Keeping all of your items in self storage is a great way to get them temporarily out of the way, so that you have more room at your home, office or commercial space; however, it does come with some minor security risks to the belonging- especially theft. With just a couple of preventative measures, most of the security issues that can come up can easily be avoided. Check out the following five tips to ensure that your items are kept as safe as possible during their stay at a self storage facility.
1. Choose a Storage Facility with Security
Self storage facilities that offer security gates, alarms, guards, etc. cost a little bit more up front, but in the end, if it prevents a burglary it is a lot cheaper than having to spend the time and money to replace any stolen items. Make sure that if you do decide to go with a storage facility with security to inquire to what sort of security they have to make sure they have all the features you want.
2. Pack Valuable Items in the Back
Anything that is visibly valuable, electronics, antiques, tools, etc., should go in the back of the self storage unit. The simple reason for this is that obviously if someone tries to steal from your unit, they are going to need to work quickly. If they just see a bunch of boxes and other cheap items, chances are that they will move on to another target. If you need to have valuable items at the front for accessibility, at the very least try to cover them up with a row of boxes in front or tarp/drop cloth/sheet.
3. Choose a Heavy Duty Lock
Like anything else, there are a wide variety of quality of locks. Some of the locks out there are a lot easier to break into than others. When picking out a lock keep in mind that it is the only thing between a potential robber and the items inside of the storage facility, so don’t cheap out on this extremely valuable tool. Ask the storage facility director for the specific type of lock they would recommend for you unit, so that you can choose what best matches your setup.
4. Consider Insurance
Self storage insurance sometimes comes with the unit, so you may want to check out to see if your storage facility includes or offers the insurance before shopping around too much. There are tons of options for self storage insurance out there, so that the value of your items inside of the unit would be protected in the event of theft or some other disaster. If you have a bunch of valuable items in the self storage unit, it is definitely worth considering the cost vs. benefit of getting self storage insurance.
5. Don’t Pack Anything Irreplaceable
The fact of the matter is that if you can’t replace an item, it is probably not a good idea to keep it in self storage in the first place. Besides theft, damage from mildew, flooding, dust, etc. are a matter of concern. Unless you absolutely have to put an item in storage, try not to put it in self storage in the first place.