The Central City U-Lock Blog

Using Self Storage to Save Money During the Holiday Season

Well, it’s December and the holiday season is here. And you know what that means: it’s time to shop ’til you drop! Or, is it?

I don’t know about you, but I personally love the holiday season; the homes and streets all decked out in holiday splendor, the Christmas lights are a-glowing, the seasonal desserts and beverages (why can’t we drink eggnog all year ’round?) and even Christmas music on the radio. I’m just a sucker for all that stuff. And above all, the holiday season is a time to visit and reconnect with friends and family.

But, then there’s the shopping…and the spending…and the buying. Let’s not also forget the standing in long holiday lines to buy items that sometimes you don’t even know if you can really afford to buy all at one time in the first place. This is the part of the holiday season that I am not quite as much of a fan of. Too much stress, not enough holiday cheer.

To beat the insanity that is holiday shopping, I do my holiday shopping bit by bit all year ’round. After all, just like “a watched pot will never boil”, having to find all the perfect gifts for people at one specific time can be a highly stressful and unlikely proposition (I believe this phenomenon was responsible for the invention of the #1 last minute gift item of desperation; the gift card). So, instead of trying to force it all before Christmas, I purchase things for my friends and family throughout the year as I run across them, and then put them into storage to await their yule-tide unveiling. Less stress, more cheer!

For one thing, it’s just great to have the time to fully enjoy the holidays without that nagging sensation that one should be out shopping that is brought about with every commercial you’re likely to see on television or hear on the radio. After all, the whole point of Christmas is to be giving to others, so I’d rather focus on the giving during the season and the buying during the off-season.

Of course, there is the economic angle, which is probably the biggest advantage to doing it this way. One example would be that most people rush out the day after Christmas to scoop up some post-holiday rock-bottom deals. This is smart. However, most are never thinking of the next Christmas to come. They figure they will just do that later, and they are burnt out on shopping anyway since they just recently had to join the swirling masses and crowded stores for that perennial marathon shopping-spree. It is much more economical to buy gifts during the times when retailers are looking to clear out space than during the traditional shopping season. It’s more of a buyer’s market. Buy what you run across, without the pressure of a looming Christmas deadline and put it into storage.

Of course, once you start shopping like this you will have to find appropriate storage solutions for these items as the await their unwrapping. Storing them at home can be fine, but can also increase the clutter in basements and attics and, especially for the larger-sized gifts, ruin the surprise potential if you’ve purchased these items for people with whom you live. Why store these items in self storage? It’s cheap, easily accessible and your gift stash can be out-of-sight and out-fo-mind for you and for those who will be receiving them when the time is right.

So, I say, avoid the holiday crunch and just buy things as you find them all year ’round, then put them into storage. (Preferably at Central City U-Lock ) You’ll be glad you did as you’ll have better gifts with less money spent. Additionally, while everyone else is running around doing all that last minute Christmas shopping, all you have to worry about is wrapping your gifts and hanging your stockings with care.

Happy holidays!

DC

Staff Writer

Simplify Your Home This Remembrance Day!

With today being Remembrance Day, it is time to honor those who served.  Why not do so and clean up your house or apartment to boot?  Read on to find out how…

Unless you’re a monk who lives in an isolation cell, throughout life we human beings usually accumulate stuff like metal filings to a magnet.  It’s just what we do. And every few years or so there usually comes a time when we realize that we must slim down the heard; both in order to make more space for the metaphorical grass to grow and also to improve the understanding and appreciation of what we’re lucky enough to have.

Unfortunately, once you have decided to clean up and simplify your home it can often at first seem an overwhelming task.  The best thing to do to get things started is to sort out what you really have in the first place.  It is our humble opinion, here at Central City U-Lock, that most things we have accumulated usually fall into the following four simple categories:

1. stuff we need
2. stuff we like but don’t need around very often
3. stuff we don’t even know if we like anymore
4. stuff we don’t like but don’t want to throw away because it still might have value to us (or someone else) someday

Once you have mentally organized your personal possessions into these four categories it can be a lot easier to decide what to do.  Obviously, the first group is easy to deal with; you need that stuff!  Hooray, you’re already a quarter of the way finished!

