Should You Get Self-Storage Over the Summer?

By Danielle Wirsansky on April 5, 2017

Summer break is one of the highlights of a student’s college years simply because it is the one time of the year during their studies that they are not actually required to study. Unless you are taking summer classes, you get a good four months off to do as you please, whether that is sleep, work, travel, go to the beach, etc.

However, before you can get the blissful relaxation that summer break is, you have to deal with all the stressful hurdles to get there. One of the most common obstacles that stand in the way of a student getting to leave town and heading off to their idyllic summer break is what to do with all of their belongings over the summer.

Some students are lucky enough to be able to continue living in the same space the next year so that they do not have to worry about moving their stuff. But many students are not in the same boat and do have to find a place to put their stuff for the summer when shuttling it home is not an option.

One choice that many students make is to put their belongings into self-storage — but is that the right choice for you? Read on to learn some questions to consider whether you should get self-storage over the summer!

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Questions to Consider

Do you have a place to store it?

The first question you have to address is do you even have a place to store your stuff if you wanted to? Every college town is different so find out: do they have self-storage locations?

What are the rules of the self-storage location? Is it temperature controlled or is your stuff just sitting in a room, unregulated? How big of a unit can you get? How big of a unit do you need? Can they accommodate your belongings? Is a storage unit too small for all the things you may have to store, like couches and beds? Or is it too big for the stuff you have to leave behind and it feels like a waste of money to use? Can you share a storage unit with someone else? Do you have 24-hour access to your unit? What kind of security does the storage facility have? Can you get a short term rental just for the summer or do you have to commit a period of time longer than you will need the unit for?

If a self-storage unit is not the way you want to go about storing your stuff for summer, you have to find out if you have someone else’s place as an option to store it. Do you know anyone staying in town over the summer and who is staying in their own place (not a dorm on campus)? Sometimes friends may be willing to store your stuff in their apartment during the summer. But you need to know upfront — are they expecting you to pay them anything to store the stuff? Do they have any pets that might have access to your belongings? Will they be there all summer or will your stuff be left alone and unprotected for long chunks of time? These are all questions to consider when trying to come to a decision to store your stuff.

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Do you have a way to move your stuff?

Another factor in your decision to store your stuff over the summer stems from this question: do you have a way to move the stuff in question? Do you have your own vehicle with which to move stuff to the storage location, whether that is a facility or your friend’s house? Is your vehicle, if you have one, big enough to move any bigger belongings, like a couch? If not, do you know someone who would be willing to drive your stuff around? Can you hire someone to move your stuff for you?

Often other students with trucks can be persuaded to help you out for a little bit of moolah. If you do not like that option, is there a truck rental business that you can rent a car or truck from in order to move your stuff? Then there is a host of other questions like, are you old enough to rent a car, will your insurance cover that, and more.

Can you afford to store it?

The final question you have to ask yourself is whether you can afford to store your belongings in the first place. Can you afford to pay a storage facility to hold your stuff or your friend to watch over it? If not, it might be a better option to sell your belongings and start over when you return in the fall. After all, college is a time for new beginnings.

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