Category Archives: Storage

Dishing Out More Space

Storing Dishes

In many restaurants, space is at a premium.  Despite the open and spacious layout that is the norm in most eateries, behind the scenes is often a different story.  Pots and pans are stacked haphazardly anywhere they can fit, utensils are piled in bins, and spare dishes and glasses line the walls.  It’s important to have a fully stocked storeroom with extra glasses, plates, and many of the other items needed to serve food.  If these dishes were indestructible, there wouldn’t be an issue.  They are not, however, and this can lead to problems.

It is quite routine for a customer to drop a glass, the bus boy to lose a plate, or the dishwasher to break a bowl.  These eventualities are almost certain, it’s the price that must be paid to use nice dining ware. Continue reading

Old Clothes, New Space

 

storing-kids-clothesKids grow fast.  Before you know it, your little one will be walking, then going to school, then even driving.  All these milestones are incredibly exciting, and watching your child grow up is a joy.  Buying new clothes every six months – not so much.  Kids often grow out of their clothes so quickly, especially as babies, that their clothes can look brand new.  Often times, parents will donate these clothes or give them away to friends so someone else can benefit. Continue reading

Storing Power

rc slot carLast post we discussed how lakes are used as storage for water.  Lakes are not necessarily the first thing that people would think of when discussing storage, and this week’s topic falls into that same category – batteries.

Dating back to 1800, batteries have served as an excellent way for people to store power in a dense, portable form.  In a world with more and more electronics, batteries have become essential to everyday life.  They are in our phones, laptops, cars, and many other items that are used daily.  The batteries used in electronics are rechargeable Lithium-ion batteries, a technology that has been around since the 1970’s, although there have been many improvements. Continue reading

Unconventional Storage

hoover damIn a recent article from SFGate.com, it was reported that in the recent heat wave that caused temperatures in parts of the Western U.S. to skyrocket into triple digits, snow melt was accelerated. With the high temperatures turning snow into water, 12 billion gallons of H2O poured into Lake Tahoe in the last week.  That’s over 18,000 Olympic sized swimming pools!

Lakes and reservoirs are one of the main ways we store water – and they are crucial in dry areas like the Southwestern United States.  After the outlet from a natural lake has been damned, the water level can then be regulated in order to match the amount of rainfall, snow melt, and needs of the surrounding community. Continue reading

Letting Go – When it’s Just Not You

balloon-floating-freeIt is said that politics is the art of compromise.  This could also be said of marriage. Two human beings who plan to live together for an long period of time will need to learn how to successfully compromise.

One area of contention (and thus a great opportunity to compromise), is what to keep and what to get rid of – or more likely, when to get rid of it.

Often the level of emotional attachment to an object varies between the spouses – especially as life changes and situations change.  Children arrive into the world, grow up, and leave (or at least we hope they eventually leave). Those old college text books fade and become outdated.  The artwork that looked great with that brown couch didn’t cut it with the blue one and has been relegated to a position under the bed.  However, our emotional attachment to the items we no longer use may still be too strong to think about letting them go – at least for one of the members of the household.  So, how to make room for new things without causing a marital rift? Continue reading

Rent a Storage Unit, Help a Friend

help-a-friendHere’s an interesting thought: did you ever consider that renting a storage unit could save someone’s life? Well, OK, that might be a little exaggerated, but consider this scenario: you have a friend who has lost their job. You commiserate, give them helpful advice, and encourage them to keep looking because something good will turn up. But a couple of months go by, and they still haven’t found a job. Now their savings account is running low, and they probably can’t make next month’s rent. You could loan them some money (always a dicey proposition between friends) or … you could rent a storage unit for them.

What good is a storage unit going to do them, you ask. Well, they can give notice on that apartment before they get kicked out, move all their stuff into the storage unit, then move in with a relative or friend (maybe you, maybe not) while they regroup. Once they find that new job, they can save up for a new apartment, joyfully get their stuff out of storage, and make a fresh start. All because you rented a storage unit.

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving, a day to reflect on the many blessings in your life. But today could be a day when you could make a real difference in the life of a friend.

Happy Thanksgiving from the Dollar Self Storage family.

The Future of Self-Storage Looks Bright (and Attractive!)

alton-blog

No longer relegated to the edge of town next to the defunct drive-in theater, today’s self-storage facilities are bright, clean, and designed to fit in with the aesthetics of the local neighborhood. In a previous post, we talk about the historical roots of the storage industry, beginning as it did in warehouses in the industrial part of town. Even after its transformation in 1960’s Texas to the “self-storage” industry, where you could drive right up to the door of your unit, the facilities were still visually unappealing and usually in the low-rent district. But flash forward to the 21st century, and as the demand for off-site storage has increased, consumers have come to expect more upscale, conveniently located facilities.

In addition to attractive modern architecture, these re-imagined self-storage facilities often offer special amenities, like covered loading docks, elevators, access to moving dollies and rolling carts. Luxurious landscaping features often brighten the environment, and air-conditioning, controlled access, and security cameras are par for the course. Continue reading

Storage Scarcity

storage-unitsYou know what storage scarcity looks like in your house – overflowing closets and cupboards, and a garage you can’t park your car in. But even after you have committed to renting a storage unit, sometimes there is a scarcity of the right sized units. If you have your heart set on a 5’ x 5’ unit, for instance, and can’t find any in the storage facility near you, there are some strategies you can employ to solve this problem. Continue reading

A History of Self-Storage

amenities

Dollar Self Storage facility – Bright, Clean, Secure

Self-storage facilities are such a common part of the American landscape these days, it’s hard to remember a time when they weren’t around. The fact of the matter is, self-storage as we know it is only about fifty years old, although the concept of storing your goods somewhere other than your home is much older. The Self-Storage Association believes personal storage first began in England when British banking institutions were asked to safeguard valuables for clients embarking on extended voyages. But bank vaults quickly became filled up, and other locations had to be used, such as drayage, or moving companies’ facilities. In the 1850’s, the first warehouse specifically dedicated to personal storage was built. This became the model for many years — warehouses as tall as ten stories were built for personal storage, with freight elevators to reach the storage rooms

Continue reading

Storing Temperature-Sensitive Items

ice-sculpture

Even climate control can’t save your ice sculpture.

There are a number of factors that need to be considered when deciding whether or not to rent a climate-controlled storage unit. If you are storing things like garden tools, bicycles, or holiday decorations, or are doing very short-term storage, temperature variation might not be very important. But if you are storing items with a great sentimental or monetary value, you might want to give serious thought to renting a climate-controlled unit.

Here are some materials that can be affected by extremes of temperature:

Wood (furniture) – can crack and warp from expanding and contracting as temperatures swing from extreme hot to extreme cold. Continue reading