Well, we’re going to try something different today. This post will be the first of its kind on “Prepper” Nation. I’ve been answering your questions in the “READER QUESTIONS” format and its gone alright so far. I do however, get some questions that are worthy of an entire post rather than just a quick answer… So, I want to do the occasional “What do I think of…?” post, this will allow me to answer the question in its entirety and hopefully in a way as to get everyone thinking and maybe even on the same page! So here goes…
___________________________________________________________________________________
What do I think of… using a storage facility for storing preps in?
This question has been discussed in the past on a number of venues and my opinion is based on a compilation of these discussions as well as my own personal experiences…
Storage Facility
Lets start by getting everyone on the same page. The storage facilities we are discussing are of the – “YOU STORE IT, YOU LOCK IT, YOU TAKE THE KEY” variety. They can be found under many different names, both locally and nationally owned. I haven’t found a city that didn’t have at least some variation on this theme, even in very small towns. You may have to do some looking but they are there.
The general idea behind this type of business is they provide both short and long term storage to the consumer. I can’t speak to what other nations see in the way of their citizens storing crap forever but here in America, we tend to hold on to our STUFF for an unreasonable amount of time. Sometimes there’s a legitimate need for this kind of storage but from what I see in peoples storage units, its mostly worthless crap! I’ve been guilty of this phenomenon myself from time to time, so don’t harp at me about throwing stones…
Inadequate Locking hardware
The idea of storing that enormous heap of disaster preparations in a rented storage unit isn’t new. I bet that most of us that have been at this game very long have considered something like this from time to time ourselves, I know I have! We all inevitably end up with cases of this and piles of that, often far more than our spouse would like to trip over on a regular basis. Like the many reasons any one of us might choose to utilize a rental unit facility to store our stuff. There are many things to consider before pulling that trigger. Let’s look at a few…
That pile of stuff has probably taken years to get squared away. It also certainly represents MANY thousands of dollars in acquisition costs. So, before a decision could be made, we have to weigh the pros and cons.
Principal among these considerations has to be SECURITY. These are the supplies and items that will separate us, the preppers, from the folks that end up in a sports stadium after a disaster strikes. The security of most of these units is sketchy at best!
True confession time – I’ve had at least one of these units for most of my adult life! Originally, I kept a storage unit for unused personal items that I wasn’t sure I wanted to part with yet. Later in life and currently, I have business related information that I’m required by law to keep for 7 years stored away. In defense of my earlier usage, these were useful things, not just certifiable junk… What I’ve found is that what was a useful, even valuable item when I stashed it away in one of these places, turned into a mill stone around my neck by the time I saw it again. So, the moral to this story is “Be very sure of your plan before you start renting.”
Exterior entry roll-up door
OK, back on track… The security issue must be confronted right from the initial outset. You must go to the property and take a look around before you sign any rental contract. If the owner or manager isn’t willing to let you take a look around, then no dice… Your on-site evaluation is going to tell you everything you need to know… Is there a fence around the property? Is this fence securely gated? If it’s gated, what hours of the day or even night will you have access to your unit? What kind of locking hardware is used to secure the units door? Is there an on-site manager? Does the property use guard dogs at night?
Did I overwhelm you? If any of these questions have made you decide not to bother with one of these places – Great, that’s probably a good decision! If you’re still with me let’s keep talking…
You need to know ahead of time what particular preps will be going into this unit. Is it the food buckets? Guns and Ammo, cringe? Emergency equipment, sleeping bags, camping gear and other durables? This is as important as the security question. You might find that the unit is secured day and night with randomly roving security guards complete with snarling rottweilers, I doubt it but you might! However, what if the roof leaks? Have rats or mice found there way into the walls? Does the renter of the unit next door have access to your stuff via climbing over the common wall between your units? What’s the layout, inside hallway access or a roll-up door outside? Do your homework!
Hallway access storage units
Next, how much do you want to spend on this convenience? The rental rates vary from one property to the next. In the larger cities there is a lot of competition but rates are pretty high, in my opinion. I, meaning my business, pay $110 per month for a 10′ x 10′ unit. This is in a Seattle suburb but I’ll bet its fairly indicative of what most of you would find in a similar area near you. In smaller cities and towns, I have seen much more attractive rates but these usually come at the cost of security. The rate is less than half but the units often don’t even have a fully fenced property, much less an on-site manager. Cost is certainly a big part of the determining factor but if the property doesn’t pass all the tests than your answer to this overall question should be a resounding – NOT WORTH THE RISK!
Stay with me, I’m not just trying to scare you away from this option… There are a few decent reasons to go this route, not many though! For instance, a rental unit could be found that would allow for your preps to all be stored in a convient fashion. I know I sometimes have a difficult time finding my gear because there is so much of it that it can’t all be stored nice and neat in a single closet. If you rent a large enough unit, it could be setup with shelving and a real method to your madness.
