Storage Station: 2013

Friday, December 27, 2013

Happy Thanksgiving

My O My here it is thanksgiving already. My O My where did the time go. It just seem like we just finish ringing out the new year of 2012 and ringing in the new year of 2013 and here it is the end of November already.

Well here it is another week is about to start. As I am having my morning coffee I cannot believe how fast the time is flying by. As I’m traveling to work I have noticed that the traffic has picked up. I guess everyone is getting an early start shopping for their Thanksgiving day dinner. As I am going through the golden gate of the storage station store on 29 Flint Rd in South Toms River NJ I am happy to see that as I drive around everything is looking good.

The cars trailer and boats and motor homes that are store here are in good shape in the rental spot. As I drive around I see there are tenants at their units already. As I drive by I stop to say good morning. I tell them boy it is cold out here. It is 28 degrees this morning. As always I ask them how things are going with them.

Wow today they were in a talking mood. They also cannot believe how the time is flying by also. They all said they are here to get their Christmas things out of storage. Well I tell them that I have to do the same.

Well here it is I am now going through the golden gates over at the storage station store on 25 James St in Toms River, NJ. Again as I drive around the grounds I am finding everything is in tack and looking good. As I open the doors to the hall way everything in is looking good also. I have run into some of the tenants that are at their units which they are renting here. Again they cannot believe how the time is flying by and it is the day before Thanksgiving already. As I am talking to one of the tenants someone pull up in their car and was looking for me. They wanted to rent a unit. I told them to follow me to the office and I will take care of everything. When we got to the office and went inside I m happy to say we now have a new tenant in a 10x20.

Well it has been a long year. It is now almost a year since the perfect storm Sandy and the Nor’easter had hit us. As we stop and think about want we have had to go through here at both storage stations stores in Toms River and in Toms River, NJ we cannot help to think what we are thankful for. The tenants that are renting here and the new tenants that are coming in to rent are saying the same that we have a lot to be thankful for as to what we have been through this year.

Well it that time of the year that we have a lot to do. It is fall time and it is cold. The trees are all dropping their leaves to the ground. Boy I never knew how many leaves are on a tree until I have to clean them up. Sometimes I feel like I’d just like to cut the trees down. One good thing we do not have to fight the weeds anymore and when you clean up the leaves you have got them beat. So far this year no snow and we all at both storage stations store in South Toms River and Toms River hope it stay that way. Even the tenants at both storage station stores agree also.

Let’s talk about the past year. It has been a hard but good year for the storage station stores here but it has kept us on our toes. We had a lot of extra cleaning and a lot more maintenance to do this year. But as always we work as a team and the outlook is a lot brighter. I myself am very happy with what has happy and where we are today. With all that has happen westill had to work in the office. The rentals are way up at both stores in South Toms Rivers and Tom Rivers NJ.

This past year has been rough on a lot of people throughout NJ. The tenants and the new tenants that came in to rent are also giving thanks for everything we have done for them in their time of needs We at all the storage stations stores have all happy and glad for what we have been able to do for everyone. It is hard sometime to even think about what can happen when you get the strong winds that we got and mix with rain. I myself was home at the time when it hit us and could not believe what I was watching. It was the first time I watch a storm of this type from my deck. I could not believe that the trees behind the house that the tops were bending down that far to the ground . My older son was with me also at this time and he was as shock as I was to what we were seeing. As we both keep close to the house under the roof over the deck we could see a lot of flashing going on toward the ocean. At the time we thought it was flashes of lighting but were shock to find out it was not lighting but it was transformer blowing up. It just seemed like one going off every 30 seconds.

We also watched- sorry to say- fall down and on top of a house. Lucky no one was home and no one was hurt. Today I at back and think of how lucky everyone was to get out of the storm alive. Yes we all had some damage done to our houses and property some worst then others. But again we can all be thankful on this holiday that we are alive. The rest can be taken care of in time. Who could believe how the water could rise so high and quickly. We saw it flood in places you would think will never flood. Like one person told me they all went to bed got up and could not image that they had 4 feet of water in their house down stairs.

There are so many stories that I could tell you about the storm sandy that I have heard from most of our tenants that rent with us and the new tenants that came in and rented this year at both stores.

I would like to take this time and say that all of us at all the storage stations stores would like to say to all of our tenants and to all that everyone has a Happy Thanksgiving and a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Again we all should be thankful for what we have.

Well it is time to go so to all again have a safe and good holidays that are ahead.

