Getting the Best Self-Storage Rates

Two Tips to Follow If You'll Be Using a Storage Unit While Travelling

16 July 2021

Erik Stone

If you need to leave some belongings in a storage unit while travelling, here are some tips to follow.

1. Purchase a few cheap wooden pallets

It's worth picking some inexpensive wooden pallets for your unit. The reason for this is that if you're leaving your items in this area for quite a while and you won't be able to visit the unit at short notice because you'll be in another country, you must take more precautions than the average storage unit user. Elevating your items, by putting them on these pallets, will protect them if things like floods or burst pipes occur whilst you're travelling, or if any liquids (like paint tins) you're storing in the unit leak.

For example, if a flood occurs in the area where the storage facility is located and the water gets into your unit, you won't be able to quickly drive over to it, mop up the water and move your items to a safe place. If, however, your books, record collection or boxes of clothes are sitting a few inches above the ground on a pallet, your inability to get to the unit won't be quite as big a deal, as the floodwater will be less likely to soak them and there will be time for the storage facility staff to remedy this problem before any serious damage occurs.

Whilst incidents like this are rare, natural disasters do happen from time to time, as do things like the aforementioned liquid spillages and burst pipes. As such, if you're going to be far away from the unit and the important items it will be housing, these pallets could be a sensible purchase.

2. Put the items you'll need immediately after returning close to the door

When you come back from travelling, there may be certain items that you'll need to pick up from the unit right away. For example, if you need to return to work as soon as you get back from your travels, you may need access to your work outfits, whilst if you're going on a second trip to somewhere with a completely different climate, you might need to pick up your winter or summer clothes.

Keep this in mind when putting items into the unit so that the collection process will be straightforward. For example, you might want to put your sentimental items from your schooldays, which you want to keep but won't need access to after getting back from your trip, by the unit's back wall. Then, place your work or seasonally appropriate clothes beside the unit's door. This will allow you to grab these clothing items and go instead of having to wade through other irrelevant items. 

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