Recent Storage Poles

Well Its Saturday Morning. The sun is shining( nothing new for round here)

Anyway everyday I search the net for interesting stories to submit to these blogs including Saturdays. As you can imagine Self Storage stories, (or any storage come to think of it) are limited, what i am saying there just is not any gossip out there like you get on TV blogs or movie blogs.. So I find myself having to be more creative and looking all over the world for suitable topics..

I came across this story a couple of days ago, and skimmed over the subject. The reason being is I did not Personally see it as major story(I will explain later on) but here goes...

A recent poll carried out on storage uses, showed that the most common reason for people to seek out storage is a temporary need for more space, not a long-term requirement. out of a 100 respondents, 43 said they were looking for short-term storage; only 15 had a more permanent need. 16 were making a local move, another 16 were moving cross-country. The remaining 10 indicated another, unspecified reason for seeking self-storage.

This got me thinking... How many of you out there decide to place your belonging in storage short term.? Your right the majority of you as the pole states.. What it does not highlight is how many people plan short term and end up either putting off weekend after weekend making it longer term or just decide that the storage should stay till you move again?

I knew heaps of people who have done these and I will meet many many more... Pole are like statics, like John Lennon once said 90% of statics are made up...

woman suing her ex for storage fees.???

Go Judge Judy, She deals with a woman suing her ex for storage fees.???

Moment to watch for: "Tell her not to watch."

Upickstorage fan base

WOOOOOOO.. It's friday! ( award for stating the obvious goes to fleamo)

It's been a very busy week.

The website is generating lots of positive interests from customers to vendors, which is amazing Plus our facebook page gained over 200 fans which is fantastic. We have to have the biggest fan base for a storage related business on facebook, except for a student oriented page. But it is amazing that people are seeing the benefits of the website.


To celebrate this occasion, I'd like to share with you "Charlie bit my fingers".....

Come on its funny!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hurricanes , Wines and Storage

Because I am currently situated on the Gulf coast for the next couple of months I found an articule about Mississippi and Storage units of some interest.

South Mississippi which is more accustomed to being home to small, mom-and-pop type self-storage facilities, but things are about to change with the emergence of larger, more sophisticated facilities. one particular unit is scheduled to open in September.Not only can the facility resist 140 mph winds which should provide protection from hurricanes which often hit the area during the hurricane season, it also provides temperature- and humidity-controlled units for a growing trend in wine storage.

Hurricanes scared the doo doo out of me.

Twitter blogs

Twitter is taking legal advice after hundreds of documents were hacked into and published by a number of blogs. holy moly,,,,

Although from what I have read it more about the financial side of twitter than peoples personal data.... Reason I posting this was i almost canceled our twitter account, nothing worse than only reading half a story..


Further details are available on the Bbc News website,

Tips on Keeping Self-Storages Eco-Friendly

Here are some quick and easy steps you can take to ensure your self-storage office is doing its part for Mother Earth:

-Exchange regular light bulbs for compact fluorescent light bulbs. Add motion lighting, timers and dimmers wherever possible.
-When looking for new office equipment, check consignment stores. Not only can you find bargains, the furniture is typically barely worn.
-Upgrade to energy-efficient windows.
-When it comes time to upgrade computers, recycle. Also, use the computer’s power-save mode and turn off power strips at the end of the day to conserve electricity.
-Reduce paper use by creating electronic training manuals. Use both sides of the paper for self-storage contracts. Recycle paper or shred it and sell it to customers as packing material.
-Keep a list of charities on hand so tenants can donate items rather than throw them away

Why Storage Why?

After yesterday's post I thought I should highlight some of the reasons people use Storage facilities.

So why the hell do people need storage?

• Divorce/separation
• College student who need to store their belonging over summer.
• Marriage or two families combining the two households
• Spring cleaning and do not have any more room in the house or attic
• A vintage car,
• Storm damage
• Moving apartments
• Going out of the country for an extended length of time, for work or personnel reasons
• Working aboard for the military
• Renovation/Remodeling
• Relatives are coming to visit and the guest room is full of stuff
• Accidents Like Fire, Water or flood damage
• Moving into retirement home
• Collectibles
• New addition to the family
• Business need storage to store files and other office equipment
• Moving to a new area
• More recently with the economy downsizing the current home to a smaller one

There is likely to be hundreds more reasons why people need to rent self storage. but as you can see, day to day changes in people's lives is the most common reason.

