So you want to store your belongings – maybe you just have a few items or a whole household full, maybe you simply need to make some room in your home to stage it for selling or perhaps you have inherited items and haven’t decided where to put in your home. Sometimes students need a place just for the summer to store their “stuff.” Storage really runs the gammit. I know of one gentleman whose wife made him store his comic book collection because it was so enormous. Here are some of your options :

Self Storage: Self Storage is the buildings you see around town with many garages. Each garage is its own separate storage area. They usually have several different size options. The nice thing about self storage is that you can access your belongings as often as you want to. The disadvantage is that they are often not climate controlled and I have heard horror stories of mold and vermin infestation.

Pods: Pods are portable units/boxes that are brought to your home so that you can load your belongings into them. These have become a popular option for many as they provide additional on-site home storage meaning you don’t have to travel to access your belongings. This is perfect if you are remodeling your home or need short term home storage. This is not recommended for moving belongings simply because the mechanism used to drop and lift the Pod box is rather rough. Also the trucks that transport these Pods are a rough ride because they do not have the air ride that moving trucks have. I also would imagine that for most of us who live in towns and cities it would not be ideal to have a Pod in front of our home for a long period of time, simply because it would be an eye sore to our neighbors. These are also not climate controlled.

Climate Controlled Warehouse: Climate controlled warehouse storage is ideal for your most precious belongings – electronics, antiques, art, woods and leathers are all well protected in this environment because they do not go through the extremes of heat and cold. You don’t have to worry about vermin, mold, cracking, or stretching. Most belongings are kept in what’s called a Climate Controlled Vault which is essentially a large wooden box that can hold about a room’s worth of furniture. This type of storage is very secure as there is often an alarm system as well as additional types of security. The one disadvantage to climate controlled storage is that you cannot access your belongings frequently – well you can, but there is usually a fee associated with accessing your belongings as they have to use a forklift and labor to “pull” your vault, open it and return it. This is an excellent option if you are between homes, staging a home, building a home, headed for international travel or any instance where you will not need to access your items often. Exodus Moving & Storage provides this type of storage.

48’ Trailer, 20’ or 40’ Ocean Containers: These storage options are similar to Pods however they can be stored in front of your home or in the company’s “yard” (hence causing no stress to your neighbors!) 48’ Trailers are what you see hooked up to semis going down the road. On average they can usually fit a full 4-5 bedroom household – so they are advantageous for their size. They are also excellent because your belongings do not need to be handled twice during a move. Movers come and load your belongings into the trailer, which is then stored until you request delivery. This is also a “softer” option than the Pods for belongings in transit because the storage unit does not need to be dropped and lifted. The 20’ and 40’ Ocean containers are the metal boxes you see in shipping yards. These are excellent smaller options to the 48’ Trailer and also do not require double handling. The disadvantage to these options is that they are not climate controlled and they are not easily accessible. Exodus Moving & Storage provides these storage option as well.