It’s that time of year again. School’s out for summer, and college kids are returning home with piles of dirty laundry and all the stuff that they cleaned out of their dorm rooms. The vast majority of college students live a sort of nomadic lifestyle, moving from one kind of campus housing to another during their college career, and shifting back home during the summer breaks. That’s why self-storage for college students can be such a lifesaver.
After all, if you’re a college student, your parents might not have kept space for all your stuff back home—and if you’re a parent, you might not want to deal with an entire dorm room’s worth of stuff suddenly reappearing in your house for a few months out of every year. Parents aren’t always crazy about the decorating choices their kids made for their dorm rooms, either, so a storage unit can be just what the doctor ordered. College students can use them to hold the things they’ll need when they head back to school, but that they don’t have a lot of use for while they’re at home, while parents can use them to shift hobby items or excess furniture out of the way while their kids are back for a few months.
Self-storage units are also perfect solutions for college students who’re studying abroad. Rather than moving everything back home, you can simply tuck it away in a secure self-storage facility and enjoy your trip, knowing that all your stuff will be waiting for you safe and sound when you get back. Self-storage for college students can also provide autonomy; you’re the only one who has access to your stuff, and you’re the one responsible for getting it in and out.
If you’re going to be using self-storage to keep some of your stuff this summer break, or if you’re the parent of a college student and are going to use self-storage as a way to help mitigate the chaos that having your kids suddenly back in the nest can cause, here are a few tips for storing common dorm items that can help make your self-storage experience more successful:
The last thing you want to worry about as the school year winds down and summer starts up is what you’re going to be doing with all your stuff. Self-storage in Oklahoma can be the solution you need to stop worrying and enjoy your summer!
Using a self-storage facility seems pretty self-explanatory, right? You rent a unit, then you fill it with all the stuff that you want to keep, but don’t want cluttering up your house, attic, or garage. But like with anything, there are better and worse ways to use self-storage in Oklahoma, and if you follow some best practices, you’ll find yourself getting a lot more bang for your storage buck, not to mention being able to access your stuff more easily.
The first question to ask yourself is, do I really need a self-storage unit? It could be that you decide you’d be better off just having a garage sale or donating those old clothes to Goodwill. But if you’re like approximately 10% of American households, you’ll probably find that you’ve got stuff you want to hang onto, but don’t necessarily need to have around day-in and day-out. Seasonal items like holiday decorations or winter clothes, sporting equipment that you don’t use all year round, and a million other things can and have been kept in self-storage in Oklahoma.
So who uses self-storage units? People from all walks of life use them for all sorts of different reasons, and in fact, 30% of self-storage customers are actually small businesses, who use their self-storage units to keep excess inventory, paperwork, and supplies, among other things. Military self-storage also makes up a big slice of the self-storage pie, especially in places with nearby military bases like we have right here in Lawton, Duncan, Chickasha, and Moore, Oklahoma. In towns like that, military self-storage can make up as much as 95% of rentals.
Once you’ve figured out that you need a self-storage unit, decide what’s going to go into it. Pick and choose carefully, and get rid of items that you’re on the fence about or no longer want to keep. After all, you may find that space is at a premium, and there’s no reason to pay to store items that you don’t want or need. Remember that you can use your self-storage unit to store just about anything, as long as it doesn’t violate the terms of the facility or local laws. Among the only things that aren’t allowed are ammunition and explosives, live animals, and perishable items. Check with a friendly self-storage professional when you call or stop by for a full list of what items can’t be stored in your self-storage unit.
Self-storage in Oklahoma isn’t just for the little stuff that you’ve got around your house, either. Storage ‘R’ Us offers RV and Boat Storage, Covered Storage, and specialty Auto Storage, both covered and inside a unit. So whether you have a vintage muscle car, a motorcycle that’s your pride and joy, a boat that you like to take out on the lake in the summer, or an RV that takes you around the country on vacations, self-storage in Oklahoma has a solution for you.
Now that you know what you want to store, you can start figuring out how much space you’ll need. At Storage ‘R’ Us we provide a handy self-storage calculator that can help you to determine approximately how much space everything you want to store will take up. This is an important step in your self-storage journey, not just because it lets you pick the size of the unit you’ll need, but also because it’ll help determine how useful your unit is to you over time. When figuring out how large you want your unit to be and what’s going into it, be sure to take into consideration things like how often you’ll be accessing stored items, which things take up the most room or weigh the most, etc.
