Protect Your Self Storage with the Right Lock

Using the right kind of lock on your self storage unit is vital to the protection of your personal valuables. Choosing the right lock is a big decision that people often don’t pay enough attention to. The lock you choose for your unit is the most important decision you will make when packing your unit, so do your research and find the right hardware with the high-quality security you deserve.  (more…)

Protect Your Musical Instrument in Storage

As a musician, you want to give your instrument the best care possible. Instruments have both major financial and sentimental value, which is why you need to be mindful when choosing how to store them. Storing instruments in an attic or cellar is a bad idea, as dust, humidity, and pests can cause irreparable damage. When choosing a storage space, always opt for a climate controlled, secured environment like the units at AAA Self Storage of Lansing.  (more…)

Steps to Storing Photographs

Whether they are pictures of your great grandmother, first born child, or even your college dorm room, photographs are easily some of the most valuable items you own. They tell the story of not only our lives, but of the lives of the loved ones around us. There is nothing quite like flipping through a photo album of times gone by. But ask yourself, have you protected those pictures that you love so much for the years to come? (more…)

Mattress Storage Options When Moving

Moving is a stressful time for anyone, and having to figure out how to safely store large items like your mattress can heighten your stress level unnecessarily. Whether you are deploying for a year, or need to store the mattress for a short period of time, there are a few simply steps you should take prior to moving the mattress into your unit. (more…)

Give Yourself the Gift of Space with a Small Storage Unit

Feeling a little cramped? Give yourself some extra storage space at home by renting a self storage unit. If you’re thinking that you don’t have that much stuff to store, you may not realize that AAA Self Storage of Lansing offers smaller storage units that are ideal to store just enough stuff to give you that extra space you need. By transferring some of your non-essential items to a small storage unit, it can be like gaining an additional closet or bedroom in your home. To sweeten the deal, you can rent these smaller storage units for less than the larger storage units, which may be much more space than you need.

If you’re thinking that these smaller units can’t possibly store enough to make a difference, you’d be wrong. People are often surprised at just how much these 5×5 and 5×10 units can accommodate. For example, you can easily store a queen-sized bed, a dresser, a few chairs, and several boxes in a 5×10 storage unit with room to spare. You can also maximize the space in these compact storage spaces by using shelving to take advantage of vertical space.

Our smaller storage units are perfect for storing all those things that you only use occasionally and that won’t be missed if they’re packed away for a few months. The following are just a few ideas for ways you can use a small self storage unit to free up valuable space at home.

• Closets are notorious for being jam-packed and over-crowded. Storing your out-of-season clothing in a storage unit is a great way to instantly make your closet feel bigger and make it easier to find what you want when you need it.
• When the holidays roll around, we all pull out the Christmas trees, inflatable snowmen, and other decorations, but the rest of the year these festive decorations just take up much needed space. Why not store them in a storage unit until you’re ready to break them out next year?
• If you’re a college student, you know the hassle of packing up all your belongings and dragging them home every summer, only to drag them back in the fall. A storage unit is the perfect place to keep everything safe and out of the way over the summer. If you live in a dorm or a tiny apartment with limited storage, a storage unit can be a great solution year-round for those things you don’t need on a daily basis.
• If you have younger kids, you’re well aware of how quickly toys can seem to multiply and take over every room of your home. A storage unit is a great solution for storing the toys that aren’t currently being played with or that are being saved until younger kids are ready for them. This is also a great solution for storing baby furniture that’s waiting for the next child or outdoor toys like bikes.
• A small storage unit can make a great library for your extensive collection of books that are overtaking your home. It can also be used as an archive for old papers and documents that you don’t want to dispose of.
• If hobby supplies are taking over your home, a small storage unit is a great place to keep everything organized and easy to access.
• Sports equipment can also require a lot of storage space in your home or garage. You can keep it safely stored out of the way during the off-season in a small storage unit.
• If you’ve collected or inherited more household items than you need or have linens and china that you only use a few times a year on special occasions, a self storage unit can keep them safely stored and out of the way until you need them.
• Buying in bulk is a great way to save money, but storing huge quantities can be a challenge. A small storage until can provide the perfect place to store your surplus non-food related items like toilet paper, paper towels, and other bulk items that you can’t accommodate at home.

