Everyone in the UK knows what self-storage is: you load up your car or van with any possessions you need to store temporarily and drive it to one of the big self-storage warehouses whose names we’re all familiar with from driving past them on major roads. Then you unload everything from your vehicle and store it in a rented storage unit or sometimes even a shipping container until you need everything again. If you’re moving house or business premises, or doing major renovations the chances are you’ll have to make several trips in a car or alternatively hire a van to minimise journeys.
It’s exhausting! But that’s just how self-storage works – or is it?
I spoke recently to one of the owners of Storing.com a different type of self-storage company and discovered that they provide storage with less of the “self” and also less of the hassle.
What is smart storage?
Smart storage involves a professional 2-person team coming to your home or business premises with portable storage units on the back of their vehicle. The team loads all of the items due for storage into the units for you. That’s boxes, furniture, white goods, office equipment and whatever else you plan to store. Suddenly storage doesn’t seem so exhausting and so much hassle.
The security sealed storage units are then transported to one of the Storing.com warehouses by the same 2-person team until needed again. They can then be delivered back to the same address or to a different address entirely for those moving house or business premises.
Of course, this isn’t an entirely new idea as companies like PODS in the USA have been supplying portable storage units since 1998. They key difference is that portable storage companies like PODS do not supply their own teams to load up the units. Storing.com has been in the traditional self-storage business since 1999 but now focus mainly on smart storage. Here in the UK there are very few storage companies offering this service where all the heavy lifting is done for you by a professional team.
Smart storage vs traditional self-storage
For families and businesses in major cities like London there are several benefits of smart storage rather than traditional self-storage.
The cost of self-storage in London and other major cities is very high, even with the introductory discounts so beloved of this industry, simply because the cost of land for warehouse space in London is high. Smart storage companies on the other hand own warehouses outside the main cities so can pass on these cost savings to their customers.
But there is more than just the low costs to consider. London streets are busy with traffic so transporting your own belongings in your own vehicle is a long, slow process – especially if multiple round-trips are required.
And there is even more than low costs and less hassle to consider. Lifting heavy boxes and furniture is harder work than you might think so smart storage saves you money, time and physical effort.
How do costs compare?
For such a great service that saves time, effort and hassle you could be forgiven for thinking it would come at a price. However, Storing.com regularly conduct research to compare self-storage prices across several London locations with their own storage costs. This research has consistently shown that customers pay between 18% – 56% less with smart storage instead of traditional self-storage, depending on the size of the storage unit required and the rental period.
It’s little wonder that more and more people are choosing this type of storage over traditional self-storage. Whether you are extending your home, moving overseas, moving business premises or need somewhere secure for business stock, smart storage is the smart move.
