what you require, you’re just paying for unused space. Sprinkler systems in each unit are also important – if a fire starts in another unit, you don’t want it to mean the destruction of your items.
A self-storage unit can offer you a ton of extra space to clean out that garage to make room for your car during the winter, saving you time and your fingers from frostbite on those frosty mornings.
For more about a storage unit that meets all of your needs, please contact Personal Vault Self Storage by calling (905) 853-9898.