Our handy self-storage tips can help you to get the most out of your self-storage experience by packing in ways that maximize efficiency, and also make it easy to access the items that you get to the most.
After another long winter, spring has finally sprung here in Oklahoma! While Daylight Savings Time may not be very popular with all of us when we lose an hour of sleep, there’s no denying that it signals the beginning of spring, bringing with it longer days and warmer weather.
Spring also means that it’s time for spring cleaning! Time to air out the house, put away winter clothes and bedding… and finally clean all that stuff out of your basement, attic, or garage that you’ve been piling in there all winter. You’ve been telling yourself that you’d “take care of it when it was warmer.” Well… it’s warmer!
Your friendly neighborhood Oklahoma self-storage provider Storage ‘R’ Us can give you a perfect place to store all your winter clothes, extra blankets, space heaters, snow blowers, holiday decorations, hunting supplies, and anything else that you might not need during the summer months, but that’s not the only way that self-storage can help you with your spring cleaning this year. Need someplace to stage everything while you give the house a good scrubbing, shampoo the carpets, refinish that basement, or remodel a kitchen, bathroom, or closet? A clean and secure self-storage unit may be just the ticket.
Spring cleaning is about more than just putting away winter supplies and tidying up the house. The arrival of warm weather also means that you’re probably thinking about firing up that grill, getting your boat out onto the lake, or taking your motorcycle for a nice long ride. Did you know that the Oklahoma self-storage experts at Storage ‘R’ Us can also store boats, RVs, motorcycles, and just about anything else that you can imagine? So when you’re ready to get that boat out on the water, or clean the mothballs out of your RV, boat and RV storage at Storage ‘R’ Us can ensure that your recreational vehicles are in great shape and out of the way when they’re not in use, and that they’re ready to go as soon as that perfect weekend rolls around.
Of course, you’re not the only one who’s been cooped up all winter. The kids will have sports equipment that can be kept in storage when not in use, and man’s best friend is going to want to get out and enjoy the nice weather, too. That means longer walks with your dog, trips to the dog park, or even just playing catch outside. Unfortunately, that also means that your pet may come back covered in mud or grass or who-knows-what. That’s okay, though, because thanks to our self-service dog wash station at our East Gore location in Lawton, Storage ‘R’ Us even has Rover covered.
So when you’re thinking of spring cleanup and summer fun this year, think of Storage ‘R’ Us. Whether you’re storing winter items, cleaning up your boat, motorcycle, or RV, or your pupster a bath at our self-service dog wash station, Storage ‘R’ Us has your spring cleaning covered.
We probably don’t think much about it when we’re sitting in Sunday service, but there’s a lot that goes into maintaining and running your local church. Not just the work of preparing sermons and services, organizing church events, and operating outreach programs, but also simply the physical requirements that every church faces. A church needs a place for all its members to come to worship, as well as meeting space and other facilities. These days, churches are a lot more than just a few pews and a nave. Churches are gathering places for the community, offering classes and workshops for children and adults, and providing opportunities for fellowship and outreach.
Keeping all of that going requires a lot of “stuff,” though. Whether it’s books and pews, extra tables and folding chairs, or seasonal décor, storage space in a church can quickly start to become a premium. Not to mention that a church needs to have all the same things on hand that the average homeowner might, from tools to fix the occasional broken door handle to a lawnmower to keep the grounds nice and tidy.
Many local churches also host other local organizations, including meetings for homeowners associations, other neighborhood groups, or the local Boy Scouts, and they often have to store equipment and supplies related to those activities, as well. If you’ve never looked in the closet of your local church, you might be surprised to find it filled to bursting with all manner of unexpected items.
Churches also receive a lot of donations for community outreach programs. Sometimes those come in the form of money, but they also often take the form of canned goods, clothing items, gifts for children around the holidays, and many other vital items. Before these can be sent out to families in need, they have to be sorted and stored somewhere. Many churches also run outbound ministry efforts, which can require a lot of different supplies to be kept on hand. Some churches even offer housing options for underserved families in the community, and in those cases, they’ve got to store everything that goes into making a home for a family.
In all, running a church means keeping track of a lot of stuff, and many local churches find that the needs of their congregation and community quickly outstrip the amount of closet or attic space that their own facilities provide. Self-storage for churches is a simple and cost-effective answer to those kinds of problems. A storage unit can give churches a place to keep seasonal décor when it’s not in use, a space for overflow of furniture for meetings and special events, or a staging area for donations until they can be sent out to the people who need them. Whatever the storage needs of your local church, a self-storage unit from Storage ‘R’ Us in Oklahoma may just be the answer!
