Santa Fe Springs Self Storage Topics

Finding a Place for Our Tax and Legal Documents

When my wife and I decided to downsize into a smaller apartment last year, part of the point was to simplify our lives. We threw out lots of clothes and knickknacks that we didn't need, and we got rid of even some of our kitchen things we rarely used. It felt good to unload and to make living in a smaller space fun and enjoyable.

One of the problems we had, though, was that there were certain important things we simply couldn't get rid of but that we didn't have room for in our new, smaller apartment. The main item we were baffled about where to put was our tax and legal documents. We didn't have a ton of stuff, but because our taxes are relatively complicated, we do need a bit of extra space where we can put our tax documents and a few other legal documents. In our new apartment, there was not space for the file cabinet we typically used for those things.

Instead of tossing out our plan to downsize, we decided to look into getting a Santa Fe Springs Self Storage unit. We looked at several different Santa Fe Springs Self Storage locations, and we ended up going with US Storage Centers Santa Fe Springs Self Storage. The location was perfect, and the price was definitely right.

While the main reason we were downsizing was to simplify our lives, money definitely had something to do with it, too. That meant we couldn't afford to spend a fortune on a storage unit, but we wanted to get good value for our money. With US Storage Centers Santa Fe Springs Self Storage, we knew that's what we were getting. Since US Storage Centers offered small storage units that were about the size of a reach in closet, we could get affordable storage for our documents that is just the size we needed.

Another thing we really like about US Storage Centers Santa Fe Springs Self Storage is that it's very accessible. While the documents we're storing there aren't things we need every day, we do need to be able to get to them if it's required. With US Storage Centers Santa Fe Spring Self Storage, we can get into our storage unit pretty much whenever we want. We can also allow other people to get into it if we want, as long as they have the gate code and a key to access the storage unit.

Santa Fe Springs – "Upgrading" Our Furniture for a Quick Sale

My husband and I prepared to sell our home for several months before we actually listed it. We tried to think like a buyer, and we did things like painting the bedrooms neutral colors, refinishing the hardwood floors, upgrading the kitchen appliances, and clearing out most of the clutter and many of the personal decorations we had around the house. Apparently, though, we hadn't done quite enough. When the realtor came to see our home for the first time, she commented that our old-fashioned furniture might draw the eyes of some potential buyers, making them less likely to put in an offer on the house.

Now, we were pretty happy with our furniture. Even though we'd talked about having it reupholstered someday, that day wasn’t quite here yet. But, we also wanted a quick sale. We thought about getting rid of our old furniture and buying new that would help sell our home faster. But then we would probably just end up being unhappy with the new furniture when we moved into our new house.

Instead of that, we decided to check out Santa Fe Springs Self Storage locations where we could put our old furniture, and then we decided to rent furniture to put in our house. Figuring out where you could rent more modern looking furniture was the tough part. Finding a good Santa Fe Springs Self Storage location was surprisingly simple. We came across a location called US Storage Centers early in our search, and it seemed like the perfect solution for our needs.

The US Storage Centers was located kind of far from our current home, but it was close to the area where we were looking to move. It would be like moving the furniture halfway across town before we actually moved! Plus, they had great prices and excellent customer service. Their customer service went so far that the manager even gave us some great tips on how we could put our furniture in storage so that it would come out in the same shape it was in when we put it into storage.

Here are the three tips we liked the most:

1. Choose the right size unit: Something we loved about the manager of the Santa Fe Springs Self Storage location was that he wasn't just trying to make more money off of us by renting us the largest possible storage unit. He helped us figure out how to get the perfectly sized unit. A unit is too big when you don't break down furniture to go into it, and when you have a ton of space left over. The unit is too small when you have to pack everything so that it is touching other pieces of furniture and the walls. Not leaving a tad bit of room between furnishings is one of the worst things you can do, since it keeps the furniture from breathing during humid weather and can cause mold and mildew.

