In today’s working world, there are a lot of jobs that involve long-term travel, frequent moves, and unstable housing circumstances. Maybe you’re a flight attendant who frequently goes on international trips or a busy CEO who spends one week in four different time zones. Regardless of what your profession is, if you travel frequently, it can be difficult to find a place to keep all of your things safe while you’re away.
Rather than throwing out, selling your belongings, or lugging around everything you own, you can rent an affordable self storage unit for all of your short- or long-term needs.
Why Use Self Storage
Besides being able to hold on to all of your beloved items, using a self storage unit comes with a myriad of benefits for traveling professionals. Some of them include:
- Safety and Security
Being on the move frequently comes with a lot of safety issues. Planes lose luggage, new cities bring about unknown circumstances, and the general unpacking and packing process can cause things to get lost in the shuffle. Rather than risk losing your items, store them in a secure self storage unit, like the ones at The Lock Up Self Storage. All of the units are individually locked with personalized gated access and monitored with surveillance videos. Additionally, the entire property has a perimeter alarm and is only accessible through a gated entry with individual access codes. You can enter at any time of the day or night with your personal code, which helps control non-lease holders from gaining unwarranted access.
- Longevity
The best thing about renting a self storage unit is that you can do so for as little or as long as you need. Sometimes, traveling professionals are faced with a period of time where they’re unsure as to when they will return home. Having a self storage unit provides you with flexible, long-term leasing options that will keep all of your valuables, personal items, furniture, and more safe and secure until you return home.
- Peace of Mind
The last thing you want to think about when you’re working in different time zones is whether or not your things are safe. Thankfully, due to the safety and security features we mentioned above, renting a self storage unit will give you the peace of mind you need to focus on your work. If you need to rent a room in another city, you’ll know that all of your own things are protected until you return.
- Controlled Environments
Some of your personal items are too delicate to brave harsh, unpredictable weather. Regardless of if you live in an area that faces sub-zero temperatures, scorching summers, or a little bit of both, it’s important to keep your things safe in a climate controlled environment. Otherwise, you run the risk of returning to broken, moldy, and destroyed belongings. Make sure that whatever self storage unit you rent is 100% climate controlled.
- Extra Space
A lot of traveling professionals will need to rent rooms or live in hotels while they’re away. For this reason, most people opt for a more modest apartment or home in their forever town. This may mean sacrificing some essential storage space or square footage. When you rent a self storage unit, you can take back that extra space for a fraction of the cost. Put away any of your belongings that you don’t need or use every day and keep your home clutter free and easily accessible. Plus, having a self storage unit on hand gives you the opportunity to rent out your home or apartment when you’re gone for long periods of time.
What to Put in Storage
What you decide to put in your self storage unit is up to you, but there are a number of items that are commonly stored by traveling professionals. If you’ve never rented a storage unit before, it might take some trial and error, but you can start with the following:
- Seasonal Clothes
Seasonal clothing, especially winter gear, takes up a lot of room. You can easily free up an entire closet worth of space or more by transferring all of your bulky seasonal clothes into a self storage facility. Find one that is close in proximity to your apartment or home so you can easily access it when needed and start the moving process. You can purchase a standing hanger that is enclosed with cloth and has a zipper access so you won’t have to deal with sifting through boxes when the time comes.
- Decorations
Similarly, take all of your seasonal decorations out of your in-home storage and transfer them to your self storage unit. There’s no reason to keep three boxes of Christmas lights in your hallway closet. Sort everything into their respective holiday boxes and clearly label them prior to storing them in your self storage unit. This will make accessing them a breeze when the time comes to decorate.
- Furniture
Since traveling professionals often opt for a smaller permanent home, there is often an
abundance of furniture with no place to go. While a lot of people decide to sell their bulky furniture in exchange for newer items, this can end up costing thousands of dollars. Instead, you store any excess furniture that you know you’ll use in the future in an affordable self storage unit. This includes any large appliances, antiques, couches, beds, desks, or more. Since there are a number of different sizes of units to choose from, you’ll always be able to find something that fits your needs.
- Important Documents
Another thing that many traveling professionals choose to store in a self storage unit is any important documents. This way, they don’t have to haul them around during travels or risk keeping them in a potentially unsecure location at home. This is also an important thing to store if you do decide to rent out your apartment or house during the periods of time when you’re away.
Choosing the Right Size
Once you decide what you want to store in your self storage unit, it’s time to find the right size for your needs. We recommend going around your home first and choosing everything you want to store in your unit. Depending on how many things you want to put into storage will determine the size of the unit you need. If you’re trying to store most of the things in your home, you’ll likely end up needing a medium or large unit, but if you only have a few things you want to put away, a small unit should suffice—it depends on the self storage company’s sizing parameters.
Finding the Right Company
The last step in setting up a self storage unit for traveling professionals is finding the right self storage company. There are a few different things to look for, including:
- Location
You want to find a self storage unit that is in relatively close in proximity to your home. 
This makes everything much easier in terms of going back and forth to get your items or put new things away.
- Leasing Details
Finding a company that offers flexible leasing options and the ability to extend your lease is important. Since traveling professionals experience a lot of living changes within short notice, it’s important to find a company that will work with your needs rather than against you.
- 24-Hour Access
Having constant access to your belongings is crucial, especially if you work awkward hours. Make sure your storage facility has 24-hour access that is controlled and includes well lit areas.
- Gated Access
Falling in line with safety and security, never use a self storage facility that isn’t gated. This puts you and your things at risk and can make it difficult or unnerving to access your unit during late-night hours.
- Video Surveillance
Video surveillance offers an added layer of protection for you and your things. Make sure your company, at the very least, has some sort of CCTV at all of the entrances and hallways of their self storage facility.
- Alarms
To deter any theft, your self storage facility should have a working perimeter alarm at all hours of the day. If they don’t, avoid signing a lease with them.
If you’re a traveling professional and are in the market for a great self-storage facility then head on over to The Lock Up Self Storage. The Lock Up Self Storage is a family owned and operated self-storage facility that has been in business since 1976. We have tons of different options for each and every budget and need. We pride ourselves in the safety and security of our self storage facility and always put customer service at the forefront of our business. Each of our units is climate controlled and come with advanced security features like video surveillance, perimeter alarms, and gated access with personalized entry codes. Give us a call today so we can find you the perfect self storage unit today, or visit www.thelockup.com.