Whether you’re newly married and getting ready to start a family, or you’ve settled into your first job and are looking to put down roots, when you’re looking for that first home a self-storage unit can be a lifesaver. Think about it: Maybe you need to store your stuff before you close on a home, or perhaps you’re combining two households worth of stuff and you’ve got extras and you aren’t yet sure what to keep and what to get rid of. You may have to move out of your old place before your new one is ready, and while you might be able to crash somewhere until the paperwork is all signed, there probably won’t be room for all your stuff there.
Self-storage for home buyers can solve all sorts of logistical problems that tend to crop up when you’re buying a new home—most especially when you’re buying your first home. Take it from us, no matter how many things you think of, there’ll always be at least one that you missed, and knowing that your belongings are safe, secure, and easily accessible while you move takes one more worry out of what can already be a harrowing process.
Self-storage for home buyers can also be a great resource if you’re building and furnishing a home at the same time. Say you find the perfect couch for your new living room, but the architect and builders aren’t finished with that room yet. Just stick it in your handy self-storage unit until the house is ready!
Your real estate agent may even recommend looking into self-storage while you wait to find a home in your area. It doesn’t matter if you’re moving right around the corner, or you’re coming from across the country, finding the right house isn’t always as quick as we’d all like. And even once you’ve found it, getting through closing can take some time. Keeping some of your stuff in secure self-storage while you wait can take a lot of the pressure off.
Many people also use a move as an opportunity to go through their items and get rid of stuff that’s just been collecting dust, or that they no longer need. Especially when you’re buying your first home, there may be some stuff that doesn’t make the cut, or that your new spouse doesn’t particularly like, but that you may not be ready to part with just yet. Self-storage for home buyers can give you a safe, out-of-the-way place to store that life-sized Darth Vader pool-cue stand that doubles as a hat rack until you can find a home for it in your new place, or finally decide that you’re ready to let it go.
Whether you’re buying your first house or your fifth, moving is always a pain, but thankfully with self-storage for home buyers from Storage ‘R’ Us, we can help make your next move as simple and convenient as possible. We also sell moving supplies, and we’re Oklahoma’s largest PENSKE truck rental representative, so make us your one-stop moving headquarters!
At Storage ‘R’ Us, we recognize that there are a number of accommodations our facilities need to have in place in order to best serve our customers who have different accessibility needs. And as there are some who may not know what wheelchair accessible self-storage units need to have in place to be compliant with new regulations set forth by the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA), we thought that we’d take a moment and go over a few details.
By the way! You can find a number of wheelchair accessible self-storage units at the Storage ‘R’ Us self-storage facility in Moore, Oklahoma, as well as our other locations in Duncan, Lawton, and Chickasha.
Self-storage unit accessibility: In newly built self-storage facilities (those built after March 15, 2012) with up to 200 units, 5% must be wheelchair accessible. In addition, the wheelchair accessible self-storage units must be dispersed among a variety of classes of self-storage units (read: outside ground level units, as well as interior or climate controlled units).
Design and construction of units: There are only a few modifications or considerations that need to be put in place to create a wheelchair accessible self-storage unit. Considering that most exterior self-storage units feature roll-up doors, the installation of a push bar at wheelchair level (not lower than 34 inches or higher than 48 inches) makes it easy for those with different accessibility needs to open the self-storage unit door with ease. To close the door, the installation of a pull rope or pull strap is essential. And for easy access to wheelchair accessible self-storage units, there needs to be a reduced concrete lip in the doorway (maximum 1/2 inch). For interior self-storage units, wheelchair accessibility concerns are focused on access ramps and wide hallways and doors. Given that the self-storage industry knows that customers are likely to be navigating with large, bulky items, most self-storage facilities are built with wide hallways and doors. Lastly, lighting is also a concern. Most self-storage facilities are well-lit throughout the common areas and hallways, but unit interior lighting must have switches or pulls that are lower and easy to reach from a seated position (again, not higher than 48 inches).
Wheelchair Accessible public areas: Self-storage facility owners should make certain that their rental office, public bathrooms, and parking areas meet new ADA standards. Wheelchair-accessible elevators, ramps, and doors are the most common considerations in public areas.