Category two, the stuff we like but don’t need around very often, can be a prime candidate for organization and storage.  Depending on how often you use or need some of these items you may want to consider how you can either store them more effectively in your basement or attic, or put them in to (you guessed it!) self storage.  Self storage is quite affordable and can often be the best solution for items that are seasonal, get in the way of life when not being used, or are simply too large or cumbersome to efficiently store in your home.

Categories three and four are where our veterans, or other worthy charities, can benefit.  Once you’ve decided what you want to keep from group three (btw: from a minimalist perspective, if you can’t decide if you like something anymore you probably don’t like it enough to keep it around…) you could donate all these items to a veterans charity of your choice in the spirit of this year’s Remembrance Day!  One great Canadian veterans charity is Friends of Veterans Canada, which can be found on the web at www.fovcanada.ca.

So, what are you waiting for?  Start streamlining your home and organizing your life today by putting seldom used items into storage and donating your unwanted ones to a worthy cause.

The Storage Misadventures of our Staff Writer D.C.

If you are lucky enough to to live in a large house that has an attic, basement or crawl spaces, it is indeed appealing to use these areas as storage spaces.  However, I am about to tell you two cautionary little tales that happened to our staff writer D.C. while he was trying to store things in these sorts of areas. I am not saying that these experiences are commonplace, but since he witnessed them first hand, they are certainly some things to watch out for.

1. Rats

About four years ago, D.C.’s house was overcome by an infestation of rats and mice.  D.C.  had heard little sounds in the walls and saw evidence of rats here and there, but by the time he got around to calling the exterminators, it was way too late.  Apparently, the rats had already been living and breeding in the attic and ceiling spaces for months. D.C. was crushed when he worked his way to the back of the attic to grab his late grandfather’s suit to wear to a friend’s wedding and found it half devoured on the hanger! Rodents can destroy clothing and paper items at an alarming rate, D.C.  found out that day. Basically, they have to constantly chew on things to keep their teeth sharp.   Boxes, books, old records, and apparently suits, are all perfect tooth-sharpening fodder for those little guys.

2. Wet Storage

About two years before the rat incident, D.C. had a power outage that lasted a day and a half. This would not have been that big of a deal to him, but he lived in an old house that used an electronic sump-pump in the basement to flush out the water that occasionally appears there during the rainy season. And, you guessed it: it rained the whole time the power was out. The basement flooded and he lost a lot of  items that he had recently moved out of an extra room. Some of it, he managed to save by drying it out (papers and slides and such). Ironically, he almost burned the house down by hastily trying to dry the soaked items over the heater in his living room (don’t ask). Which brings me to the third thing that can claim the valuable items you might be trying to store, but for which I have luckily no humorous D.C. story with which to exemplify:

3. Fires

If you are trying to store valuable items, such as back-ups of computer data or old, irreplaceable and seldom-seen memorabilia, it makes sense to store these items separate from all the other items that you use everyday in your house. I personally store my computer back-ups and rarely-used but yet valuable items separately from my house at Central City U-Lock. Therefore, if the unthinkable were to happen and there was a fire in my house, I know that these items will survive.

So, all I am saying by relaying these absolutely true (I swear it!) stories to you, is that sometimes it can be wise to store items away from your home in order to better your chances of their survival. Here at Central City U-Lock (your storage Surrey leaders, btw), our self storage spaces will keep your items safe from animals and the elements. So, instead of having all of your belongings in one place and having to worry about remembering to monitor their safety yourself, why not place your belongings someplace truly “out of sight, out of mind?”

To Every Season, Turn, Turn, Turn…

Most people will tell you that if you have a lot of extra stuff lying around, you should get it out of the way by either storing it or selling it. Being that I work for a self-storage company, you are probably thinking that I am about to spend the rest of this blog entry championing the former. However, your needs may go beyond renting a self storage unit. Therefore, I say, why not do both?

Just like the Byrds’ lyrics I referenced in the title above say, there is a season for everything. If you are one of those people who buy and sell a lot of items on websites like Craig’s List or Ebay, you know that you ending up losing money if you don’t sell your items at the right time. For example, if you try to auction off your artificial Christmas tree in the month of July, you will find that you don’t quite get the results you would have gotten if you posted it up in September or November. Like so much in life, when it comes to getting the most value out of the possessions you have, timing is indeed everything.

