Leaving L.A. and Heading Home for the Summer? Self Storage Keeps Your Dorm Room Items Nice and Safe

Los Angeles is one of the country’s largest and busiest hotspots for higher education, with dozens of colleges and universities in the area and hosting almost one million students annually. Fortunately for them, finals are mostly over, and summer break is here. However, students still have one pesky issue to resolve before they can fully enjoy the summer. We’re talking, of course, about packing up their dorm rooms and moving their belongings into storage until the fall semester starts.

Here are some great tips to make this process simple and easy so that you’re done with it in no time:

Find & Rent a Self Storage Unit in Los Angeles

Self storage is the best option for college students to keep their belongings over the summer. From a mattress and shelves to a desk, chair and small appliances, a storage unit will keep them safe until school begins again in September. Fortunately, more than 200 self storage facilities are in the Los Angeles area. Students will easily be able to find one conveniently located near their dorm room.

A 5×10 storage unit is usually enough for the needs of a college student. It has room to safely store a small desk, a mattress, a mini fridge and a microwave plus a few boxes of other belongings. The monthly rate for a small storage unit in Los Angeles hovers around $110. However, renting a larger unit to share with a few friends can save money since you can divide its cost. You may also save on transportation costs and the hassle of moving your stuff from the dorm to the unit.

You’ll have to decide between a climate-controlled self storage unit and a regular one. Climate-controlled self storage offers better conditions for your items, as temperature and humidity are controlled. Many L.A. self storage facilities provide this type of unit, and it’s a particularly good option if you plan on storing electronics or other delicate items. However, climate-controlled units would not be absolutely necessary for those students not storing these types of items, especially considering they need storage only for a few months,.

Some storage facilities provide discounts for college students, so make sure you shop around a bit and ask about that before making a decision. Setting up an automatic payment method for your unit is also smart, as is paying up front for the summer months, if possible. It’s easy to forget about making payments while you’re having fun during your summer break — better to have it covered from the start!

Declutter Your Dorm Room

You probably accumulated a lot of stuff during the school year, and not all of it belongs in storage. Sort out all your papers, books, textbooks and so on. Return the books you borrowed from your college’s library (you don’t want to end up paying fines in the fall). Decide what textbooks you need to keep for the following years and which ones you can sell. Recycle the rest of your papers. If you still have snacks and food supplies in your dorm room, either eat or donate them — storing food in a storage unit is not permitted.

Prepare Your Stuff for Storage

The next step is to prepare your belongings for storage. It’s important to clean and pack everything properly to avoid damages during transportation and while it’s kept in the unit. Here’s what you should do before taking your items into storage:

• Wash your bedding set, towels and any clothing you are not planning to use over the summer. Pack them in boxes or, even better, in vacuum bags.
• Vacuum your mattress and your pillows. Use a mattress bag to protect your mattress from dust and dirt.
• If you own a desk, it’s best to have it disassembled for storage so that it takes up less space and is easier to transport.
• Wash the interior and the exterior of your fridge thoroughly, and allow it to dry off completely. Place a fridge deodorizer inside to avoid bed smells in the fall, and make sure you secure the door with tape prior to transportation. You should also clean other small appliances you have in your dorm room, such as microwaves or toasters, before packing them.
• Electronics should be packed in lidded plastic boxes that protect them from dust and dirt.

Arrange Your Belongings in the Los Angeles Storage Unit

Once you’ve arrived at your rental storage unit, follow these important, simple rules to organize your properly packed belongings:

• Put a thick tarp or wooden pallets on the unit’s floor before storing your stuff.
• Place your mattress horizontally on a flat surface, and don’t put anything heavy on top of it.
• Keep your fridge and other appliances a safe distance from the storage unit’s walls to avoid potential water damages from condensation.
• Make sure each item is contained in a box or a sturdy bag before putting it in the storage unit.

Now that you’ve stored all your dorm room belongings, your summer break can truly begin – enjoy it!