August 2021 – U-Lock Mini Storage

Renting a Storage Unit? 6 Things You Should Consider

There are different reasons why you would need a long term storage unit to store your belongings. You could be moving abroad or you might need extra space to store seasonal items around your home, such as skis or bicycles. You may also need extra space for larger items such as your car, boat or RV.

Whatever your reason is, choosing to rent a storage unit to safely store and protect your belongings is a good decision. To help you select a store unit that best suits your needs, we have listed six factors to consider and evaluate before renting a storage unit.

The Amount and Types of Items You Want to Store

What items are you planning to store? How many items do you want to store in a storage unit? Answering these questions is critical in selecting a storage unit that fits your needs.

If you only have a few small items to store, you can go with a more compact storage unit size such as the 5 x 5 feet which is approximately the same size as a regular closet. This storage unit size is suitable for holding items such as personal items, clothes, boxes, skis, children’s toys, small furniture items, business records and sales rep materials. If you are looking for something bigger, go with the 5 x 15 feet, which is equivalent to a large closet. This storage unit holds items such as small amounts of furniture, sofas, chairs, chest of drawers, boxspring and mattress, business supplies and records, plus other small items and boxes.

Safety and Security Features

A storage facility should have robust security and safety measures in place to ensure the protection of your belongings. At U-Lock Mini Storage, all of our self-storage facilities are fully fenced and gated: both exceptional measures to prevent burglary or theft of any sort.

In addition to a fully fenced with gated facility, we have installed individual alarms for most of our storage facilities. The alarm is triggered when a burglar attempts to forcefully and illicitly enter a storage unit; our security and local law enforcement will be notified of the attempted break-in and attend the respective facility to remedy the issue. We have also installed 4-hour video recording with HD video to monitor and address any suspicious activities 24 hours a day and document all activities near our facilities with our HD video surveillance system.

This surveillance system further strengthens the security of our facilities and prevents malicious activities from occurring.

Monthly Payment Plan

Determine whether the storage facility requires annual payment or offers a flexible month-to-month payment option. We offer a month-to-month payment option with no long term contract so you are not committed to our storage facility: you have the autonomy to rent a storage unit for as long as you need it. Additionally, we do not require a deposit.

Hours of Operation

What are the storage facility’s opening hours? Is the storage facility open during hours that work for you and your busy schedule? These are important questions to answer before renting a storage unit at a storage facility. If the storage facility’s hours of operation do not meet your schedule, renting a storage unit at the storage facility would be incredibly inconvenient for you.

To learn about our hours of operation, contact our storage facility and our team members will be more than happy to provide this information!

The Location of the Facility and Proximity to Your Home

As you begin looking at storage facilities in an area, carefully consider each one’s location and proximity to your home. How important is it to you that the storage unit is located near your house? Are you willing to travel farther for a better or less expensive storage facility?

While the location of a storage unit may not be an important factor when storing items for a short period of time, it is important when storing belongings long-term. This is particularly true if you plan to travel back and forth between the storage unit and your home to retrieve items regularly.

U-Lock Mini Storage has six facilities in BC. Three in Greater Vancouver and three on Vancouver Island. Check out the storage facility nearest to you!

The Storage Facility’s Google Reviews and Ratings

Have you checked the storage facility’s Google reviews and ratings? These reviews and ratings are excellent indicators of the storage facility’s quality.

At U-Lock Mini Storage, we pride ourselves in delivering exceptional storage solutions and customer service to our customers and our Google reviews and ratings reflect the unmatched service.

For example, our U-Lock Mini Storage Burnaby location has a rating of 4.8 out of 5 from 215 Google reviews. The Victoria storage facility also has a 4.8/5 rating from 151 Google reviews.

Questions? Feel free to call us at 1.866.647.8673 or submit a contact form at https://www.selfstorage.ca/contact-us and our staff will be more than happy to answer any questions you may have!

Want to reserve a unit at a storage unit rental facility near you? Check out our self storage facilities:

Downsizing? Use these Storage Solutions!

Although downsizing means living a more simplified life, the actual process of moving to a smaller home can be quite cumbersome and complex.

Although downsizing means living a more simplified life, the actual process of moving to a smaller home can be quite cumbersome and complex. This process often involves a good deal of preparation: from deciding what to bring and what to toss to planning out the actual move itself, downsizing to a smaller home involves a variety of factors you have to take into consideration when planning it out.

Here are 7 easy tips for storing your belongings when moving to a smaller home.

