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What Should Go in a Storage Unit?

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Storage units are a great way to obtain much-needed extra space you don't have in your home or apartment. They are often rented by the month and can be used either long-term storage or short-term. For example, you may want to use it as a temporary place to store some of your furniture or boxes when you're in the middle of your moving transition, or you may want to use it as a second garage, to store items that you don't want cluttering up your home.

Storage unit size

Of course, what you put inside your storage unit is going to largely depend on how big the storage unit is. Storage units come in many different sizes, ranging from as small as a walk-in closet, to as big as a two-car garage. The different storage unit sizes are made to accommodate the different needs of customers, as well as the length of time and amount of items stored.

There are five standard storage unit sizes and the way to figure out which size will work best for you all depends on what kind of items you plan to store.

  • The first, and smallest, storage unit size is 5x10, which is basically equivalent to the size of a walk-in closet. This size is perfect for someone who has a small amount of items that need to be stored, or someone who is only using the storage unit as temporary storage while in the midst of their move. It is 50 square feet in size and will typically fit one room 's worth of furniture, or more than that if you 'll be storing only boxes and not big items. Some of the items that can typically be stored in a unit this size are:
    • Sofa
    • Chair
    • Dresser
    • Mattress
    • Miscellaneous boxes and small appliances
  • The next size is 10x10, or 100 square feet, which will usually fit all of the contents of a one bedroom apartment. The size equivalent of a 10x10 locker is roughly half of a one-car garage. This unit is a slight step up from the 5x10 size, and may be used for temporary or long-term storage for multiple people, whereas the smaller 5x10 storage unit is more suited for the belongings of one individual. Along with the typical contents of a one-bedroom apartment, the average 10x10 storage unit can typically be used to store these items:
    • Bed
    • Mattress
    • Sofa
    • Chair(s)
    • Dressers
    • Bicycles
    • Motorcycle
    • Larger Appliances (televisions, microwaves, air conditioning units, etc.)
    • Miscellaneous boxes and containers
  • A 10x15 storage unit, with 150 square feet, is big enough to house all of the contents of a two-bedroom apartment or a small house, along with all other appliances, personal effects and boxes. It is the equivalent in size to a full one-car garage.
  • The next size up, a 10x20, is big enough to store all of the contents of a small house or townhouse, including everything else that goes with it like appliances and personal effects. This size storage unit is usually one of the largest, and is commonly used by people who are moving the contents of their home and need a place to store their belongings while they wait to move into a new home, as it 's big enough to fit most of the items you would find in an average home. For long-term storage purposes, it has plenty of room to fit a lot of items that you can no longer store in your house, as well as some much bigger items that won 't fit in other, smaller storage units. For example, some storage facilities enable you to store your car in your unit, and a 10x20 unit is large enough to store a car or truck, if you leave out the appliances and additional furnishings. Here are some other things you can comfortably store in a 10x20 storage unit:
    • Beds
    • Mattresses
    • Sofas/Recliners
    • Entertainment units
    • Large appliances (Refrigerators, washing machines, dryers, stoves/ovens, etc.)
    • Large armoires or dressers
    • Car
    • Truck
    • Miscellaneous boxes and containers
  • The final size, and the largest standard size for a storage unit, is 10x30, or 300 square feet. A 10x30 storage unit can be used for small business storage, and can also fit four rooms of furniture, boxes and miscellaneous items. It can also fit the contents of an entire moving van, along with the contents of a four-bedroom home and a car or truck. Being the largest sized storage unit, the 10x30 is commonly used by companies for commercial storage or extra warehouse storage, especially if the company is relocating and needs temporary storage.

With all of these choices, you can take a look at your moving inventory and what you are going to need to place in storage and make an educated decision about what size you will need when the time comes.

Special items

In addition to the normal household items that are commonly placed in storage units, there also may be some special items that require a little more care and protection than your run-of-the-mill refrigerator or box of old clothes. Some items need to be placed in a storage facility that is climate-controlled or has added security to ensure that your belongings are well-protected and will remain safely locked away in the unit.

For example, perhaps you have a wine collection that you no longer have any room for in your new home, but you still would like to hold onto it for future generations or special occasions? If you don 't want to sell it, putting it in storage is your next best bet, but placing it in any regular storage facility is not the way to go when you 're dealing with potentially expensive bottles of wine. In that case, you 'll need a climate-controlled unit that features regulated temperatures in each individual unit so that your wine will stay at exactly the temperature it needs to be.

People may also occasionally store expensive jewelry, antiques, or other very valuable items in a storage unit, and may want some extra security. In that case, there are storage facilities which provide around-the-clock 24-hour security on the premises, so you can have the peace of mind in knowing that your valuable possessions are protected at all times.

Robert Moreschi  Posted by Robert Moreschi on March 14, 2013

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