It’s that time of year when those recent high school graduates fly the coop and set out on their own as young adults. For many of them, that means heading off to college for the first time. Or perhaps they’re starting their senior year. In any case, this scenario often involves the student taking a lot of their belongings from home and transporting them to a dorm room or off-campus housing.
This task alone can be challenging, especially considering the size of the typical dorm room or apartment bedroom. But we have some tips to help your college student utilize self-storage to their maximum benefit this academic year.
Storage can come in handy when moving onto and off campus. For example, if your student has multiple carloads of stuff, they might consider a short-term storage rental for warehousing those first loads before going back for more. Or if mom and dad are helping with the move, the storage space can be used to stage everything in advance so that on move-in day, all their belongings are near their residential housing and ready to go.
Also, if it turns out that the student has taken more than they’ve needed to college, storage can be used to safeguard the overflow until it can be utilized or taken back home. This is especially true when returning home for the summer or winter holidays.
You might also consider using a storage unit as an off-site closet of sorts. Everyone has seasonal clothing, so students can make the most of their limited residential closet space by using storage for off-season wear like winter clothing. The space could also be used as temp storage for seasonal decorations, small pieces of furniture or even sporting equipment.
When selecting a storage facility, you’ll want to rent an adequately sized unit for your purposes and to choose a site that has a good safety record and is well lit at all hours. Will you need a climate-controlled facility, or will a standard outdoor unit do? Does the storage facility you’re considering have electronic-gate access, video surveillance and onsite management? What about 24-hour or drive-up access?
Start by estimating how much space the student will need and then selecting an individual unit accordingly. In many cases, it doesn’t take much space at all to accommodate a college student’s overflow for one year. You’ll also want to take costs into consideration. Yes, you ideally want something close to campus, but those units often come at a premium price. Consider locations that may be farther removed from the school but may also be much more affordable.
Finally, consider trying to utilize short-term leasing, especially for move-in and move-out situations. Not everyone will need full-time storage throughout the year.