AAA Self Storage of Lansing offers flexible month-to-month leasing, allowing you to rent your storage unit for whatever length of time you need it. If you outgrow your small unit down the road, you can easily upgrade to a larger storage unit.

Make Staging Your Home Easier with a Self Storage Unit

Selling a home is a stressful experience. You want to get the best price possible and you want your home to sell quickly. According to real estate professionals, staging your home is a crucial step in making that happen. Recent real estate reports have indicated  homes that are staged sell for about 17 percent more than homes that have not been staged and sell for 6 percent more than the asking price. In addition, homes that are staged sell 79 days faster than those that have not been staged. (more…)

Make Your Next Military Move Easier with a Self Storage Unit

Relocating to a new city or state is a stressful experience. It requires planning, preparation, and organization. For military families, relocating is a task they face frequently. On average, military families relocate every two to four years. That’s a lot of packing and unpacking. One thing that can help make the moving process a little less stressful is renting a self storage unit.

Under ideal circumstances, you’d have months to plan for a big move. You’d have plenty of time to find the perfect new house. You’d have time to go through all of your belongings and get everything organized. But when you’re a military family, these moves often come with little notice. As a result, you may not end up with your dream house. If you find yourself in a home that is smaller than your previous home, you may be wondering how in the world you will fit everything comfortably into your new space. Rather than try and stuff every closet and fill every square inch of space, why not give yourself some breathing room by storing excess items in a storage unit?

Even if you’ve found your ideal house, if you’re moving on short notice it may not be ready when you are. If you find yourself living in temporary housing during this transitional period, a self storage unit is a great solution for storing all of your belongings until you can move into your new house. A storage unit also gives you a place to keep everything while you move it, allowing you to move and unpack a little at a time.

Packing and unpacking your home frequently can help you pinpoint which items you use on a daily basis and which ones you’re holding onto for posterity or future use. Rather than using up valuable space for those items that you don’t need right away, store them in a self storage unit. As an added bonus, by keeping them boxed up in storage, they’ll be ready to load on the moving truck when it’s time for the next relocation.

If you’re getting ready for a long-term deployment, you may be wondering what to do with all of your belongings. Storing everything in a self storage unit is a cost-effective solution. Your possessions will be safe while you’re gone and be ready for you when you return.

At AAA Self Storage of Lansing, we offer a variety of unit sizes, from small units to store a few random boxes to units large enough for the contents of your entire home. We can even store your car or boat during your deployment. If you’re storing items that are sensitive to extreme temperatures or humidity, consider renting a climate controlled unit. We offer flexible month-to-month leases, so you’re never locked into a lease for longer than you need it.

AAA Self Storage of Lansing offers a 32 camera DVR system and access to the property is restricted, requiring a personal passcode to both enter and exit the property. Our property is well lit at night allowing you the flexibility to access your unit when it is convenient for you.

Give Yourself the Gift of Storage Space this Holiday Season

As the holiday season gets underway, homes everywhere are being transformed into winter wonderlands. You may notice as you put up your Christmas tree and set out the nativity scene, nutcrackers, figurines, ceramic villages, and other seasonal decorations, your home suddenly seems to have shrunk. And as if navigating through space that seems better suited for an elf wasn’t enough, you may still need to find a way to make space to host your annual holiday celebration or overnight guests. But there is an easy solution: a self storage unit from AAA Self Storage of Lansing.

While your seasonal decorations may help get you into the holiday spirit, they also tend to displace your regular decorations and furniture. If you’re planning to have overnight guests, stashing all those things into your spare room won’t be an option. You may even have other clutter that needs to be removed from that space. A self storage unit is a great place to safely store all those items that need to be relocated until after the holidays are over. A climate-controlled unit will ensure that even those items sensitive to extreme temperatures are protected. And with 24-7 access to your unit, you can easily retrieve any item you may need unexpectedly or add additional items if you find you still need more space at home.