Consideration for service animals: Considering that some with different accessibility needs may employ the use of a service animal, the facility should be welcoming to service animals in public areas.
Going forward: The changes proposed by the ADA are seen as a genuine benefit to self-storage facilities, in that they help owners and management maintain places of business that are physically accessible to all self-storage customers and, in particular, allow disabled individuals unaided entry into their storage unit.
If you’re looking for a self-storage solution for your belongings, feel free to stop by one of our Storage ‘R’ Us locations in Moore, Duncan, Lawton, or Chickasha, Oklahoma today, and see what our self-storage solutions can do for you!
When you or one of your family members are in the U.S. military, you know that moving is something you’ll have to deal with sooner or later, and often more than once. Whether it’s a change of duty station or a permanent change of station (PCS), moving is a part of life in the military. The good news is that means you’re not the first person who’s had to deal with a military move, and moving with the military doesn’t have to be too much of a chore.
There is a lot of good advice out there that can help make moving with the military as painless as possible. Much of it is the same advice that applies to any other move. Try to keep your move as organized as possible by clearly labeling all boxes and other items, and keep a property inventory of what you have and where it’s at. This will be especially important if your move takes more than a few days. Sometimes you’ll end up with some of your belongings at the new location, while others are still back at the old place. Keeping a property inventory that tells you what you’ve got and where to find it can be a lifesaver.
If you or your family member receives an order to move, it should be accompanied by a transportation briefing that’ll go over some of what you can expect from the move, and help you to sort out any questions you might have. Planning ahead can help make a move a lot less painless, and if you look online you can find detailed checklists for planning your move starting three months in advance and going up to the day of. But don’t forget that in the military, as in every other part of life, plans sometimes change—so it’s also important to stay flexible.
Whether you’re moving with the military or just relocating on your own, self-storage can take a lot of the worry and frustration out of the game. It doesn’t matter whether you’re moving to a smaller place, don’t know how long you’ll be at your new digs, or simply don’t want to haul your boat, your yard gnomes, or all your old Christmas decorations halfway across the country, self-storage can take care of your belongings until you come back to pick them up. Military self-storage can keep your items safe and secure, whether it’s your grandma’s old knick-knacks or your brand new motorcycle.
Military self-storage from Storage ‘R’ Us is always secure, with 24-hour digital video, fenced and walled perimeters, and computer controlled gate access. But as with anything else, it’s always a good idea to pick up some additional insurance to cover your valuables if the worst should ever happen. So whether you’re moving with the military or just making a change, call Storage ‘R’ Us today and let us help make your move as smooth as it can be.
Looking for self-storage, moving supplies, Penske truck rental, or any other moving or self-storage amenities in Lawton, Oklahoma? There’s no need to go uptown, or across town, or anyplace but Storage ‘R’ Us! With three locations in Lawton alone—as well as locations in Duncan, Moore, Chickasha, and new locations opening soon in Newcastle—Storage ‘R’ Us has got all your self-storage needs covered, no matter where you live!
We got our start right here in Lawton, and though we’ve grown over the years to provide self-storage and moving solutions to neighboring communities, Lawton is still the place we call home. Whether you’re closer to our NW Rogers Lane location, our E Gore location, or the Storage ‘R’ Us on NW Cache Road, we’re available to provide self-storage and moving solutions for businesses, apartments, homes, and anyone else all across Lawton. And all of our Storage ‘R’ Us locations boast all the security, amenities, and conveniences you’ve come to expect, including:
All of that, plus covered and uncovered RV, boat, and specialty auto storage, and all your other self-storage and moving needs are available at any of our three convenient locations in Lawton, Oklahoma, or our other locations across the state in Duncan, Chickasha, Moore, and coming soon in Newcastle!
Whether you’re planning a move, relocating your office, sending a son or daughter off to college or to the military, or just need an overflow place for some of your excess stuff, Storage ‘R’ Us has got the resources that you need. You can give one of our friendly staff a call, or stop by any of our convenient locations today. Or, if you’re not sure how much storage space you might need, you can take a look at our handy online storage calculator, or check out of storage blog for tips, tricks, and information about monthly specials!
So whatever your needs for self-storage or moving supplies, there’s no need to go uptown for self-storage. Just take a short trip down the street to one of our three convenient Storage ‘R’ Us locations in Lawton, at E Gore, NW Rogers Lane, or NW Cache Road.