Our Oops Baby

My wife and I got married in our early twenties when we were fresh out of college and broke. Everyone joked that we would probably get pregnant right away, but no one thought it would actually happen – least of all us! We're one of those couples with an "oops baby." When we found out we were pregnant, what could we be but thrilled? Of course, we were also a little apprehensive. Where were we going to put a baby in our one bedroom apartment? We'd just renewed the lease and would have to stay until our kid was at least three or four months old!

Immediately, we started thinking of solutions. We could break our lease and move into a larger apartment, but that would be super expensive. We could break our lease and move in with my parents, but that would be plain awful. We could also keep our lease and make do with our one bedroom apartment. That was the plan we decided to pursue, but we couldn't have done it without our Santa Fe Springs Self Storage unit by US Storage Centers.

See, we're not ridiculous, and we know that tiny babies don't really need all the things that they seem to have these days. For instance, we didn't need both a swing that went back and forth and one that went side to side. Heck, our baby didn't really need a swing at all if it came down to that! We also didn't need a full sized crib, a changing table, or a toy box for an infant who could barely see three feet in front of its face! Our first plan of attack, then, was to think small and simple. We only wanted the baby essentials in our apartment.

Even with the essentials, though, we still didn't really have room for everything. There wasn't even room for a bassinet in our bedroom, where we knew the baby would sleep for at least the first few weeks. So, we set about clearing out our apartment.

Again, we were faced with choices. Did we simply sell the furniture and knickknacks we were getting rid of, or did we keep them? Many of the things that needed to go were things we would need to get back as soon as we moved into a larger apartment. Some of the things were nice pieces of furniture we'd saved up for a while to buy or had been given by generous family members. We decided that we didn't want to get rid of the furniture we had, so we looked into Santa Fe Spring Self Storage options.

Storing My Kids' Off Season Sports Stuff

When you have three kids who are all very athletic, the sports season can be crazy. It's lots of running around to practices and games and such, and it can get a little hectic, to say the least. That, I expected as a parent of athletes. What I didn't really expect, though, was the sheer volume of sports equipment that I would be forced to find a spot for in my house. There is so much equipment between the three kids and their three sports each that there's really not enough space in our house to store it.

The day I broke my ankle because I stepped on a left-out baseball, I decided it was time for things to change. We couldn't move to a bigger house, but I could definitely find more space for my kids' sports stuff in a Santa Fe Springs Self Storage unit. While I was recovering, I spent time online checking out different Santa Fe Springs Self Storage locations, and I found US Storage Centers. I chose this location for my kids' sports equipment for a few reasons.

For one thing, the Santa Fe Springs Self Storage location was close to home. That was important for us because we would need to be able to easily pick up sports equipment when we needed it. I was planning on storing all the off-season equipment, rather than the stuff the kids are actually using at the time. In the long run, though, I actually ended up clearing out storage space for almost all of the equipment. Since most of the kids' games are on the weekends, we go by the storage unit to get what they need for games before they happen. They keep their practice equipment at home so it's even more easily accessible, but all that equipment actually fits in one closet off of the mud room!

Another reason I liked the US Storage Centers Santa Fe Springs Self Storage location was that it was easily accessible. The location could have been next door to our house, but if it wasn't easy to get in to at different times of the day, that wouldn't have done me much good! Luckily, I can get into the unit any time during gate hours, which are plenty long enough for our needs to be able to get the equipment out for games.

I also liked the prices of the Santa Fe Springs Self Storage location. It wasn't that expensive at all, and it was definitely worthwhile to be able to have a little bit of sanity and some more space in our home, for sure! The Santa Fe Springs Self Storage also had discounts for the first few months' worth of rental, so I could save even more money there.

As a busy mom, I’m pretty good about staying on top of the bills, but I also have a lot on my plate. That's why I'm also glad that US Storage Centers Santa Fe Springs Self Storage location has an online payment option. It's great to be able to pay my bill online and not have to worry about yet another check to mail or run by the location so that we won't be overdue on our storage unit!