In addition to helping you create space for holiday decorations, a self storage unit is also an excellent place to stash gifts. This is especially true if you have kids or a significant other who like to snoop. A storage unit is also ideal for hiding those large gifts that may be impossible to stash out of sight at home, like bicycles or doll houses. With access to your unit at any time, you can drop your gifts off on your way home from the mall or pick them up on your way to the family gift exchange, even on Christmas Eve or Christmas morning.

A self storage unit may continue to come in handy after the holidays as well. All those holiday decorations can continue to take up valuable space in your home even after they’ve been packed up for the season. Why not store them in your self storage unit and save that space at home for better uses? And if Santa was especially generous, your kids may now have more toys than they have space. A storage unit is a great place to store some of their older toys until they’re ready to play with them again.

Whether you want a storage unit just for the holiday season or year-round, AAA Self Storage of Lansing can help. We offer month-to-month leasing so you never have to rent a unit for longer than you need it. And with multiple sizes of storage units to pick from, you can get as much storage space as you need. We offer a safe facility by having a 32 camera DVR system and require all renters to use personalized gate access codes to both enter and exit the property.

Millennials Find Solution to Storage Woes with Self Storage Units

Storage space never seems to be in abundance, but for those in the Millennial Generation, the struggle to find adequate space for their stuff is even harder, in part thanks to the fact that they’re part of the generation that was hardest hit by the recent recession. If you’re part of the Millennial Generation, you and your fellow Millennials account for one-third of the U.S. population. With more than 75 million members, your generation is the largest generation in the United States. As you may be aware, your generation is made up of a very diverse group of people at various life stages, from college students to established professionals starting families. On the bright side, you are part of the most educated generation. On the downside, thanks to staggering student debt, high unemployment rates, and credit issues, your generation is worse off than any other current generation at the same age.

Due to these economic hardships, Millennials have been hesitant to become home owners or independent renters. Instead, many of your fellow Millennials are opting to move in with friends or even back home with their parents. Others are choosing to live in small spaces that are more affordable or closer to work. Even the few who are purchasing homes are favoring small houses that better fit their budgets. Unfortunately, these smaller spaces also offer less storage space. But regardless of where you call home or which life stage you find yourself in, self storage unit offer an excellent solution to your storage shortage.

If you’re among the youngest of the Millennials who are still in college, you know first-hand how inadequate storage space is in dorms and apartments. If you share your living space with a roommate, you have even less. If you opt to head home over the summer, you have the additional issue of deciding what to do with all of your stuff while you’re gone. A self storage unit is a great option. With month-to-month leasing, it provides the perfect place to store things you can’t squeeze into your dorm room, such as out-of-season clothes and text books from last semester, or all of your belongings while you’re away for a few months.

If you’re among the recent graduates who are just beginning your career, you may be sharing your living space to cut expenses and make ends meet. It can be tricky to fit everything in when you’re sharing space, especially bulky things like furniture. Rather than get rid of it, consider storing your stuff in a self storage unit. This will keep your living space uncluttered and keep your furniture safe until you’re ready to move into a place of your own, or until your roommate moves out and takes his sofa with him. If you’ve opted to live with Mom and Dad, you’ve undoubtedly discovered that all of the storage space has already been claimed, possibly by your old childhood possessions. A self storage unit, again, is a great place to keep anything you can’t squeeze into your old room, offering easy access if needed.

If you’re among the oldest of the Millennials, you’re probably relieved to be settling into your career. Even if you’ve taken the leap and purchased a home of your own, you’ve probably started with a smaller space that is budget-friendly. If you’re one of the 40 percent of Millennials who have started a family, you’ve realized that kids are accompanied by a seemingly endless amount of toys and gear that take up a tremendous amount of space. This is in addition to your own possessions. If your parents are ready to downsize now that their own nest is empty, you may find yourself with all of your own childhood treasures to store as well, further adding to your storage woes. You can solve your storage problems with a self storage unit. It’s ideal for storing all the hand-me-down toys and clothing waiting for the next child, as well as your own out-of-season clothing, seasonal decorations, lawn tools, furniture, sports equipment, and more. It’s even the perfect spot to keep those priceless collectibles that Junior could destroy in minutes.

