Being a student, you’re constantly looking for ways to cut corners on costs without too much hassle. When you’re between houses, it can be difficult to know what to do with all your stuff. Do you take it all back home and effectively move in and out of your parents’ home again? What if that’s simply not an option for you? This is where self storage comes in, and a great way to cut your costs is to share the space with friends or housemates.
How to get organised
There are several ways in which you can organise all your items. Assuming that, as students, it’s unlikely that you will be storing furniture, you will need boxes to store your belongings in. You can beg and borrow boxes from local supermarkets and shops, but you can also buy new ones from our online
Box Store.
Make sure that you sort out all your unwanted items before you store, as this will just waste valuable storage space and money.
Create an inventory of all the items that you plan to store, and take photographs of everything before they go into storage. This is the easiest way to remember what’s yours and whether it’s in storage or not.
To differentiate between housemates’ belongings, colour coding is often the best way to go. Assign yourselves a different colour, and make sure that colour is highly visible on all your boxes. If you want to be even more organised, pack according to room and write the room name clearly on the box.
Estimate the amount of space you’ll need by stacking all of your boxes on top of one another, then measure the space with a tape measure. If you’re having trouble, Safestore’s advisors will be happy to help you estimate this.
How does it work?
Head to the
Safestore website and see if there is a storage centre nearby. Choose the nearest one and get a quote - it’s as simple as that. You can either get a quick quote using the online calculator or ring the store directly and talk to one of our friendly advisors.
You can rent storage space from as little as a week. Our service is completely flexible so if you need more or less time than you thought, this can easily be arranged. Safestore can also help you organise getting all your belongings from your student house to the store and back again.
How many keys do we get?
The number of keys that you have is an entirely individual decision. It’s up to you to purchase the padlock to secure your storage room, so you can get as many keys cut as you like. This gives everyone the flexibility they need to access their belongings as and when required.
Limitations
There are however some limitations to sharing storage in this way. It does require a great deal of organisation and trust between housemates that you may not necessarily know that well.
You may find that you have to nominate one person to deal with the storage company, so ensure that you pick someone who is willing to be responsible.
It’s good practice to make sure that your belongings are stored in completely covered boxes, so no one else can see inside. Finally, to be ultra-safe, take photos of your items in storage, so you don’t forget which items are yours and what they looked like when you stored them.
How much money can I save?
Safestore offer a range of different discounts but they vary from store to store. Contact your specific location to find out the exact amount of discount available. A student discount may also be offered to further reduce your costs.
Sharing your storage space will often mean a financial saving as you’re sharing the cost between a number of you. However, to ensure you get the best price, get two quotes: one for your own personal belongings and another for all of your housemates items combined. This may mean that for someone with only a few items to store it’s not worth sharing. However this system works perfectly if everyone has around the same amount to store. Shared student storage space is secured in a locked room with Safestore staff accompanied access only.