Self Storage Mistakes

At Browning Park Mini Storage in Benton, AR, we want to make your storage experience a pleasant one. Feel free to drop by the office during business hours with any questions that you have about our self-storage facility and how to best use your unit.

As you can imagine, we’ve gotten lots and lots of questions over the years, and we’ve learned a lot about mistakes that some customers made, wishing they could turn back the clock to take care of the situation differently. Here are some tips to avoid the issues that have frequently come to our attention.

Insure Your Items

Browning Park Mini Storage is a secure space, but nothing is 100%. If your items are worth storing, then most likely, they’re worth insuring as well.

Before you go out and buy a new insurance policy for the storage unit, check your homeowner’s policy to see if it covers your stored items. If not, then it’s time to check out a policy that will cover your items in case of catastrophe.

Don’t Use Newspaper or Supermarket Boxes When Preparing Items for Storage

You probably cleaned your items before you moved them into self-storage. If you wrap them in newspaper, the ink may rub off and stain the wrapped item – perhaps permanently.

Old boxes from the supermarket may have stains or food residue. Even if the boxes look clean, there can be microscopic particles that could attract insects.

So then, what can you do? Buy unprinted newspaper paper or unprinted wrapping paper very cheaply. And you can buy fresh packing boxes very reasonably. Better to be careful.

Don’t Store Food

You may think this is totally obvious, but it’s important to repeat it – don’t store food, even in supposedly air tight containers. Insects and other pests have the amazing ability to sniff out even the slightest hint of food.

Give Yourself Enough Time

This is another obvious tip. Rushing the move of your items into self-storage can cause you to end up with an unorganized storage unit – so unorganized that every time you go back to get an item out of a box, you have to sift through everything.

It’s best to have someone else to help you. Having another person will ease some of the stress and make it easier to keep everything organized.

Label All Boxes

This is part of being organized as mentioned in the previous tip. Yes, it takes time to label everything when first moving items into your self-storage unit, but you will save time down the road.

Label each box with a number and the contents. Put this information directly on the box and then onto a detailed list that you keep for future reference.

You’ll be so happy later on when you’re able to quickly find the painting from Aunt Susie who’s coming to visit. You’ll be able to get it up on your wall for its temporary exhibition, and you’ll know exactly where to return it until she visits again.

Here at Browning Park Mini Storage in Benton, AR, we want your experience to be as stress-free as possible.