Keeping your Items Safe in Storage

There’s something to be said about having your items located in a different location from where you are. Most people prefer to keep their belongings close to their person or within their own property. Such is the nature of having possessions and probably what drove people to need to own their own houses – so they could keep things that belonged only to them within.

Moving your things out to storage takes a great deal of trust. Trust in the Storage Company and the reliability of their services to keep your things away from harm and secure from other less scrupulous people.

So what should you look for when you’ve made that decision to entrust your items to someone else, some place that may not be exactly within arm’s reach? We’d like to highlight some basic requirements and precautions that the storage company you’re looking at should take.

First things first is to have a look-see around the storage facility and warehouse. Ask to view the storage area for existing container contracts so that you can assess the environment for cleanliness and to generally see how dry the surrounding areas are. Because it may be a difficult gauge – not being able to see inside other people’s containers, do check with the staff about climate control options and any extra precautions they are taking to help your items stay fresh over the years.

The facility should also be well staffed, with security guys most importantly. Security monitoring or on hand staff lessen the chances of unwanted thieves and other opportunists skulking around. There are some Storage Units which are located further out in the boonies and these might be a bit more susceptible to theft despite the remote location. This is due to the fact that people take it for granted that the facilities need to be monitored even out in the suburbs.

Your Storage unit should also have some isolated form of protection. Latch, lock and key are all good ideas to have to ensure that there is a final line of defense between the outside and your items within.

On the off-chance that the storage company doesn’t provide these reassurances, but you still choose to go with them for whatever reasons such as location or personal relationship with the business owner that will increase your confidence levels in their service, you can always take some precautions on your own.

One thing you can look at are moisture absorbers. If there aren’t precautions taken for climate control, then you can make sure that there are some moisture absorbers packed with your items that are more susceptible to moisture and mildew. This would include items like upholstery and other textiles. Just make sure that you have sufficient access to your items so that you can replace the absorbers within the storage unit every once in a while and keep the interior environment fresh.

Play smart! Don’t put your heirlooms and priceless items in there! If you are guaranteed by insurance and have an adequate security plan at the storage facility then by all means, but we still wouldn’t advice it. Some things just are irreplaceable and there are proper places to keep the items which run into the thousands and hundreds of thousands. Pick a bank for these and please continue to make sure that your items are insured.