Another timing issue to keep in mind when selling your items is to aim for months when you know people will be in front of their computers. The fact of the matter is that people are not looking for stuff to buy on Ebay or Craig’s List as much during the busy, active summer months. Additionally, I have heard of people getting an average of as much as 30 percent less yield on the things they sell during that time, versus the winter months. That can really add up, especially if you have a lot of items that you want to sell. So, ironically, you could find it easier to sell that boat in the fall or early spring than in the heart of the summer when people are more apt to actually use that item.

In case this seems somewhat confusing; I’ll just tell you that sometimes it can indeed be. I’m not telling you to sell your boat at Christmas time. Perhaps you could get more for that hypothetical aforementioned boat during the summer than in the heart of winter when no one in their right minds is thinking of going boating. On the other hand, it might be better to fine-tune the timing of when it goes up for sale to be right before the summer, as opposed to during it. There are obviously many factors at work here, and every item is different. Basically, you just have to study-up and play the odds.

So, in conclusion, in order to get the most out of your items to be sold or auctioned off, one must keep in mind the importance of timing. Instead of just rushing out to sell that extra parts-car or power-drill immediately, conceptualize the best time to sell it, and, if it is not the present time, why not (you guessed it) put it in to self-storage? This way, the power of timing will be in your hands and all that extra stuff will be immediately moved out of your way, allowing you all the space you need. Even better, you wont have to sell your snowplow for 70 percent of it’s potential value in June!

Shelf Madness!

Recently, a good friend of mine has become consumed with a most wonderful obsession: shelf madness!

It all started when he realized that he was running out of room in the storage areas of his house. Although he’s an extremely organized person, he was still finding himself wanting more room to store things and work on projects in his garage and basement. Even though he already had some traditional shelves up in these areas of the house, he realized that if he had more shelves he would have even more room. Over the past two weeks he has put up at least six new shelves, without spending hardly any money and gaining the satisfaction of reusing materials that were already languishing on other areas of his property. He just can’t stop!

Now, at first, adding shelves of any sort to garages, basements and other storage areas of the house may seem like it will make the space smaller. After all, most people conceptualize the size of a room by the space in between the walls, and no matter what, shelves are going to make those dimensions appear to shrink. However, most storage areas completely under-utilize the space from about six feet off the floor up, and these areas are the perfect places to create new shelving to most efficiently use the space.

Most garages, for example, have high ceilings and therefore offer plenty of room to add new shelves. Most importantly, these new shelves will in no way decrease the overall usable space of the room. In fact, the results (as my friend will be glad to tell you…) are quite the opposite! Although this seems somewhat obvious, you would be surprised by how many areas in your storage spaces are just sitting there, waiting to become more usable space: the areas above doors, in crawl spaces, above rafters, etc.

The other amazing thing about shelving is that you can make it out of almost anything! Most of the shelf can be created out of any flat piece of wood that you may have already laying around and taking up space. My shelf-obsessed friend (no pun intended) recently created two shelves using an old fence that had blown down outside his house years ago. Outside of the main shelf component, you will probably want to buy some brackets at the hardware store, which usually don’t cost much. Additionally, if you’re handy with a saw, those brackets could also be made out of any piece of wood cut into a triangle shape.

Of course, if you are inexperienced with building these sorts of things, you should check the many resources online that show you how its done safely and correctly. But, once you have the shelf-awareness (pun unfortunately intended that time) you can catch shelf madness too and start getting things more organized and out of the way! Don’t also forget to use mostly (or even exclusively) reused materials, thus saving the environment and saving space to boot!

Media Storage Do’s and Don’ts

Of all the objects that one can be forced to put into storage, audio/visual media (CD’s, vinyl records, tapes, etc.) is one of the most important things to store correctly. If you don’t know how to pack these materials in the right way, all your efforts to archive and preserve your old discs and tapes could end up being for naught! Heed the following quick list of media storage tips and facts to save your collection.

Records-

Ah, those classic vinyl records! Many of us have record collections that we cherish and plan on preserving as long as we can. And when it comes to vinyl we are lucky; stored correctly, those old LP’s can last many lifetimes.

