Lok'nStore Self Storage Blog

Are you are one of the many people who are currently thinking about using the services of a self storage company in the UK?  If so, one of the first questions you might be asking yourself is ‘How much does self storage actually cost?’

In these days of economic woe, and the fiscal tightening of real and imaginary wallets; the cost of services has become more important than ever when selecting any service, or the purchasing of any product.  This seems especially important when you consider that the costs involved with moving home have spiralled upwards over the last few years.   Nobody wants to pay over the top prices for any service or product; at Lok’nStore we agree with this notion 100%.

Lok’nStore guarantees householders and businesses the lowest priced self storage

Lok'nStore: The big friendly storage company.

Here at Lok’nStore we offer the cheapest local self storage for householders and businesses alike.  How do we know?  Because we check our prices every day to make sure. We are confident that we will provide you with the lowest prices around, but should we have missed something (we are only human after all), give us a call and we’ll guarantee you a cheaper price than any similar local storage company offers.

Storage at a Lok’nStore facility is also cheaper because you will only ever pay for the storage you use.  What do we mean by this?  I’ll explain:  If you rent a storage room or unit from us, and you find that after a few weeks or months that you have gradually moved your belongings out, you can swap that unit for a smaller one: thus reducing your costs!  This is doubly important for businesses that may have different amounts of stock coming and going.  At Lok’nStore you will also not have to sign any long contracts for any storage space you rent. For a business this is superb.  You can expand and contract your storage space as your business requires.

To find out how much a Lok’nStore storage unit costs at one of your local facilities, please call on FREE PHONE 0800 587 3322 or visit the self storage locations page at www.loknstore.co.uk

You can also get a no pressure quote or even book online at our website if you should wish to do so.  Lok’nStore prides itself in offering cheap, secure and friendly self storage at 22 locations across the South East of England.

A little bit of extra space offered by a self-storage unit can make life easier on a day-to-day basis for most homeowners. Having room to breathe, organize, relate, work and play at home brings peace of mind and freedom to solve life’s bigger problems. Here are 10 ways self-storage units can help with household issues:

1. Not enough room for day-to-day items

Limited space inspires creative problem solving, but even the most organized of homeowners can run out of space at some point. Freeing up space within your closets, rooms and garage will literally give you breathing room.

2. Saving family heirlooms and hand-me-downs

Perhaps you are struggling like many families to find space to keep valuable antiques or heirlooms to pass on to their children and grandchildren. Or your family is young and you’re living in a smaller home, hanging on to hand-me-down clothes and furniture for growing children and future new arrivals. Even if you just want to hang on to valuable personal belongings that don’t suit the current décor of your home, a self-storage unit can provide the “archival” space you need to keep valuable space in your home free for new growth and change.

3. Downsizing to a smaller home

If you are reducing the number of bedrooms, basement or attic space where you can store extra furniture, a storage unit is a great place to store extra mattresses and bed frames, dressers and mirrors, coffee tables and couches, and TVs and stereos.  A new home, condo or apartment can come with appliances and furniture that you already have. Until you have time to sell or donate your unwanted appliances, or if you wish to keep them until you’re sure what your plan is, a self-storage facility can be an ideal option. A drive-up garage-style self-storage unit works well for storing an extra car, motorcycle, truck or van.

4. Extended absence

Being able to take a long trip without paying rent or a mortgage can free you up to explore the world, or give you peace of mind as you leave for military deployment or temporary work assignment. Self-storage units are an affordable way to be flexible and adaptive during these extended absences.

5. Life in limbo

Whether you’re caught between two house closings, living in the upheaval of major renovations, or a student preparing to move home for the summer, a self-storage space can be a convenient answer for storing your belongs in the interim.

6. More room for toys

If you love the outdoors, you probably have lots of equipment that you use during certain times of the year. A self-storage unit can give you the extra square footage you need to keep the bikes and golf clubs accessible while keeping room in your garage for toys you use frequently or all year long.

