As we have written on this blog many times before, the self storage industry is growing fast in the UK - our recent piece on the Self Storage Association's annual report into the industry shows continued growth of available units in the UK.
One of the main reasons for this is probably down the the average cost per square foot for storage space vs the average cost per square foot for housing in the UK, combined with the UK having one of the smallest average house sizes in Europe. So, many of us are struggling for space, both inside and outside our homes.
This squeeze on living space has come about at the same time as a rise in leisure activities, with large numbers of people now indulging in hobbies and pastimes. Hobbies can be pretty space intensive. Whether you are a keen cyclist (of course you need more than one bike!), enjoy watersports (where are you going to keep that stand-up paddleboard?) or a crafter who just can't resist adding to your stash, chances are, you have already dedicated an area of your house, garage or shed to your hobby. If your family or your significant other does not share your passion, there is likely to be a limit to the amount of space you can occupy at home before risking a rebellion.
For this reason, many people use self storage facilities to store their hobby equipment. If you are considering utilising some storage out of the home to accommodate your hobby - here are the main things you need to consider:
- How much space you will need?
- Will you want to simply store everything in boxes?
- How accessible does your stuff need to be?
- Would you like room to walk between items and setup asome kind of workspace?
- What will the value of your stored items be?
Once you have decided the amount of space you need you can start to compare the prices of nearby storage facilities. Other factors which you may need to consider when looking at storage is site security (see our previous blogs 'Self storage - for the security conscious' and 'How safe is your stuff in storage' for more information on this), ease of access and the suitability of storage types for the contents.
Finally, and, we would argue - most importantly! Get a quote to insure your items whilst they are in storage. A specialist insurer like Store-Insure will provide you with the most comprehensive kind of cover, whatever you are storing. Most of our policies come with zero excess on standard policy claims as well as protecting you against, fire, flood and theft. Make sure you insure your items for the full replacement cost (our blog 'I lost £180,000 in a self storage fire' looks at the perils of under insurance).
For more information on self storage insurance cover types, visit https://www.store-insure.co.uk/cover