Storage solutions for students.

May 25th, 2012 No Comments

Student Storage

It’s that time of year again. School is out for summer for many college students. Though parents may be happy to have their kids home, they may not be as thrilled to have boxes of their college stuff cluttering up the family home. Whether they’ve been living in a dorm or an apartment, they’ve surely collected many items while away, but they probably don’t need these items at their home away from college. From the college standard extra-long bedding to various furniture items, we’ll help you find a storage solution for it.

If you are a college student, you know that since you’ll stay home for a couple months before going back to school, you can choose to just store the items at home, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be organized. First thing first, decide which items will be needed frequently, which items will be needed at some point in the summer and what will not be used at all in the summer. From there, pack the items accordingly.

Keep the items frequently needed in your bedroom to have them readily available. For the items needed at some point in the summer, pack them away but make sure these items are all together. That way you only have one or two boxes to go through to find the item(s) you need at various points in the summer. For all the rest of the items, pack them in sturdy boxes or containers, label those boxes so moving back isn’t a pain. Store them in the area of the house that gets the least amount of traffic, such as the basement, crawl space, or an attic.

If you’d rather keep your home as it is for the summer, consider a storage unit at LifeStorage. We offer units in various sizes to fit your needs and your budget. Whether you have a storage unit already and just need to add the college items to it or this would be your first time renting a storage, hurry up and head over to LifeStorage so you can start your summer fun activities!

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LifeStorage can keep your possessions safe during deployment.

May 21st, 2012 No Comments

We Salute You.

LifeStorage recognizes the sacrifice our military men and women make for us each day. Whether here in the States or overseas, our military devotes their lives to protecting our country. So the least we can do is help make a small portion of their deployment a little easier. Military men and women will have enough on their minds when defending our country so they don’t need to worry about what to do with their stuff while overseas. With our storage guide, we can help you on what to do with your stuff while away.

Renting a storage unit during deployment is the perfect solution for those in the military for many reasons. First of all, it keeps all your stuff in safe and in one place. This way, you won’t have to ask a friend or family member (or multiple friends and family members) to store your stuff for you while you’re away if you don’t already have a place of your own to keep it. If you’re renting an apartment, you won’t have to keep renting if your stuff has a place to stay. LifeStorage also has many different unit sizes available to fit your storage needs.

Of course just getting a storage unit isn’t the only thing you’ll need. You’ll also have to pack and keep it organized. When packing, keep similar items together so it’ll be easier to unpack and get everything back in order when your deployment ends. Labeling your boxes will also make the adjustment back in America and unpacking easier. Don’t forget to label which boxes are fragile and pack those fragile items properly within the boxes as well.

We here at LifeStorage know that our military members make sacrifices each day to protect us and what America stands for. We hope that storing their possessions with us will make one portion of deployment a little easier so they have one less thing to worry about.

Download LifeStorage Moving Survival Guide.

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Organize & de-clutter your bathroom.

May 11th, 2012 No Comments

Bathroom. Organized.

When cleaning your home, you may be cleaning your bathroom routinely, but how often do you clean it out? Yes ladies and gentlemen, it’s not just dirt and soap scum you need to clean out of your bathroom but also that big pile of clutter. You may think clutter won’t build up in the bathroom, but when you start cleaning out the clutter, you’ll see it did build up. By finding easy storage solutions for the necessities in your bathroom, you’ll have more room to store the items you actually need and use on a daily basis in the bathroom.

Especially in a bathroom used by women, you’ll notice certain beauty products that start to build up. Make-up, face-wash, lotion, moisturizer, facemasks, nail polish, and perfumes are items that you may buy more of without using what you already have. Throw out what you don’t use anymore and what’s too old or expired to make more room for what you do use. For everything you’re keeping, get proper storage containers that will maximize your space and keep things in order. Consider using clear storage containers so you can easily see what’s inside.

