With limited space available at home, renting a self-storage unit is one of the best options available to you should you ever need extra storage space. More and more American households are relying on self-storage facilities for extra space to the point where the average facility will have a 90% occupancy rate. When you are renting a self-storage unit, the storage facility is basically like an extension of your own home. There's a good chance that you'll be visiting the unit often to find items you need and store items that are no longer of use. As a result, it's crucial that you keep an emergency pack filled with essentials near the entrance. Here are three items you shouldn't forget.
First-Aid Kit for Treating Injuries
It's not unusual for accidents to happen in the self-storage unit. If you're not careful, you might stumble on some boxes and end up slipping and falling. If you haven't been diligent in organizing and stacking moving boxes, you might also get injured if the boxes topple over. It's vital that you keep an emergency first-aid kit at your self-storage unit just in case.
Keep bandages, compression pads, antibacterial creams, disinfectants, elastic bands, soaps, and splints in the first-aid kit. You might also want to keep a bottle of painkillers as well. Keep in mind that painkillers do expire and will need to be replaced every several years. The first aid kit doesn't necessarily have to be too complex. You just have to keep some of the more important essentials. A simple first-aid kit from a local grocery store or from your pharmacy will generally be more than sufficient.
Flashlights for Accessing the Unit in the Event of a Power Outage
In the event of an emergency or in the face of a crisis, it's not unusual to expect there to be a power outage at the self-storage facility. Not all self-storage facilities have backup generators installed. Accessing your unit in the dark without any lights can be difficult. Under these conditions, it may be hard to find the items you need. Due to this, you might benefit from keeping several flashlights near the entrance of the unit.
If you're using battery-powered flashlights, make sure that you keep several packs of batteries at the unit as well. Don't forget that batteries have a shelf life and will need to be replaced every few years. For example, Duracell AA alkaline batteries have an expected shelf life of 7 years. Don't store the flashlights with batteries in them. If you don't want to have to deal with batteries, you can get mechanically-operated flashlights instead. Although these flashlights are more convenient, they don't last forever. Their inner mechanisms and parts will fail with time.
Rock Salt or Ice Melt and Shovel for Snowy Winter Days
You probably want to be able to access your unit in all types of weather. Most self-storage unit owners forget to prepare their unit for snow in the winter. To tackle snowy conditions, keep rock salt or ice melt and a shovel near the entrance of your self-storage units. If you're moving items in or out of the unit in the snow, you'll want to clear a path first.
Melting the snow with rock salt and ice melt can also keep the snow from melting and water from getting into your unit and causing damage. Water from melted snow can seep into the unit from the entrances and end up wetting the items stored inside.
Conclusion
Prepare your self-storage unit for all conditions and factors by keeping an emergency pack near the entrance. The emergency pack should not be hidden underneath other moving boxes, as you'll want to be able to get to these essential items in a hurry should an unexpected accident or event occur.
Check out facilities such as Stor-King to get started renting a storage unit.
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