All LP’s should be stored vertically and packed tightly in order to minimize warping during changes in temperature. As long as records are stored in this way, (and NEVER experience any direct sunlight) they can usually survive drastic temperatures without suffering damage.

Other than heat and sunlight, the other big enemy to those old LP’s is moisture. I’m sure that most of us who have been to a garage sale or two have looked through the record box (that hopefully isn’t sitting out in the sun!) and found unfortunate records stuck to their cases with mold as the glue. Yes, record albums seem to attract that sort of thing easily, so it is important to store them in the driest environment possible. For example, if storing them in a basement or garage, one would be wise to have them on high shelves where moisture is less likely to exist. Also, it can be helpful to try to use the most air-tight packing materials for them to keep the moisture out in the first place.

If any of the records you are putting in storage are still covered with the plastic seal from the factory, it is best to remove it, believe it or not. That plastic was originally put on only to guarantee that the record had never been played, and actually tends to tighten up more so on one side than the other over time and can thus lead to record warping.

CD’s-

CD’s and DVD’s should be stored vertically as well, and much like vampires, will almost instantly be destroyed by any direct sunlight. Additionally, actual store-bought CD’s are much heartier and have a much longer survival rate than burned CDR’s. And the same applies for DVD’s and DVD-R’s as well. Usually CD-R’s and DVD-R’s don’t have cases, so it is best to use those CD books for storage. Tip: not only should you not eat that little desiccant packet that happily resides in most of these cases when you buy it, you should also not remove it as it helps keep the moisture out.

Tapes-

Like the others, heat and moisture will do cassettes in, so keeping them in cases and away from dust and dirt are of obvious importance. Another important thing to remember about any form of cassette tape is that, unlike records or CD’s, they are magnetic, so keep all tapes away from magnets of any type (remember, speakers contain large powerful magnets!).

Clear Garage Space by Storing your Tools

Is their a corner in your garage that looks like the above photo?

As money gets tighter,  homeowners seem to take  on more and more home improvement projects on their own rather than hiring professionals to do the work. While this do-it-yourself attitude saves money, it can also create many headaches. Most notably, while their intentions are just,  the garages of most “weekend warriors”  are cluttered with items like paint cans, drill bits and landscaping tools .  Thus, hard work designed to improve a home’s aesthetics may go unnoticed if the trade off for such work is a cluttered and unusable garage.

On the surface, tools don’t seem capable of cluttering up a garage. Most people simply plan to keep them neat and organized in a particular area of the garage.  Once you are done using a particular tool, the idea is to return that tool to its proper storage area. However, this practice happens rarely for most do-it-yourselfers’. More often than not, our tools are left lying on the garage floor.  Basically, after a hard day’s work, the last thing anyone wants to do is  put away their tools.  Personally, nothing sounds better to us than lying on the couch with an ice-cold beverage after a day spent working around the house.

A single tool being left out in the garage isn’t really a big deal. However, the more projects a homeowner takes on, the more tools he or she uses and most often leaves  out on the garage floor.  Thus after a weekend of say, fixing the deck, trimming the trees, and working on the hot tub, the garage of a hard working homeowner is a complete mess.

So is there a solution to the problem of tool clutter in the garage? Indeed there is and it involves forethought and self storage. Obviously, you don’t use all of your tools during every season of the year. For example, your not going to paint the garage during the sweltering heat of summer, nor will you be in the mood to clean out the gutters when it is pouring down rain in winter. Therefore, when you aren’t in need of your tools for a few months or seasons, take them down to Central City U-Lock and place them in a self storage unit. This simple step can keep the focus on your new home improvements and not on the clutter in the garage.

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5 Reasons to Store That RV!

Many things change for us as summer winds down: camping season ends, kids head back to school, and temperatures begin to drop. For recreational vehicle (RV) owners, this time of year also means that there are only a few road trips left to take while the weather is still good. Most likely in a few months, the RV will have to return to its most familiar home, parked in front of a house.