Wednesday, November 20, 2013

Renting a storage unit is the easy part

Renting a storage unit is in all honesty the easy part, you come in choose a size to fit your needs, paper work all filled out and you are on your way. Now comes the real work, Choosing the correct way for you to get your stuff to storage. If you are storing a large amount of stuff then you are going to need a truck and there are commercial companies that you can rent from there are websites to browse through if you want to use something or someone more private and local, you can find just about anything. When renting from your commercial companies it is pretty much a do it yourself job. After renting the truck it is back home to load it and on many occasion I have had new renters pulling in with massive size trucks for not too much stuff and the reverse. If indeed you are renting a large unit then the truck should be about the same size. Trucks are measured by feet and so are the storage units as well so you want to ask as many questions of the staff as possible, and not just where you’re storing but where you may be renting a moving truck as well. Some of our facilities have the option to rent a truck, the staff can direct you in the direction you will need and make any move as easy as possible. You also want to remember to look up, yes up. Most forget that you have at least eight to ten feet in a truck so stack away!! And all of our units here at Storage Station in Middletown are eight feet high, so if at all possible get boxes that are uniform in size and storing your belongings will be much easier. We can help with that too! Moving supplies are available to purchase as well. At some point we have all had to move, so renting trucks and movers and calling upon friend’s to help is guaranteed.

Let’s chat about hiring out people to do the moving for you. There are big commercial companies who can come to your home and walk around and tell you almost exactly what you are going to need. Then comes the question on whether you want to do it yourself or hire them. A lot does depend on age, if you are of retirement age then most likely you will get a company to do it for you, there is a lot less hassle. My parents actually did just that when they moved from one home to another even though it was local it was easier for them. Trying to get enough of us together at one time was almost impossible with work and kids and the demands of everyday life. They called and bang, a done deal, from one house to another in just a few hours, where if we had helped it would have taken all weekend. Potty breaks for the kids, lunch, dinner….. Etc. With moving company’s it is a job and if you find a good company these guys are like magicians and packing and moving. They done it hundreds of times so they could probably do it in their sleep, where most families would have more discussion about which way to do it, you know everybody has an opinion and then you must debate and then the work finally begins. If you are going with a moving company do make sure you get a few estimates from various companies, they usually come for free and if at all possibly take a ride to the office site and peek at their trucks, the condition of a moving company’s truck says a lot about how they will care for your personal belongings. You will also get a first hand look on the size you may need, the internet is a great tool, but when it comes to square feet, it is better to see then guess.

Here is a quick size guide reference on a truck…..
•    26’ foot truck will move 4+ bedrooms
•    24' foot truck will move 3-4 bedrooms
•    17' foot truck will move 2-3 bedrooms
•    14' foot truck will move 1-2 bedrooms
•    10' foot truck will move a studio or small 1-bedroom apartment

Now here is a size guide reference we have handy for anybody who needs it.

SIZE GUIDE

5’X5’    25 Square feet ( about the size of a small walk-in closet)
This space will hold small furniture such as a chest of drawers or a chair, plus boxes and miscellaneous small items. Perfect for your office or personal records and/or work tools and equipment.

5’X10’   50 Square feet (about the size of a large walk-in closet)
This space will hold some furniture, for example, a couch and chair, chest of drawers or dresser, box springs and mattress set, plus small items and boxes. Also great for outdoor furniture, lawn mowers, garden tools, bicycles and/or motorcycles.

10’X10’    100 Square feet (about half the size of a standard one-car garage)
Contents of a 10’ Van
This space will hold furniture from a one-bedroom apartment without appliances, small boxes and small items, office furniture, files.

10’X15’ 150 Square feet (about the size of a standard one-car garage)
Contents of a 14’ Van
Approximately 3 to 4 rooms of furniture or the furniture from a two bedroom house with appliances, miscellaneous items and cartons.

10’X20’   200 Square feet (one car garage size)
Contents of a 14’ or 17’ Van
This space will hold approximately 5 to 6 rooms of furniture. Average size car or truck.

10’X25’   250 Square feet
Contents of a 24’ or 26’ Van
This space will hold approximately 6 to 8 rooms of furniture of the contents of a two-bedroom house with appliances, miscellaneous items and cartons. Large vehicles, commercial storage, small boat.

10’X30’ 300 Square feet
Contents of a 40’ Moving Van
Furniture from a 3 bedroom house with miscellaneous items and cartons. Also may be used to store a car or a truck and other small items.

I’m sure you have picked up on the similarities of the two, ours is definitely more detailed due to the fact that that we are storing your belongings not just moving them. If you noticed we use a reference to a one car garage size. Why is that you ask, I shall certainly tell you. It is the easiest most common size comparison for just about anyone , most of us nowadays drive a car and at some point have garaged it , if you throw out square feet well a blank look occurs more often then not, unless you work in contracting or maintenance square feet are of no consequence, I myself recently had just such a blank look when a contractor came to do a estimate and asked me how many square feet we were here in Middletown, he laughed and so did I and said no worries, I will take a walk and see what we have. Sure I could have figured it out, the long way where he did it five times faster since his brain is wired for square footage and mine is definitely not. We learn all about measurements in school, they are for the most part drilled into our brains but in reality if you don’t use those conversions everyday they get erased and the space is filled with other necessary information, the know how to figure it all out is there so sometimes you have to go back to the basics. I know I have on more then a few occasions. So definitely take the time to look at all your options, and ask any question you need, we are here to help as much as possible