Basic Tips for Storage.

Morning...! Today I thought I would compile a basic list of tips for people to consider when using storage.

I search high and low over the net to find the top tips from hundreds of sites. Hope they prove useful...

1. Shop around.
   
2. Place your items on plastic or pallets to get them off the floor this will help keep your items clean and to protect them in case something leaks.
3. Remember plastic can sometimes collect moisture and condensation. so if the item your storing is likely to be damaged by damp conditions avoid using plasic to wrap them in. Do use plastic bags to store items that might leak.
4. Try packing heavier items into smaller boxes making them more manageable.
5. Label the contents of your boxes and containers. if you use different colored Labels or pens this can help identify them when you come to move them... for example Blue labels could mean kitchen items etc.
6. Insurance. it is worth the small price for added peace of mind.
7. Keep an inventory of the items you store. if you are looking for something, you won't have to wonder whether or not it is in your storage unit.
8. Place delicate and fragile items on shelving units or bookcases.
9. Arrange your belongings so you have aisles or walk ways though the unit.
10. To prevent Rust use oil or rust protector on metal item
11. When storing Mirrors or framed Pictures Wrap them well and and stand them on end on a pallet.
12. Wardrobe and mattress boxes protect your investment in your clothing and furniture.
13. If you stack furniture, be sure to place some padding between items to avoid scratches etc.
14. Disassemble any items you can for more better use of space and it makes it easier moving.
15. Store screws, bolts and other bits and bat in zip-lock bags and tape them to the item.
16. Stand mattresses and sofas on end with pallets or plastic under them.
17. If possible, use the original boxes to store electronic items.
18. Purchase boxes with dividers to store glassware and china,
    
19. Wedge open the doors of appliances to prevent mildew. you can store lighter items such as linens inside these.
20. Try and use the same size boxes and place as much as you can with boxes rather than loose in the unit. This makes for better organization and a neater space.
21. Humidity can cause furniture to warp and other items to mildew. Leave a space between your items will allow for air circulation.
22. To guard against condensation damage use fabric rather than plastic to cover large items.
23. Avoid storing food items in boxes or other containers that rodents or insects can get into.
24. Do store fuel or any other flammable substance. if you are storing and machinery thats has fuel, ensure that it is drained before storing.
25. Use the back of the storage unit to storage valuable items and items you'll be less likely to need soon.

Marketing and Storage units

OK. so far the whole blog thing has been very light hearted. But the whole idea behind this blog was for a number of reason.

Before you continue reading this post has been updated


Anyway a number of our resent Blogs have been about Ads and Marketing. So i thought i would do a couple of blogs about actual Marketing.

A lot of people in any business think that a couple of ads here and there will fix their problems. Although proper marketing is proven to work very well, many business owners expect a quick one shot fix for everything. It is hugely important that any business owners understands their marketing metrics. must know how:

• How much your customers are worth over their lifetime.
• Your cost per lead.
• Your cost per tenant acquisition.

Knowing these basics will help you assess the results of your marketing in proper light.

Marketing is an ongoing process, not an event. Know your metrics and prepare for a journey to your goals. Results should come immediately, but be reasonable about your expectations.

Making Waves the upickstorage way

upickstorage.com is really making waves amongst Storage facility owners and their customers. In fact we're sure people are wondering what's hit them with all the emails and calls we are sending their way.

Big Day for upickstorage.com

Well today's our Big day

The upickstorage.com Ad is all over the radio today. If you have Sirius/XM - listen out for us.

You can listen to the Sean Hannity Show, or Fox News in the Morning, or XM Stars in the morning, or ESPN in the morning...we will be all over the dial.

Below is a short slide show we created to accompany one of the ads which is being aired,,,, Come could not expect you just to listen now could I?





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