College Students: To Store or Not to Store

Stay in one place long enough and you will end up with more stuff than you know what to do with. If you live in a dorm room or a small apartment, it seems like things have a way of accumulating without you even noticing. It can be frustrating to figure out what to do with everything at the end of each year—clothes you may never wear again, books from three semesters ago, various knick-knacks and momentos lining your shelves where the books should be (they, of course, are stacked on your desk and on the floor because there is no more room on the bookshelf). These things seem to continue to take up more and more space each year, as you move from dorm room to dorm room, apartment to apartment, until your ability to live comfortably is severely limited.

Although you might get rid of a few things, you are never sure which of these things you might need or want some day. Things that don’t seem important now might be vital a little further down the road. Even if you don’t know what to throw out, you can still declutter your college home or room and give yourself a little more breathing room. Farming out your extra items to a storage unit will give you options and might even help make your place feel more like home. Self storage for college students is an idea worth considering whether you are bursting at the seams in your tiny dorm room or embarking on an exciting semester abroad. 

The first step is to think about what you need.  Here are some questions ponder:  

• Do you have extra stuff that is not being used and is taking up too much space?

• When will you run out of space for the things that you really need? 

• Do you need to move some items out of your room or apartment temporarily, such as over the summer or for a semester when you study abroad?

• How easy or difficult will be be to separate the items you really need from all the extra stuff that is just hanging around your place? 

You should also think about some of the benefits of using a self storage unit: 

• You can pick up items you need from storage at your convenience. Need to find a reference from last year’s European history book? It’s waiting for you in your storage unit.  

• Rotate seasonal clothing—no more moving sweaters aside to find your shorts and flip flops.

• Keep your furniture and heavy stuff near campus during breaks instead hauling it all home each time.

• Quickly make more space in your room anytime you like by bringing more stuff to the unit.

• Now you have a place to keep last semester’s books until you have a chance to sell them.

Keep these things in mind if you decide to rent a self storage unit:

• Storage facilities often fill-up quickly as summer approaches, especially of the small storage units that college students often want. So make plans to reserve a unit well in advance so that you get the unit that you want.

• Wash your dishes, clothes, towels, blankets, etc., before you take them to storage.  Check out the packing tips on this website to help you store your items properly to avoid damage.  Remember not to store food, plants, or anything flammable.

• Prop the door of your mini-refrigeration open to avoid damage from mildew and humidity.

At San Clemente Self Storage, we try to satisfy each customer's unique storage needs, from college students to car collectors (who should check out our Storage Tips article entitled "Car Storage".  Whatever your storage needs, we hope you will stop by our facility to take a tour or call us at 949-366-1133.

San Clemente Self Storage

170 Avenida La Pata, San Clemente, CA  92673

949-366-1133