Storage Facilities
There's a good chance that you'll need a short-term or long-term storage facility at some point. Storage is frequently used by families during moving as a convenient way to store household items in a safe and secure place until their new home is ready for them to move in. Some people use storage for items like cars, boats and RV’s, furniture or specialty items like antiques, wine or other items that are valuable. Storage is an easy and economical way to remove clutter from your current home.
Another common reason to use storage is when families are making major changes to a home or when they arrive in a new area and have only temporary housing until they find their new home. Storage is frequently needed when households are making big changes to the size of their residence (e.g. moving from a 2 bedroom apartment to a studio apartment).
Members of the military are also frequent users of storage because of their frequent deployments or transfers. Storage facilities actively seek out military customers and many offer special discounts and incentives.
Types of Storage – Self Storage and Mobile Storage
They are two main types of storage used by consumers – self storage and mobile storage. Both have their up sides and the best choice will depend on the situation of the storage user.
Self Storage
According to the latest research, there are over 45,000 storage facilities with more than 2 billion rentable square feet in the U.S. Self storage owners include both large, public companies and local small-business owners. Many of these facilities are members of the Self Storage Association (SSA). These self storage owners will often own the land and dwellings associated with their storage facilities. Many of the facilities are relatively new, with more than 25% of all self storage capacity in the United States added in just the past 5 years. The fast growth in the self storage industry, combined with new technology and features, make it a great time to be a customer of self-storage.
Mobile Storage
Portable or "mobile" storage has become an increasingly popular option for many different types of users. This is a flexible storage option in which the mobile storage provider actually delivers the storage unit to your requested location, and then you fill it and choose whether to store it at your current location or have it shipped to another location (although many communities frown on having the storage unit in front of the house for an extended period of tme. The units are engineered for durability and security and in some cases can be used for moving household or business items across the country.