Would you rent a storage unit?..

[Noahs ARK]

My sister from Portland and I talked about this the other night.

She's renting a climate controlled storage unit for some of her storage - something on the other side of town or up by her in-laws in Washington. She & her hubby want to split up the storage so it doesn't all get destroyed during a disaster.

Money isn't an issue for her and I'm thrilled she's starting to take this all seriously, so good for her!

We had a new climate controlled storage building built about 1/2 mile from our home. The 5x10 are $50/month. The 10x20 are $100/month.

I took a look at them. The 5x10 is a pretty decent size. I refuse to pay $100 for a storage unit, so that one is out of the question even tho I'd have lots of fun filling it up!!

So .... would you spend $$ for a storage unit if you didn't have enough storage space in your home?

[Pilikia]

If I could afford it I would. I can't. Good thing I only have one child at home now so I have a designated "storage" *cough junk cough* room.

I would use the off-site storage to clear out "stuff" but keep my food storage at home.

A thought that if it's just "stuff" and not food stuffs, it might be worth looking into buying a storage shed to put in the back yard. We bought a really good quality one for less than a year's rent of the 10x20 size. Of course it's not really climate controlled, I think, and only good if one has room... FWIW. :)

[Noahs ARK]

We have 2 storage sheds, but I wouldn't put any of my "stuff" in them cuz our weather is too hot & humid during the summer. What we NEED is a garage - that would clear out my small lower level basement for my storage.

I have to really think about it.

[Pilikia]

Utah doesn't usually get all that humid--at least where I live--so I can appreciate not wanting to put your "stuff" in a shed.

Tuff Shed makes garages. They're stand-alone and I don't know if they'd be climate controlled.

[Noahs ARK]

I know. I love Utah weather - lived there for 4 years. (Draper, Sandy, SLC)

We're thinking of putting an attached garage on the basement. The vents could all be run out there to help with the temps. Luckily that side of the house is wooded, so it's usually 20 degrees cooler.

I have no patience - I want everything NOW, which is just not possible. :sosp:

[Looking Forward]

We have friends who own a storage unit business, and they would say YES. BUT I would be very hesitant. They live on site, so it is more safe than most. The biggest risk you will have is someone finding out, and stealing it in the middle of the night. When things get worse, I think people will get more desperate. There will people looking at those going to storage units(watching what they have inside), and when you go and get your food it becomes an open invitation to help themselves.

Also, separting your food storage may be a good idea, but if your house gets destroyed very likely so will the storage unit. Wouldn't your sister's inlaws up in Washington also experience the same kind of natural disaster as her in Portland?

When deciding, think about the natural disasters can/will happen in your area then plan around that. Can you get to your storage if there is no roads, or chaos in the streets?


We're thinking of putting an attached garage on the basement. The vents could all be run out there to help with the temps. I would invest in doing this over putting money in a storage unit (don't tell my friends :l0 (46): )

IF I had my ideal, I would keep all my storage with me, AND have another set in a very different place (not storage unit) with the logistics of how to get there already planned out. :l0 (29):

[Noahs ARK]

I think we're leaning towards a garage - at least we'd have everything here with us and not worry about somebody stealing it from the storage unit. But it won't be for several years. :svengo:

My sister & her husband own 7 assisted living facilities. Some are in OR and some are in WA, so they travel a lot back & forth. She wants to have access to storage in WA *just in case* they're up there on business when disaster strikes and they can't get back to OR.

I told her she should store some of it in the basement of one of their facilities, but she's against that idea because in the event of a disaster, her facilities might become shelters. So she wants to keep their storage away from the facilities, which is probably a good idea.

Ach. Oh well....we do the best we can. I'll just keep saying my prayers & know I'll be guided to do the right thing.

[DMGNUT]

In the area you're talking about, this might not be an issue, but during most disasters, the power goes out, which means the storage unit is no longer climate controlled.
Down here in AZ, that means in summer your food all goes bad pretty quick.
At least at my home I can run a generator, etc.
Also consider what others said about some else ending up with it.

[LoudmouthMormon]

We live out in the middle of nowhere, and commute 20-35 miles to town. It's always on my mind that my wife and kids could get stuck a 2-3 day journey away from home if some short or long-term disaster struck. They're not up to a journey like that - I barely am myself.

I've considered a small storage unit somewhere within a 4-5 hour walk of where they're likely to be, so we'd have a reachable place to go in case of something happening. A few sleeping bags, a week or two worth of supplies, cash, maybe a firearm - could be a great thing if the 10 mile stretch of forest road to our home had a gazillion trees strewn across it and all the hotels had filled up because nobody else can leave the city for whatever reason...

[Noahs ARK]

I've considered a small storage unit somewhere within a 4-5 hour walk of where they're likely to be, so we'd have a reachable place to go in case of something happening. A few sleeping bags, a week or two worth of supplies, cash, maybe a firearm - could be a great thing if the 10 mile stretch of forest road to our home had a gazillion trees strewn across it and all the hotels had filled up because nobody else can leave the city for whatever reason...

That is exactly what my sister's thinking about. If they got stuck in WA during business, at least they'd have food, water, some cash, etc... that they could get to. (If somebody doesn't get it first, like mentioned above)

I guess I'll just wait until we get a garage and do the best I can with the limited space we have.

The reason we're running out of space is because originally we were going to put our "junk" back in the crawlspace. Hubby and I have now decided that the crawlspace is our water storage area. We're both concerned about having enough water, so that would solve the water storage problem, but then create a space problem for all our bins.

Oh well...I guess I'd rather shuffle bins around than run out of water!