5 Tips for College Students Who Need a Storage Facility in Columbia, MO for the Summer
Make Sure All Your College Belongings Are Safe Over the Break With These Storage Tips From Missouri Self Storage
Before you know it, the semester will be wrapping up, and Columbia students will have finished another academic year! While many people are getting excited to take a break from notes and textbooks, there is one essential step to take before the summer begins: storing all the items and furniture from your dorm room or apartment. A home garage or toolshed is not the ideal place for your possessions. Pests and dust can easily enter the space, it isn’t fully ventilated or temperature-controlled, and it may not have adequate room to spare for everything.
Many college students decide it’s best for their items to be temporarily placed in a storage facility near their university, especially if their summer break will be spent far away from them. From the official security to the variety in dimensions, a storage unit at Missouri Self Storage can give you an easy chance to maintain items like nightstands, desk chairs, clothes, mattresses, decorations, and so much more with the care they deserve. Follow along with our blog to make sure you have the resources to handle an efficient storage space in mid-Missouri.
#1: Evaluate your inventory & decide what’s going to your Columbia, MO storage unit
The first order of business is putting all your dorm items together and creating a list of everything you plan to bring to the storage unit. There’s no way to keep track of all your essentials without having some form of documentation to reference in the future. With the summer season coming up, you’ll also need to divide your clothes properly and take out your hot-weather garments if they will be needed during your time with family, on vacation, or studying abroad. Heavier winter and fall clothes, like coats and gloves, can stay in your Columbia, MO storage unit until you return for another year of college.
Other college students’ inventories typically have extra bed sheets, wall decorations, throw pillows and blankets, and smaller pieces of furniture, depending on how their living situation is laid out, furnished or unfurnished. With a complete view of the things you’re packing, it will be much smoother to include the full inventory for your storage unit.
#2: Pack all your items properly before sending them to a storage facility in Columbia, MO
Once you have confirmed what is staying with you and what is going to the storage unit, the real fun begins; packing everything in a neat and organized manner. It’s best to have resilient boxes with handles, rather than a generic set of cardboard boxes that could rip or be damaged by water or bumps on the drive. The more medium-sized boxes you can use, the better. Most of the contents should be relatively easy to lift and move, so it always helps to do a pick-up test before sealing the boxes for good. If one box is too heavy, you can just redistribute the contents and balance them out across the containers.
#3: Determine the best storage unit size for all your dorm or apartment essentials
It would be a nightmare scenario to have all your college belongings packed up, just to realize they will be much too crowded in the storage room you rented. Depending on how much you’re planning to store, there are a few unit sizes that would make the most sense for students in Columbia, MO: a 5x5 unit, 5x10 unit, or 10x10 unit.
If you only need storage for a handful of items, like clothing and school supplies, five feet in both length and width should be a smart, economical choice for keeping your essentials safe over the summer. When you’re storing more furniture items and need a higher capacity for convenience, a 5x10 or 10x10 storage room is better suited to your packing requirements.
#4: Label what you have packed so it will be easy to recognize in your storage unit in Columbia, MO
Even if you have an inventory list for the storage unit, it is common for students to get sidetracked over the weeks leading up to summer. Without labels, there might be a bit of confusion about which box is which. Opening the boxes in the order you want will make the process much easier when you’re filling out your new dorm or apartment space. To avoid this problem, make sure to write a label for each box of items, categorizing them by their purpose or the room they belong to. For example, you can label and keep all your bathroom items in one corner, while another spot is occupied by bedroom furniture and decor.
#5: Reserve your self-storage unit as early as possible in a college town
The Columbia, MO area is home to a plethora of colleges and universities, making the student population a huge portion of the community. As summer gets closer, the competition for reserving a storage unit grows more and more intense. If you want to claim the perfect storage unit without worrying about availability, contact storage facilities as soon as possible. It is also important to do diligent research before choosing a company. You can explore different reviews about pricing, unit size options, climate control, and security to determine which service will meet your preferences the most effectively.
Be Prepared for Another Year of College With Missouri Self Storage in Columbia, MO! Reserve One of Our Storage Rooms Today
Put your trust in Columbia, MO’s diverse, secure storage facility, Missouri Self Storage. We offer standard and climate controlled units to protect your valuables, and we implement several security measures like surveillance cameras and coded gates to prevent intrusions.
Plus, when you rent a storage unit, your price is locked in! No rising rates or surprise fees. Get ready for the summer by reaching out to our experts!
