Moving often involves storage, but you need to think carefully about whether you are willing to shell out the bucks for this luxury, or simply throw things away, says Deborah Secrist. She is a spokesperson for Beltway Movers, serving the Washington, D.C., Virginia and Maryland areas, which offers its customers a variety of storage options. Here she talks about why storage can be a good idea, but why it’s also sometimes a waste of money.
When it comes to storing your items or possessions, first of all you want to think about whether you really want to store something. I have to confess it was not until this past September that I went into my own storage are and went through the baby clothes of my now 24-year-old son. It was ridiculous to stores clothing that someone else could have used, and it was ridiculous as I was paying to store them for 24 years! So think about it before you store it.
Think also about what type of storage facility you need, and that decision will often be based on how often you have to access it. If you are going in and and out a lot, you want a storage facility that you can go in 24 hours a day and you have your own key.
Palletized Storage
If you do not need to get into your storage facility a lot, you can get cheaper storage by choosing warehouse palletized storage, where things are stored by forklift in a large pallet. That is cheaper but you cannot get to it at 3 a.m., so you have to think about that.
Think also whether you really need climate control. You will, of course, pay more for climate-controlled storage, and you need to also decide if you want to pay for just a matter of hot and cold, or also a matter of humidity. It all depends on what you are storing as items like wine or precious rugs can be affected by temperature and/or damp conditons.
Storage With Moving Company
You might also want to think about whether you want your storage to be associated with your moving company. If you choose a full-service company like Beltway Movers, you are choosing to have one company handle your moving, bringing the things in the warehouse, being responsible for them there, and bringing them back to your home.
Everybody is looking for ways to economize, and with this option, you are talking to just one manager and getting just one bill. The other advantage is that if you are going in and out of the storage facility a lot, the moving company can help you access your items.
Help Selling Items
Seniors often hire our crew members to help them sort through storage. By doing this, they also have the office staff at their disposal. I post items on Craig’s List for people; they do not have to be there and we can sell things for them by using our company staff.