When not in use, most RV owners simply park their vehicles in front of their homes or in their driveways. While this type of vehicle storage is convenient and often free of charge, it can present many problems for the RV owner. Though we may be biased working at a self storage facility, we believe that moving an RV to self storage is a smart option that RV owners should consider. Therefore, we are happy to present (drum roll please…):

The Top 5 Reasons to Place Your RV in Self Storage

5. Your house can’t be seen behind an RV. Thus, all of your landscaping and outdoor decorating will be for naught.

4. Your friends have no place to park when they visit as your RV is taking up three or four parking spots.

3. RV storage can keep your RV free from vandalism.

2. Moving your RV often can be a hassle, especially if you have blocked the wheels.

1. Self storage rates for RV’s are extremely reasonable. So, why not contact Central City U-Lock today and store your RV with us until your next road trip?

Some Unlikely Office Space

After cleaning out their garages with the help of a self storage unit, many of our customers often ask us what they should do with these formerly cluttered areas. Often, we simply recommend our customers move their cars back into the garage to protect them from the elements and keep their resale values. If a customer seems particularly handy, we may recommend that customer turn his or her freshly cleaned garage into a wood, metal or automobile shop. However, lately we have be recommending to our customers a brand new use for their cleaned out garages: office space.

More often than not, when you think about a home office, you probably picture it being located in a dining room, spare room or in some random corner of a house. However, setting up your home office in these traditional areas can leave your house cluttered. Even if you set out to keep your home office clean, odds are eventually you will lose the cleanliness battle to all of the random file folders, notes, pens and other accessories that begin to pile up in your work area. Additionally, it is super easy to get distracted when working in common areas like a dining room or den. There has to be a better solution for when you want to get some work done at home. This is where your newly clean garage comes in to play.

Though they seem like an odd place to put a home office, garages are fully capable of handling all of the necessities that a work space needs to be functional. Most garages contain multiple electrical outlets, adequate lighting, and counter space. Additionally, if your home has wireless internet, you can run a fully functional online computer in your garage.

Garages also come with an added privacy dimension that most standard home office spaces lack. Thus, when its time to work, you can simply head out to the garage and close the door behind you. Now, you can concentrate on work without being bothered by indoor distractions like television, pets or roommates. Additionally, you don’t have to constantly clean up your work space after you are done each day like you would if your office was located inside of your home. Chances are, most of the friends and family that come to visit typically wont hang out in your garage. Essentially, your garage can function as your own private office space totally removed from your home’s living space. Therefore, if you want to leave it a little cluttered, we’ll never tell.

Reclaim your Garage with Self Storage!

Does your garage look like this?

When we move into a new home, we all have the best intentions for our garages.  Thoughts such as, “I want to keep my garage clean so I can park my car in it,” and “There is no way my garage is ending up like my neighbor’s,” fill our heads when we first look at our new garage. However,  regardless of our intentions, our garages usually end up looking like the cluttered mess in the photo above.  And by the way, there is no way you are getting a car in there.

Garages can become cluttered quickly, easily and without you even realizing it.  Consider these scenarios:

• You have some family coming over and want to tidy the house up quickly.  Where do you throw all of the junk like tiki torches, gardening equipment and lawn furniture that is on the back porch?
• You just got back from a long vacation but are too tired to bring your bags up stairs.  Where is the easiest place for you to leave them til tomorrow?
• It’s time to take down your holiday decorations. Where is the best place in the house for you to store them?

The answer to all three of these questions is:  your garage.

So as you can see,  even if you are out to keep it clean, your garage could still end up like the cluttered wasteland that you swore would never happen.

The fact is that most of the items that end up cluttering your garage are items that you think will only be there for a short period of  time. These items are often shoved in the garage and not given a second thought as you “know” you will use them again in a few months. However, 99% of the time you wont even touch these cluttering items for a year or more.  There is a reason that you only bring out your “vacation” suitcase once a year or have to pull out the camping supplies from behind the water heater. Additionally, what good are you Halloween decorations in April? It is time for you to reconsider how your store seasonal and rarely used items.

A self storage unit can be a great weapon in the fight against garage clutter. Sure, we all know that these units are great for items that you wont need for a long time, don’t have a place for or even for the housing of oversized items like boats or cars. However, many people fail to utilize self storage units for their more immediate storage needs like for seasonal items, holiday decorations and things they just weren’t in the mood to move inside the house. Therefore, self storage units are especially great places to unload the items that are turning your garage into the laughing stock of your neighborhood.

So what are you waiting for? Take your garage cluttering items to Central City U-Lock or your nearest self storage facility and reclaim your garage!