For good presentation of your bathroom, you want to keep decorations simple. If you have a lot of decorations (such as photographs and knick knacks,) consider only putting a few items out at a time and keeping the rest in your storage facility to switch out at a later time. For another space saver in the bathroom consider using baskets to collect certain items together, like towels. If you just don’t seem to have the cabinet space in your bathroom, try getting a supplementary set of drawers for the room instead.

So take our advice and clean out the clutter in your bathroom. You may not think it’s there right now, but trust us, you’ll be happy you took the time to clean. To reward yourself, stop by your LifeStorage facility to take out your summer sporting equipment if you haven’t done so already and get ready to enjoy the Summer outdoors. After all, you deserve it.

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Organize and Simplify your Storage Unit.

May 4th, 2012 No Comments

Keep boxes organized

Do you have a storage unit? If you do, is it organized with neatly stacked and labeled boxes or piles and piles of junk jammed in it? The nicely organized storage preserves your stuff much better, whether it’s priceless jewels or your kid’s old art projects. So let’s get to organizing and simplifying your storage unit!

If you don’t use it, trash it!

First things first, it’s called a storage unit, not garbage unit. Make sure you’re storing items for a reason and that it’s something you’ll actually use again. If it’s something you don‘t see coming in handy ever again, and you’re just having a hard time parting with it, it’s time to buck up and trash it. When you get rid of all the trash, you’ll have less cluttering up your storage space.

Box like items together using a right box.

How you pack everything up matters. Box up like items together so they’re easy to find, but you’ll need to ensure you’re using nice and sturdy boxes so you can stack them. Label each box so you know what’s in it. If you can just look at the labels on the outside of the boxes, you’ll only have to unpack one box for the item you’re looking for instead of rummaging through multiple boxes, making more of a mess.

Make things accessible.

When you organizing your storage units, create a center isle to make sure all boxes are easily accessible keeping items you’ll need the most frequently at the front of the unit. Stack boxes to the ceiling but keep the boxes with heavy items at the bottom to provide a stable base. You can even get more detailed and create a map of your storage unit (sort of like a floor plan that will help you visualize where the stuff is.)

Keep your unit organized.

Have a system and a schedule in place. When you keep things organized, it’ll stay that way if you keep your system intact. You do need to keep a schedule of when you go through your storage unit every couple of months or so (depending on how often you use it) to keep it organized.

Do you have any more tips on how you keep your unit organized? Share them with us by posting a comment below.

Now that you know how to do it, stop by your Chicago storage unit today to simplify your storage! LifeStorage has 18 Chicagoland locations and has been helping people  simplify their lives by providing clean, secure, convenient and affordable self storage solutions.

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Simplify your Spring Cleaning in 3 Easy Steps.

April 30th, 2012 No Comments

Spring Cleaning

Spring is back, and it brought in baseball, good weather, and even some deep cleaning. Yes, that’s right, it’s time for Spring Cleaning again. This is a time to get rid of all the dirt, dust and clutter that has built up over the cold weather season, but you can simplify your Spring Cleaning with just three simple steps.

De-Clutter: First and foremost, get rid of what you don’t want, need or use anymore. The less you have means the less you’ll have to clean and organize. Make three piles when you’re going through your stuff: one for stuff to toss, one for stuff to store, and one for stuff to donate. When looking at your stuff to store, whatever you can store at your storage unit will keep your home from becoming a storage facility itself.

Wash: Once you get rid of or store items you don’t need in your home, it’s time to clean. Start with the floors. Vacuum and sweep everywhere, including under and behind moveable furniture. Next, dust and wash all your countertops, sinks, tables, showers, toilets and all other surfaces. Lastly, wash any dishes, windows, mirrors and laundry.

Organize: The last step in your Spring Cleaning is organizing. As we’ve said before, everything in your home should have a place to belong. Now is a time to set where those places are. Put everything in your home “away,” and keep it in mind to remember where everything should go when not in use.

Now that your home is clean, you can enjoy baseball and good weather and all else Spring has to offer. Don’t forget to stop by your storage facility to take out any Spring items you’ll need for outdoor activities.

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