A self-storage unit is a great place to store:
• Boats, inner tubes, rafts, canoes or kayaks
• Camping and climbing equipment
• Skis, snow boards or surf boards
• Jet skis, ATVs and other small-engine vehicles
• Golf carts and clubs
• Recreational vehicles (RVs)
• Classic and show cars

For hobbyists, a self-storage space can mean more room to keep:

• Photos and photography equipment
• Musical instruments and DJ / production equipment
• Collections of books, magazines, wine, comic books, collectibles, videos, etc.
• Craft and hobby supplies

7. Selling a home

As you prepare to sell a house, a self-storage unit can be useful in hiding away personal belongings for proper staging.

8. Seasonal storage

A self-storage unit can be used to store away household items you only during certain times of the year, such as:

• Artificial Christmas trees and holiday decorations
• Patio furniture
• Pool equipment and supplies
• Lawn mowers and other yard equipment
• Off-season clothing and outerwear

9. Offsite security

Storing copies of important documents and data in a separate physical location is a smart idea. In case of flood, fire or other catastrophic damage affecting your home, having a second set of medical, legal, financial and insurance-related documents, as well as backups of computer hard drives and software in your self-storage unit can prove critically important.

Keeping a stock of canned and other non-perishable food, a generator and other emergency supplies can be beneficial not just in your home, but also in a self-storage unit, especially in areas prone to natural disasters.

10. Paying the bills
If your home is also your place of business, a self-storage unit can give you the equivalent of an inexpensive warehouse to store:

• Inventory for home-based businesses
• Home office supplies
• Farming equipment
• Saws, tools and equipment

Lok’Storage facility managers are pros at putting self-storage space to the best use. Be sure to ask them any questions you may have about making your extra space work for you.

We all know that starting up a new business is tough at the best of times, let alone in this economy, but if part of your business plan means that you’ll need self storage or office space; then Lok’nStore flexibility can help you.  Whatever your business needs, we’ve got the right storage, at the right price.

No hidden extras at Lok’nStore:  Just your storage cost and insurance.

When starting up a new business, keeping your initial outlay as low as possible is very important, and at Lok’nStore we guarantee you the best self storage rate available locally – and our prices include VAT.  Most other storage companies do not charge VAT, but will quote a similar price for their business storage as Lok’nStore – meaning the real cost to your business is less at Lok’nStore because you can claim back the VAT!  We also appreciate at Lok’nStore how any business needs to have a degree of flexibility available: nobody wants to be tied into long term contracts or leases, and so all our storage units can be changed for a larger or smaller space as your new business expands or contracts – ‘you’ are in charge of ‘your’ storage space.  With just 7 days notice you can easily move your stock, pallets or goods to another size storage unit, meaning that you only ever pay for the space you are using.

We care about security at Lok’nStore.

With your storage at Lok’nStore, comes the peace of mind that your goods, stock or documents are locked away safely and securely.  Lok’nStore takes security very seriously – we have 24hr security and CCTV at all our storage facilities, with staff permanently on site during all opening hours.  Your storage unit is ‘safe and secure’ at Lok’nStore: only you have a key to the lock on your storage unit.

How can Lok’nStore help ‘you’ set up your new business?

Lok’nStore can help any business find the right storage solution.  We have multiple types of business storage available including:

• Pallet – store a single pallet or thousands of pallets: whatever you need.

• Mini-warehousing – 500 sq ft to 10,000 sq ft.  Choose Lok’nStore and you’ll get warehousing space that’s tailored to suit your exact requirements. And you’ll get your palletised goods stored for you in steel units or open areas, from as little as £2 per pallet, per week with free handling!

• Archiving, records and document storage.   With our self service archives you get secure private document storage room – racked out – for your important paperwork.

• Individual storage rooms, with steel doors, ranging in sizes from 25 sq ft to 1,000 sq ft.

• National Accounts – Should your new business get so big that you need storage at multiple locations, Lok’nStore can set up a National Account for you, using any of our storage facilities at over 20 locations.

