Even though our home has an attic and a basement, I rent a storage unit for convenience. It might sound counterintuitive to some people, but I’ve found that it makes my life so much easier, that it’s worth the small investment.
We pay for convenience all of the time in the form of prepared food or technology simply to make our lives more comfortable. For our family, the storage vault allows easy access to clean, organized storage space that makes our lives better.
Climate control
Somehow I became the designated historian of our family, so I am responsible for all of the ancestry documentation and family pictures. I have an ongoing project to convert them to digital files, but many of the original files must be archived. Our family home has storage available in the basement and attic, but the temperature and humidity swing wildly in both spaces. I’m afraid to store valuable papers there because of the potential for damage, and I don’t have room elsewhere in the house.
A climate controlled storage space is just the right solution to protect against fading, cracking, and rippling. With the papers and photos stored properly, we’ve got the best chance of preserving the family memories for later generations.
Accessibility
One of our important family traditions is decorating the house for Christmas. We have boxes and bins full of décor, lights, and trees. The whole family pitches in when it’s time to decorate, but it’s up to me to haul the buckets out. I couldn’t store or organize the boxes properly when they were in the attic. The creaky, pull-down steps are dangerous when you’re carrying heavy tubs.
With the storage vault, I can set up shelves, label the tubs with their contents and transport them without traversing stairs. The storage vault makes it easier for me to access the contents directly. I can stand up straight in the space and don’t have to deal with cobwebs and insulation.
Backup of important documents
We’re not in the path of hurricanes, but no home is exempt from a house fire or flood. Like most people, we many important files on our computers and stored in the home. I can’t imagine how devastating it would be to return home after a natural disaster to try to make sense of insurance and banking without any papers.
One of the reasons I like having off-site storage is the ability to store a copy of important papers in case of a natural disaster. If something awful happened to us, our kids know where they can find the most important banking, insurance, and identification documents they might need.
Conclusion
Our home has storage, but it’s not climate controlled, nor easy to access. A storage vault is an inexpensive solution to provide more usable space to keep sentimental old photos and backup copies of important papers in case of a disaster. For our family, the relatively small investment in a climate controlled, accessible space is worth the convenience.
