SELF- STORAGE – YOUR SAFEST FRIEND AT CHRISTMAS
Storing Up For Christmas …
A storage unit is a great place to store Christmas decorations year round. It keeps them out of harm’s way, and it frees up storage space in your home.
Your lights and baubles aren’t the only things you need to keep safe, however. According to Central Statistics Office data, burglaries have risen by 33% in recent years especially during winter months. Darker evenings, homes filled with valuable gifts, people away visiting family and friends or on well-deserved Christmas holidays – the festive season is a risky time for home security.
A Unit Is Also For Christmas …
To make it more Christmas Break, and less Christmas Break-In, it’s well worth considering the advantages of using a secure storage unit at this time of year to make 100% sure that it’s all about the Christmas presents, and not an unwelcome presence in your home.
What to store?
The Gifts of Christmas
We love to treat the ones we love at Christmas time. Some Top Ten Christmas lists for 2024 alone show that popular purchases this year are items like artisanal hampers, luxury skincare, expensive jewellery, concert and experience tickets – and that’s before we get started on the gadgets! Phones, tablets, laptops, gaming equipment – Christmas really can be a time of year when we see people splash out and purchase those big ticket items as a once-off treat to show how much they care.
All the Little Helpers …
It’s also all about the kids of course! Any Toy Show viewer knows that the bigger the better for the little’uns. Bikes, scooters, games and toy sets; train tracks, elaborate Lego sets, ginormous teddy bears …
All stuff that can be very difficult to hide around the house and keep safe from little curious eyes!
No Party Like A Christmas Party …
Christmas is, of course, a time for hospitality. It might be a case of a case … or two … of expensive wine needing to be kept safe, for example. Or perhaps some Christmas spirits? While it’s never suitable to store food in your storage unit, entertaining involves other practical items – cutlery, cookware, plates, bowls and serving dishes; and those glasses – so many glasses! – that can take up space you just don’t have at home until you really need it.
Room at the Inn …
Christmas decorating and preparing for visitors can also mean that some home rearrangement is needed. Maybe that big armchair’s gotta go to allow room for the all-important tree, or the home office set up of desk, chair and multiple screens would be much better kept safely out of sight when the spare room needs to be used for the grandchildren. When you’re anticipating a house full of visitors or guests, a little extra breathing space can be a big relief all round – so a storage unit is ideal to make that happen – and keep your stuff safe until New Year has well and truly rolled around.
Safe and Sound
Not only does putting your valuable gifts, precious items and stuff you don’t need in self-storage keep them out of the way, it also keeps them safe. From those bottles of wine, to your furniture to those all-expensive gifts, you don’t want to be left counting the cost if they’re stolen or damaged.
Self storage security
How can self storage keep your stuff safe at Christmas and all year round? Well let us count the ways;
Access Control Systems
Only those who need to enter, can enter when there’s keypad entry or card access to the unit. Users are given a unique access code or card and there’s simply no other way in. More and more facilities use Smart Access – mobile phone apps with qr codes, for example, which are convenient and safe.
Surveillance
Under his eye, as it were. Monitored CCTV cameras installed throughout the facility are standard and can incorporate motion activated cameras which record when movement is detected.
Perimeter Security
If you’re familiar with self-storage facilities, you’ll be well aware that sturdy fencing and high entry gates are par for the course. There’s no just sauntering in off the street here!
Alarm Systems
Unauthorized access won’t go unnoticed with alarm systems for both individual units and entire facilities
Let There Be Light
There’s no hiding away with well-lit facilities. Lighting, sometimes motion-activated, not only acts as a deterrent to would-be intruders, but it also helps users to see where they’re going.
On-Site Security
Many facilities have security guards on site, monitoring and patrolling the premises, sometimes even with some canine assistance. It’s good to have a four-legged friend when you need one!
Lock the Stock
It’s security 101 – every unit prioritises the locks, whether disc locks, cylinder locks or electronic locks, all of which are more difficult to tamper with than traditional padlocks.
Monitoring Services
Professional monitoring services are sometimes used which immediately alert property management and, in some cases, even law enforcement if there’s suspicious activity.
Visitor Logging
Logging systems which track who enters and leaves the premises are such a simple and effective way of keeping an eye on the comings and goings. You can’t be too careful, after all.
Fire and Environmental Controls
It’s not just theft that’s a threat, of course. Smoke alarms and sprinkler systems mitigate the risk of fire. Temperature controlled units will also have ways to issue alerts if there are deviations in the climate – crucially important for storage of electronics, documents, photographs and items like furniture or fabric or anything potentially subject to mould or mildew.
Maybe This Year …
So if you’ve never thought about it before, maybe this will be the perfect year to consider self-storage as that extra helping hand you never realised you needed for Christmas? It might not peel those spuds, but it will definitely make sure that you can relax at home when you head out to that Christmas party and that those all important Christmas secrets stay just that … secret. Sssssh!
Merry Christmas Everyone!
Unlock the freedom of extra space. Get in touch with Storage World today or get a quote online.