• Low cost office space to rent and let; from just £5 per day! Affordable, flexible office space that suits your business, and doesn’t break the bank.  You won’t need to pay rates or utilities on top, and with weekly, 4 weekly and annual terms available, you can easily change your office space as your business grows.

What next?

For more free, friendly advice on Lok’nStore storage and office rental services; that can help your new business get started – call our facilities 0800 587 3322 or visit us at loknstore.co.uk Regardless of whether your new business is big or small, we’ll help you to choose self storage that suits you, and most importantly; your budget.

Have you ever wondered what the large orange building is; that you can see from the M275 as you approach Portsmouth?  If you were to leave the motorway at the Rudmore Roundabout exit, you would find Lok’nStore’s self storage centre at Rudmore Square.  Lok’nStore have been providing self storage services in Portsmouth since 1999, and moved into this modern, purpose built facility in 2007.  Catering for both homeowners and businesses, Lok’nStore Portsmouth has rapidly filled with customers, providing them with low cost, secure storage solutions.

Customers both household, and business use Lok’nStore’s facilities for a wide range of reasons.  It maybe that a householder is having construction work completed on their property, and they need to store furniture whilst the builders are in.  Or they might be in-between renting, or buying a property that they can’t move into yet, and need somewhere to store all their household belongings. Many local and national businesses also use Lok’nStore for seasonal stock, filing, document archiving or even mini-warehousing and pallet storage.

If you think you need the help of Lok’nStore, for either household or business self storage; then please give us a call:  Lok’nStore has the most knowledgeable and friendly staff in the industry with 21 centres across the south east, and we will be able to help you!  If you would like to discuss self storage, please speak to the centre manager: Erica Gibson, or her staff at our Portsmouth facility by calling:  02392 876783 or drop in for a visit at any time during the centres 7 day opening hours.  Lok’nStore also has storage facilities just down the road in Fareham and Southampton, should they be more convenient for you.  For details on all Lok’nStore services and locations, please visit our website at www.loknstore.co.uk and we hope to see you soon.

The big orange building is: Lok'nStore Self Storage.

So…you have found a nice new house or flat, and are all ready to get in there as soon as possible; but you can’t quite move in yet, and need to store your belongings for a few weeks.  What can you do?  Your Uncle Jeff has offered you the use of his leaky garage for a couple of weeks, but do you really want to leave your valuable belongings and furniture in such a damp, unsecure place; even if it is free?  Can a Lok’nStore self storage facility help bridge the gap between your old – and new home?

Important questions for you to ask might be:

How long does my storage contract have to be?

You can store your household things at Lok’nStore for as long as you need, as there are no contracts or fixed dates. You can book a storage unit for one week, month, year or forever – it’s up to you! Lok’nStore do ask clients to give just 7-days notice that they are moving out beforehand, and this is easy to do. As far as moving into your storage space is concerned, in most cases you can come at any time during centre opening hours. If you plan to arrive at your self storage facility outside usual working hours:  we can do that for you too (just ask at your Lok’nStore).  You can also book and reserve self storage online, out of hours, with Lok’nStore.

How much storage space will I need? At Lok’nStore, our staff are self storage specialists, who can estimate the size needed for your belongings, so that they fit into one single storage unit. Should you book a self storage unit yourself, and later find that it can’t keep all your things, you can ask staff to change a larger or smaller storage unit. Such a change is made for free, and you’ll just pay the usual storage unit price. Also, as time goes on, you might want to store more, or less things. In this case, Lok’nStore will allow you to increase or decrease your storage space.

Is my stuff going to be safe if I leave it with you?

When using a Lok’nStore self storage unit or centre, you can be sure that no unauthorised people can access your self storage. ‘You’ have the only key to your storage unit, and even storage company staff can’t open the unit without you. When you visit your storage unit you will need to sign in at reception. Storage companies ask clients to do this for security reasons. You can come at any time during normal centre opening hours, as access is free and unlimited for customers.

OK… this all sounds good: how do I reserve a storage unit or room?

It’s easy!  Just reserve or book your storage unit online now or call us on 0800 587 332