Use Wall Racks Behind Doors

From your pantries and closets to your bedrooms and bathrooms, you can create extra space in your home by using behind-the-door storage. Installing hanging wall racks behind doors will prevent clutter in your closets, pantries and drawers. Additionally, hanging wall racks will make it much easier to find your spices, sauces, and cleaning supplies when you need them. Many hanging wall racks even come with adjustable shelves, which you can add and remove as needed.

Shelving Above Toilets

You can also use wall racks in your washrooms. Nothing’s worse than a tiny bathroom overrun with towels on the floor and toiletries under the vanity. To keep your bathroom and powder rooms clutter-free, you can shelve above the toilets. If you are renting and thus unable to install free-floating shelves on the walls, try using a stand-alone shelf unit that fits over the toilet. This extra storage frees up floor space in the bathroom, as well as shelf space inside your vanity.

Use Storage Beds

Do not waste precious bedroom space with armoires and dressers. Instead, use a storage bed when downsizing to smaller rooms. Storage beds typically come with four or more drawers below the mattress and attached to the bed frame. This feature allows you to store clothes and necessities under the bed instead of inside a bulky, space-hogging chest of drawers. This is a perfect way to utilize and maximize space in your bedroom.

Use Bins and Baskets

Storing belongings inside bins and baskets is one of the most affordable and most aesthetically pleasing ways to save space when downsizing. They can be placed almost anywhere, including entryways, kitchens, closets, bedrooms, bathrooms and pantries. Decorative bins and baskets are easy to come by and help make the home both stylish and organized. When using bins or baskets, we recommend adding labels to them as well. You can find an example of bins and baskets here.

Use Hanging Bike Racks

If you own a bike, then you know that they take up quite a bit of room. To save space, you can go vertical with your bicycle. Whether you store your bike inside the home or in the garage, you will benefit from using a hanging bike rack to hold your bicycle upright. From simple wall mounts to free standing bike racks, there are plenty of ways to hang the bike rack in your home and, consequently, open up floor space for other items.

Use Drawer Organizers

One easy way to help contain the mess in your various drawers is to simply add drawer organizers. These will save you space by allowing you to more easily and efficiently store everything from makeup and toiletries to office supplies and kitchen utensils inside your drawers. These organizational trays can be used in kitchens, pantries, bathroom vanities and desks.

Rent a Storage Unit

Renting a storage unit is a fantastic way to create more space in your new home. You can store belongings such as old CDs or clothes in the storage unit and retrieve your items when you need them.
If you have only a few items to store, you can rent a 5 x 5 feet storage unit, which is roughly the same size as a regular closet. This storage unit size is ideal for storing personal items, clothes, boxes, skis, children’s toys, small furniture items and some documents. If you have a few more items to store, you can go with a 5 x 10 feet storage unit. This storage unit is approximately the same size as a walk-in closet and it is perfect for holding a few pieces of furniture, sofas, chairs, a chest of drawers, box spring and mattress, business supplies and records, plus other small items and boxes.

Sharing is not always Caring: Why You Shouldn’t Shared Storage Units

While growing up did your parents constantly remind you that “sharing is caring”. For the most part that is absolutely the case. But for a storage unit, that might not be the right answer.

While growing up did your parents constantly remind you that “sharing is caring”. For the most part that is absolutely the case. But for a storage unit, that might not be the right answer. Sharing a storage unit can save you money, however, there are various problems with sharing a storage unit with others. Here are the top four reasons why you shouldn’t share a storage unit.

Security

When you sign up for a storage locker there is only ONE person who has signing authority.

That person can grant access to whomever they see fit. If you have your belongings in there and you are not the signing authority, there is a possibility of people you aren’t comfortable with accessing your space.

Organization

Isn’t it annoying when you can’t find what you are looking for? Now imagine looking when your stuff is mixed in with someone else’s. Having your stuff together may make it more difficult to locate the item you are looking for, and things might get mixed up when you eventually vacate the locker.

Convenience

Lost your key? Want to transfer to a different unit? Only the person with signing authority can request a lock cut, or transfer units. If they are not available, then you will have to wait until they are.

What if?

What happens if you have a falling out with your locker partner, and you are not the one with signing authority?

Whoever’s name is on the lease can change locks and deny entry to anyone. Without their OK there is nothing storage staff can do to ensure your belongings are returned to you.

If you have any questions about booking a storage unit in one of our mini storage facilities, please get in touch and one of our team members will be more than happy to help!

Our self storage facilities are: