The Ten ‘Ds’ of Storage

We deal with all different stages of people’s lives at UK Storage. We help people when they have exciting changes going on in their life. We help them when they are at their most vulnerable. Breaking it down we think most people fall in to the ten Ds of storage. Most of them fit well, some are a bit more tenuous, which one(s) do you fit in?

Decorating

It’s quite a common occurrence for people to be storing with us because they are doing their home up. Whether that is their current home and moving the contents in to storage or if it’s just before they move in to their new home and they want the space for storage. Either way we have people wielding paint brushes venturing on to our sites in search of a protective space to spare their goods from plaster dust and stray blobs of paint.

Death

Sadly we all pass away at some point and sorting out a family member’s possessions can be hard to do. Some families store the items while they divide them out between them. Others use it as a space to sort the goods and then to sell them or take them to charity shops. Either way it’s a tough time and we try to help out where we can.

Divorce

We hear all sorts of life stories in our business and divorce is certainly not an uncommon reason to store. We often get to hear before the other party that they are leaving home and taking the cat! Of course who stores with us is confidential and so we do not give out the names of who is storing with us. It allows some protection for people who are fleeing unhappy homes. Maybe surprisingly but most people are philosophical about their situations and realise it is just a fact of life nowadays that some people just aren’t meant to be together.

Declutter

Still one of the best tips when it comes to moving home. Declutter your house. You may love you porcelain dogs along the mantle piece but it doesn’t necessarily mean the people who are looking to buy your house feel the same about Poochy and Mr Walkies. The best thing to do is create a blank canvass for the potential buyer, make your home feel as spacious as possible while still showing them they can fit a double bed in the box room. Light, neutral colours are also great at showcasing your house but we’re getting off subject here…

Disasters

Thankfully we’ve not had any ourselves but we do from time to time come across customers who have been hit by disasters such as house fires or floods. Often the insurance company pays for the storage while everything is sorted and so it’s a case of providing a quote to the insurance company. We can do that by email or in writing if required.

Deserters – people moving abroad

We see a steady stream of people leaving Britain for sunnier climbs. Australia and New Zealand are popular places along with Dubai, closer to home France seems to be a popular destination. The people heading for further afield tend to store their house contents whereas we often get people from France storing furniture before taking it with them as furniture is cheaper here than it is in France – or so our customers tell us.

We also have people coming the other way, we’ve had storage containers arrive from all over to be unloaded in to our storage rooms, places like China, Turkey and South Africa spring to mind. These people tend to book their storage well in advance to make sure they have the room reserved ready and available when their goods finally dock.

Displaced – in between houses

Probably our most popular reason for storing is when there is a gap between someone moving out of their last place and they have a short gap before they need their next place. A short gap can constitute anything from 10 days up to 6 months but it is a common occurrence. Whether that’s a tenancy agreement ending just before completing on a house sale or selling your house without completing on the next one for fear of losing the buyer. It leads a multitude of people to our door. Hence why we’re so flexible on how long people can store and how little notice they have to give to move out (10 days seen as you’re asking).

Daleys and Del Boys

Now it’s a bit unfair to call our business customers Arthur Daley or Del Boy types but it helps us hit our ten Ds of storage. We have aspiring business start ups using us as mini warehouses and we have national companies using us a storage area for their representatives. This is of course a steady flow of tradespeople storing with us, builders, plumbers and electricians. It certainly means we’re never short of contacts in that field. We also have business customers using our offices to rent in Bridgwater.

Dad’s place – moving back in with Mum and Dad

It has amazed us recently how many people are moving back in with their parents or in-laws while they save up for a deposit on a house or just look to save rent. The space required varies, some people take most of the items home but just need some overflow space while others have a whole house in store, childrens toys, the lot. Sadly we can’t store your Mum and Dad so that you get to use the remote on the flat screen…

Drag queens

Oh yes, it’s certainly never boring in our job. We’ve had more than one drag queen store with us and we’re not surprised they need our storage, you should see how many shoes and clothes they have! The drag queens we’ve been aware of have been loud and proud about their clothes and shoes but I’m sure we’ve had other interesting things stored that we couldn’t go in to – or know about!

Update: We did get a call from one of our customers using the self storage in Plymouth after this article went live, asking if it was about them! I think they were refering to the drag queen section. Weirdly enough it wasn’t about them but maybe we should have got them to pose for a photo for the article.