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

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!

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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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!

The Top Ten Items that you should keep in Self Storage

The summer can be a great time to invite friends and family over to your home. In our opinion, there is nothing better than a  summertime barbecue at your place with those you love. However, who wants to entertain guests when your home is a mess? Therefore, to prepare for your guests this summer,  you need to mop, vacuum,  sweep, and most importantly, de-clutter.  And what is the easiest way to de-clutter? Two words:  Self  Storage!

A self storage unit can be extremely useful for storing items that you don’t use that often, only need for special occasions, or items that you  just want to get out of your home for a weekend or two.  So to get you in the summer cleaning mood, here are ten items that you probably have in your home right now that should be kept in storage. 

1. Skis, snowboards and winter sports accessories
2. Holiday decorations
3. Sports equipment
4. Winter clothing
5. Items you plan to sell on Ebay
6. Old computers
7. Old televisions
8. Stuffed toys
9. Collectibles
10. DVD’s

If any of the items from the above list are cluttering up your home,  you probably should come see us at Central City U-Lock and get yourself a self storage unit. Don’t wait til its too late and the guests have arrived!