At AAA Self Storage of Lansing, we offer self storage solutions for every situation. Our storage units ranges in size from small units that are perfect for storing boxes of books and clothes to large storage units that can accommodate furniture from multiple rooms. If you have items that may be susceptible to extreme temperatures, we also offer self storage units with climate control. You can access your unit, any time of day or night, ensuring you can always get what you need when you need it. With AAA Self Storage of Lansing’s month-to-month leasing, you’re never locked into a lease. You can rent for as long as needed, whether that’s for a couple of months while you’re away over the summer or for several years until all of your kids have outgrown everything and you can reclaim your storage space. Our video cameras, individual unit door alarms, and password protected entry gates help ensure the safety of both you and your possessions.

As you move from one life stage to the next, you may find that your storage needs also change. With our flexible leasing options, you can easily move to a smaller or larger storage unit as needed.

Self Storage Units Make Downsizing Easier

Until recently, the goal of most homeowners was to upgrade to a bigger home, with the average home growing from under 1,900 square feet 20 years ago to more than 2,400 square feet in 2013. But that trend is reversing. An increasing number of homeowners are opting to downsize to smaller homes.

There are several reasons for the new downsizing trend. As baby boomers head into retirement, many are looking to move into smaller dwellings with less required maintenance, often in retirement communities. Empty nesters are finding themselves with more space than they need. Other retirees may simply find that their retirement incomes can’t support a large house and need something with a smaller mortgage payment and smaller utility bills. Even homeowners who are years away from retirement are choosing to downsize so that they can reduce their carbon footprint or to enable them to live in urban areas where living spaces tend to be more compact.

Whatever the reason, downsizing offers both advantages and disadvantages. Advantages include the aforementioned lower mortgage and utility payments, along with lower taxes. A smaller home also means less space to maintain and clean. The biggest disadvantage to downsizing is having less space. Obviously a two-bedroom condo is going to have significantly less space than a 4-bedroom home. And storage space in particular seems to diminish the most when downsizing. Even giving up a few hundred square feet can greatly impact the amount of storage available.

So how can you enjoy the perks of downsizing without feeling like you’re sacrificing? Reduce and declutter. Eliminate things you no longer need and look for creative organizational and storage solutions.

The first thing you should do is inventory your belongings and decide what you really need to keep and what you don’t. Be honest with yourself. Do you really need to keep the supplies you bought for that hobby you’ve been meaning to start for years? Do you really need to hang on to all those books you’ve already read? Get rid of any duplicates or excess items you have as well. After you’ve decided which items you no longer need, donate anything that is still in usable condition.

Now it’s time to deal with the items you’ve decided to keep. Because your new living space is smaller, it’s important to be creative with storage. In addition to built-in storage, look for furniture than can double as storage, such as ottomans or coffee tables that feature storage compartments. Shelving can also help maximize space. But you still may not be able to comfortably fit everything you want to keep into your new home. Self storage is a great alternative for those things that you don’t use on a daily basis. This could include things like seasonal lawn equipment, power tools, holiday decorations, seasonal clothing, hand-me-down clothing and toys, sports equipment, small business supplies, documents, and furniture you’re not using but want to keep for future use or sentimental reasons. In some cases you may have inherited furniture or belongings from relatives that you don’t want to part with but also don’t have space for at home.

Good organization is also important as you move items into your self storage unit. Group like items together by room or by function. Be sure to label each box so you know what is in each one. Place items you use infrequently in the back of the unit and keep those things you anticipate needing to access on a regular basis at the front. Keep a master list of everything that is stored in your storage unit and be sure to update it as you add or remove items.

Whether you need to store a few boxes of seasonal items or several rooms’ worth of furniture, AAA Self Storage of Lansing can assist. We offer several different sizes of self storage units from which to choose. We also offer climate controlled units for those items that are susceptible to extreme temperatures. At AAA Self Storage of Lansing, we want you to feel confident that your belongings are safe, but we also want you to feel secure while you’re on the property. For that reason, our property has video cameras and requires a passcode to gain access onto the property. You will have access to your storage unit 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. We also offer month-to-month leasing, providing you the flexibility to rent for as long as you need or upsize or downsize your storage unit as needed.