AD | Collaborative post
University life often means living in smaller rooms, shared houses or, for 24% of students, in halls of residence.
All the options have limited storage. Yet students accumulate an astonishing amount of stuff, from textbooks and clothes to bikes and seasonal or sports kit. Not to mention sentimental items.
Add to that the frequent moving between term-time flats, home life and placements, and managing belongings becomes an ongoing headache. It can all affect study, wellbeing and academic grades.
Self storage may offer the ideal solution. Here are eight reasons why.
1. Safe and Secure
Self storage offers flexibility and security for those items you don’t need access to on a daily basis. The benefits include:
- Short-term rentals you can tailor to match term dates and holidays.
- Security, often in the form of CCTV and individual room locks and alarms.
- Variety of room sizes to choose from so you’re not paying for space you won’t use.
- Easy access sites so you won’t struggle with parking or transport.
2. Easier Transitions Between Home and Uni
With long breaks between semesters, many students choose to go home. It’s easy if you’re studying in your home town. But say you live in London but you’re going to Newcastle Uni. Why not look for self storage in Newcastle and save yourself the challenge of repeatedly carting your kit back and forth.
If you have a self storage room you can safely lock away everything you won’t need while you’re away. Think of big winter coats you won’t need for summer breaks, or heavy sports kit you’d struggle to get in the car or on the train.
It saves you having to repeatedly pack everything up for transport, and you have peace of mind knowing nothing will be ‘borrowed’ while you’re away.
3. Free Up Living and Study Space
When you’re able to stow a good proportion of the stuff you don’t often use elsewhere, you can create a better living environment.
- Being clutter-free, you’ll concentrate better, achieve more, and be more productive during revision sessions.
- You can keep a clear desk reserved solely for current course materials and focused study or writing time.
- Communal areas in house shares stay tidier, reducing friction and promoting a more harmonious atmosphere.
- It’s easier to decorate and personalise your space when it’s not cluttered with random belongings.
4. Store Seasonal and Specialist Items
If you’re involved in sports, music or outdoor activities, it’s likely you have equipment that’s awkward to keep in a small room.
On the other hand, self storage gives you a safe place for your bike, kayak, skis or snowboards and musical instruments. They’re quickly retrieved when you need them, but safe from damage or theft when you don’t. You’ll also prevent overcrowding your living space so you can be more comfortable when you get chance to relax.
5. Great Support During Short Placements or Internships
Depending on your course, you may not be able to complete your study within the university itself. Many specialised courses require you to take up work placements or short internships in a different town that may be hundreds of miles away.
It’s challenge enough to find accommodation, as the university may not help with this, without also worrying about your possessions while you’re away.
Self storage can help if you need somewhere short term to keep your valuables.
6. Reduce Stress When Moving
Unless you’re lucky enough to find rented accommodation for the whole of your degree course, house moves will be a regular occurrence in your life. Self storage rentals give you:
- A staging area where you can unpack gradually. It eases stress so you don’t feel rushed while you settle into a new area.
- You can keep personal furnishings or decor items safe while you’re searching for a new rental between years or semesters.
- You don’t need to physically transport every item you own between places on short notice. Your storage room is your permanent holding place when the rest of your life might feel in a state of flux.
7. Cost-effective options for students
While renting storage does have a cost, it can easily balance out when compared to the alternatives. You may need to pay for van hire for multiple trips home for instance, or you might face expensive replacement costs if equipment gets damaged or stolen in student rentals.
While cheap self storage is available, there are other ways to help with costs. You could share a storage room with a trusted housemate, look for the smallest unit that will hold all your gear, and talk to storage facility staff about rental terms and possible student discounts.
8. Choose the Right Storage Unit and Contract
Storage places will happily help with both these considerations. As a general guide you need to:
- Estimate the volume of your possessions using online size guides or asking the facility for advice.
- Look for month-to-month contracts if your plans are subject to change. Only choose longer terms if it’s cheaper and you’re certain you’ll use the whole contracted time.
- Depending on what you’re storing, use facilities that allow you to install free-standing shelving to help make use of vertical space.
Self storage units can be a practical, cost-effective tool for students. It helps you juggle limited living space with all the possessions you need to carry, and can ease the transition away from home. It’s an exciting and challenging time, and those university years are often looked back on with happy memories. Get your living space sorted properly, and you’ll give yourself a good foundation to build on.