Most people own at least a few items that they do not regularly use, but which they would prefer not to throw away or sell. Examples of such items might include a family heirloom that has a lot of sentimental value, or barbecue and gardening equipment that is used occasionally during the summer months.
In most cases, people simply store these goods in their garage or attic. However, it is almost always best to keep these types of items in storage units. Read on to find out why.
To keep your possessions safe
Storing items that have a great deal of monetary or sentimental value in an area of your home which is not particularly secure could potentially lead to these goods being stolen. Garages, for example, are often said to be one of the easiest areas of a property for burglars to gain access to, because these structures are usually secured with little more than a small, flimsy lock.
This means that should a burglar decide to target your property and they manage to break into your garage, they could steal all of the valuable possessions you have stored in there within a matter of minutes.
Attics, whilst not quite as easy to break into as a garage, can also be used as a point of access for burglars if the attic in question has a skylight which they can shatter and climb through.
If the idea of having your excess belongings stolen distresses you, then it's worth placing them into a storage facility. Most storage facilities are guarded 24 hours a day and feature CCTV monitoring systems and high-tech alarms, as well as extremely robust locks on each of their units. This means that the storage units at these types of facilities are extremely difficult, if not impossible, to break into.
To keep your possessions in good condition
Garage and attics are not the best places to store valuable items if you want to ensure that these goods remain in good condition for years to come.
Garages, for example, often lack insulation; this makes them highly susceptible to damp. If your garage develops a damp problem, any upholstered fabric or important paperwork which you choose to store in this part of your property could end up destroyed by damp-induced moisture and mould.
Attics are not much better, as they are often poorly-ventilated; this can lead to a build-up of condensation which could also result in paper files and any garments or upholstered items you store there sustaining damage.
Furthermore, because they are so rarely used, garages and attics are often the first areas of a property that rats and mice tend to invade. If these parts of your home develop a rodent infestation, these creatures could do major damage to your belongings (by chewing up fabrics, paper and cardboard boxes to make their nests, and by leaving droppings on your belongings).
If you choose to keep your items in a storage facility, you won't have to worry about any of these issues, as in addition to being temperature-controlled, the storage units at these places are also tightly sealed, to prevent rodents and other pests from accessing their interiors.
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