These days, just about every business has a Facebook page or a Twitter account. It only makes sense. After all, almost everyone is on one kind of social media or another, and Facebook alone has more than a billion active users worldwide, 33% of whom have followed a business or other brand. People are used to keeping up with one-another via social media, so it only makes sense for them to want to keep up with the places where they shop and do business that way, too.
At Storage ‘R’ Us in Oklahoma, we love to hear from our customers! Whether they come in to one of our self-storage locations in Lawton, Chickasha, Duncan, or Moore, give us a call, or connect with us on social media. Because we love staying in touch with our customers, we love how social media gives us a wide range of new tools to stay connected, alert our customers of new specials and deals, and just share in the daily lives of the people who make our work here at Storage ‘R’ Us not only possible, but enjoyable!
Our accounts on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and YouTube give us a lot of opportunities to keep in touch. Whether we’re giving our customers sneak peeks at new developments at our Oklahoma self-storage locations, notifying you about specials and deals, or showing off nifty new products like our all-in-one Box Cutter/Marker.
The key word in social media, though, is “social,” and our Facebook, Twitter, G+, and YouTube pages are for more than just giving us a way to talk to you—they also give us an opportunity to hear back. Whether it’s a +1, a like, or a retweet, or comments, posts where people have tagged us after their successful move to a new home or when they’re pulling out holiday decorations from their self-storage unit. We think of our customers as part of the Storage ‘R’ Us family, and one of the best things about social media is being able to stay connected with all of you!
If you’re a little intimidated by the social media landscape and aren’t sure which platform would be best to follow us on, it depends a little bit on what you’re looking for. Facebook and Google+ are great networking tools, allowing conversations and discussions, while Twitter delivers information and interactions in more bite-size chunks, but is a great place to keep up on specials and news. YouTube lets us show you demonstrations of products and services in action, like our video of the new Box Cutter/Marker.
Whatever social media channel you choose to follow us on—and hey, we’d love to see you on all of them!—we want to hear from you! Don’t just follow along, reply, retweet, and join in the conversation. When it comes to self-storage in Oklahoma, we want to be your go-to place, and that means we want to hear what we’re doing right, what we’re doing wrong, and, maybe most importantly, what you need from us.
While there may be historical evidence to suggest publicly available storage as far back as ancient China, the modern self-storage facility has a much more recent history. The nearest historical precedents to the modern, economical self-storage facilities that we see today are believed to have begun in England in the 1800s. Individuals who were embarking on long ocean voyages would often ask banking institutions to safeguard their valuables for them while they were away. As this practice caught on, banks found themselves faced with overcrowded vaults, and were forced to rent loft space from drayage (or moving) companies to make room.
The first warehouse constructed specifically for the storage of personal items is believed to have been built around the 1850s, and from there the storage industry remained largely unchanged for almost 100 years. The birth of the modern storage facility came in the 1950s, though even these were small “mom and pop” operations in comparison with the sturdy and streamlined self-storage facilities that we know today. Because the concept of modern self-storage was still fairly new, owners had to rely on their own intuition and business sense to get by, as an industry was built.
Today, self-storage is primarily an American venture, with 46,000 of the 58,000 storage facilities worldwide located right here in the U.S. Where exactly the industry kicked off is up for some debate, but today you can find self-storage facilities in every state, and just about every city. Self-storage has been a part of the Oklahoma landscape for decades, and Storage ‘R’ Us has been your source for Oklahoma self-storage for more than 40 years.
Oklahoma self-storage provides storage solutions for people of all walks of life, and fills all kinds of needs. Whether it’s families storing holiday decorations or winter clothes during the off-season, college kids storing whatever won’t fit into their dorm rooms, small businesses storing excess equipment and supplies, or the many military service personnel who are stationed at the bases around Oklahoma using storage to keep their belongings safe while they safeguard our country.
No matter what your storage needs, Storage ‘R’ Us has got you covered with our locations in Moore, Duncan, Chickasha, and Lawton. All of our locations offer a range of amenities, including climate-controlled storage in a variety of unit sizes. Our 24-hour digital video surveillance, electronic gate access, and fenced/walled perimeters all ensure the safety of your belongings, and we’re also Oklahoma’s largest PENSKE truck rental representative.
Self-storage has changed a lot in the almost two centuries since that first warehouse opened up in England, but one thing remains the same: When you entrust your belongings to an Oklahoma self-storage facility, you want to be sure that they’ll be safe, sound, and easy to reach. At Storage ‘R’ Us, we can give you all that, and more!
