Temporary Storage vs Long Term Storage

Storage Station | August 27, 2024 @ 12:00 AM

We find that people sometimes shy away from exploring all of their storage options over fears that they will be locked into a long-term storage contract when they are looking for short-term or temporary storage options. 

This is unfortunate as most long-term storage facilities like Storage Station offer a range of short-term storage options that are designed to help folks looking for temporary or seasonal storage. 

While it’s true that most storage facilities offer incentives for longer-term storage contracts, such as a free first month, in reality, there are few differences between long-term and short-term storage. 

For example, at Storage Station, we offer customers the same unit options regardless of whether they are looking for longer-term or temporary storage. Our goal is to provide storage options that meet all of our customers' needs regardless of whether you are looking to store your items for a matter of days, weeks, months, or years. 


Who Needs Short-Term Storage?

Our short-term storage options are perfect for active families looking for seasonal storage, including storage for clothing and outdoor gear. 

As fall approaches now is the perfect time to start looking at your winter storage options. 

Imagine how nice it would be to have all of your summer clothing stored safely and no longer contributing to the clutter in your closet or requiring bulky storage bins in your garage or spare bedroom. Imagine being able to park your car in your garage during the frigid winter months because your garage is no longer being used as a temporary storage space! No more wasting fuel while warming up your car in the driveway. No more scraping snow and ice as you race to work in the morning. 


Convenient Short Term Self Storage Option Abound

Making the transition to a storage facility is simple and late summer and early fall is the perfect time to start exploring your storage alternatives. If you’re looking to store a few clothing items and summer outdoor fear, like an inflatable paddleboard, one of our smallest units could be a great solution. Our smallest unit is a 5x5 climate-controlled unit and is capable of storing a surprising amount of items when thoughtfully organized. If you need a little more space and aren’t requiring climate controlled storage, we have 5x10 units starting at $79 per month. These units are fully weatherproof and offer convenient drive-up access for easy loading and unloading. And if you need help moving in, we offer a free move-in truck for all customers regardless of unit size or length of stay. 


Storage for More than Clothes

Short-term storage units are useful for more than just clothing and outdoor gear. Our units are perfect for storing lawn garden supplies as well as power tools. While items like lawn mowers, hoses, weed whackers, and fertilizer spreaders are must-haves for homeowners, they don’t serve much use during the winter months in places like Tri-Cities and eastern Washington where long and cold winters and later arriving springs are the norm. These bulky tools spend more than half of the year gathering dust and taking up valuable space in your garage when they would be better off stored off-site in a secure facility. Our free move-in truck means it’s simple to get all of your seasonal belongings moved into your new storage unit in a single trip whether they be summer clothes, sporting equipment or patio furniture. It’s that easy. 


Getting Started With Temporary Storage 

The first step is determining your storage needs. Start by taking a survey of your seasonal items and other items that are suited for longer-term storage, think holiday decorations, keepsakes and photos. Start getting these items organized. Put them all in one place where they can be sorted. Place similar items together for further sorting and boxing. For example, put all of your summer clothes in one stack and all of your decorations in another. Use durable bins with snap-tight lids to keep everything organized. Add clear labels to each bin so that you don’t have to open them every time you want to know the contents. Clear bins can be helpful if you have multiple bins with overlapping items and themes. Once you’ve got all of your items organized you can make an accurate estimate of what sized unit that you’ll need. Remember that it’s easier to organize at home than it is inside your storage unit. You can use our unit size calculator to assist in determining the right size storage unit for your temporary storage needs. 


Call or Book Online 

Reserving a storage unit at Storage Station couldn’t be easier. Our simple online reservation system allows you to shop all of our units and reserve online at a discounted rate. If you need help determining the best storage options or help with your move-in details, our helpful staff is always ready to assist. Call our number during office hours or leave a message after hours and we’ll get back to you as quickly as possible. Don’t let storage woes add stress to your season. Enjoy the last of summer and savor those early autumn days without worrying about all the clutter you’ve accumulated over a long summer.