Relax, While Your Precious Belongings Are Stored At Completely Safe Facilities

By Author: Faith Glass
Total Articles: 2
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The term 'self-storage' is the short form of 'self service storage' and is popularly referred to as 'mini warehouse' or 'mini storage'. Such facilities lease or hire out space to people to store their household goods. However, sometimes the facilities are also let out to small businesses. A small business or an individual, you will be referred to as a tenant, and the spaces where you can keep your materials will be known as lockers, rooms, or units. Of course once your belongings are kept inside, you get to keep the lock and key.

How Are Self-Storage Units Different From Warehouses?

A warehouse typically offers a huge space, and the fact is, most small businesses and individuals really do not need such a big area to store their items. Of course these facilities will charge a lot of money too. On the other hand, mini warehouses offer small units, and thus they are perfect for all those whose needs are limited.

The warehouse manager and the employees too will have casual access to the materials that have been stored. This is, however, never the case with mini self-storage facilities as the individual units ...
... are locked up, and you are entitled to keep the key.

There is one last difference between the two. When you keep your belongings in a large facility, the rent you pay includes the cost of insurance. But this is not the case with the mini warehouses. You can, of course, always buy your own insurance separately.

Small Facilities Where You Can Keep Your Materials Are Coming Up All Over The US And Canada

According to estimates, by the end of 2008, there are as many as 51,250 self-storage facilities in the US alone. And these facilities are owned and operated by more than 30,235 companies. The total square footage of facilities available in the country comes to more than 2.35 billion - this is more than three times the land of Manhattan in New York. And not just in the US, they are coming up all over Canada and elsewhere in the world, as well.

Today, people have understood the benefits of keeping their precious possessions in such a facility, and so it seems that the demand is growing. The fact is that there is fierce competition among the providers and a lot many of them are coming up. You are thus sure to find such a facility close to your place.

Unit Sizes In The Self-Storage Facilities And The Security Features

The units come in many sizes and you could select any one of them. However, the most popular ones are 5 feet deep and 10 feet wide (10x5), 10x10 that can be compared to the bedroom of a child, 10x20 that is as big as a garage that can keep a single automobile, 20x20, and 15x20.

The units usually have corrugated metal wall and have no windows. You can lock and key of course, but you can also use a wire mesh or chain-link fence to make it more secured. Most of these facilities have security gadgets installed such as video cameras, electronic fingerprint detection systems, computer controlled access gates, alarm systems, climate control facilities and others.

The term self-storage is the short form of 'self service storage' and is popularly referred to as 'mini warehouse' or 'mini storage'. Visit us: http://canada.storage-mart.com/ .