I have heard of preppers that have rented these units with the exterior roll up doors. They then utilize the entire space as a garage. Inside their garage they park a designated bug out trailer… The trailer is packed as if they were bugging out and then stored in “Ready to Roll” condition. This option actually is one that seemed almost worth the cost to me. In a situation like this it is still imperative to answer all of the above mentioned questions. If a forward looking prepper had his trailer all set but got to the property only to find the gate locked for the night – NOT GOOD!
- Gated Access entering and leaving property
Wait for it…… Did you all hear that? I know about a hundred voices read that last comment about the locked gate and said out loud that “No stinkin locked gate’s gonna keep me out!” Alright, I’m with you in theory – maybe even in practice too but when we’re making the long awaited, “Gettin Outa Dodge” trip, it wouldn’t be a great time to get waylaid by some trigger happy on-site rental manager or even find ourselves in the back of a patrol car, when we should be speeding our family to safety ahead of all the slumbering sheeple!
Another variation on the preps in storage theme that I’ve seen is – prepositioning the gear at a unit in a town either along the way to the BOL or even in the nearest town to the BOL… Not bad ideas, if indeed your brand of prepping includes “Buggin Out”. Mine does and I know I’m not alone in this but many folks either don’t have anywhere to go or are better off staying put! I do see the wisdom of storing the Bug out preps in a rental unit near the BOL, if and only if there is inadequate security at the actual BOL. I better leave it at that or I’m going to end up going down an entirely new road away from today’s topic…
Still inadequate but better hardware
This has been a good question and I have spent a bit of time considering it for part of my personal prepping plan over the years… I know that the person that sent me the question is really wanting to pin me down on if I would do this or not! I don’t ever want to tell anyone that the way I do something or what I decide is best for me and mine is the final word… But, since I have to answer – No, I wouldn’t choose to put my preps in a storage unit. What I would do, if I just had to have the space freed up for more preps, is store some other items that are currently taking up valuable storage real estate in the rented unit. This might be inconvenient, if the stuff in storage was needed frequently but better to risk less important goods, if you indeed have to risk.
Hopefully you will be able to use some of my thoughts to make up your own mind as to the viability of this tpe of plan… Just make sure you take into consideration the things I suggested you watch for and proceed with caution… Oh, on a final note… Be sure to check on your unit faithfully, even if the stuff inside isn’t as important as your preps… Better to know its gone or ruined, sooner than later! Think about it… See you tomorrow!
Prepper
What do I think of…?
Posted by: Prepper | Comments (0)Well, we’re going to try something different today. This post will be the first of its kind on “Prepper” Nation. I’ve been answering your questions in the “READER QUESTIONS” format and its gone alright so far. I do however, get some questions that are worthy of an entire post rather than just a quick answer… So, I want to do the occasional “What do I think of…?” post, this will allow me to answer the question in its entirety and hopefully in a way as to get everyone thinking and maybe even on the same page! So here goes…
___________________________________________________________________________________
What do I think of… using a storage facility for storing preps in?
This question has been discussed in the past on a number of venues and my opinion is based on a compilation of these discussions as well as my own personal experiences…
Storage Facility
Lets start by getting everyone on the same page. The storage facilities we are discussing are of the – “YOU STORE IT, YOU LOCK IT, YOU TAKE THE KEY” variety. They can be found under many different names, both locally and nationally owned. I haven’t found a city that didn’t have at least some variation on this theme, even in very small towns. You may have to do some looking but they are there.
The general idea behind this type of business is they provide both short and long term storage to the consumer. I can’t speak to what other nations see in the way of their citizens storing crap forever but here in America, we tend to hold on to our STUFF for an unreasonable amount of time. Sometimes there’s a legitimate need for this kind of storage but from what I see in peoples storage units, its mostly worthless crap! I’ve been guilty of this phenomenon myself from time to time, so don’t harp at me about throwing stones…
Inadequate Locking hardware
The idea of storing that enormous heap of disaster preparations in a rented storage unit isn’t new. I bet that most of us that have been at this game very long have considered something like this from time to time ourselves, I know I have! We all inevitably end up with cases of this and piles of that, often far more than our spouse would like to trip over on a regular basis. Like the many reasons any one of us might choose to utilize a rental unit facility to store our stuff. There are many things to consider before pulling that trigger. Let’s look at a few…
That pile of stuff has probably taken years to get squared away. It also certainly represents MANY thousands of dollars in acquisition costs. So, before a decision could be made, we have to weigh the pros and cons.
Principal among these considerations has to be SECURITY. These are the supplies and items that will separate us, the preppers, from the folks that end up in a sports stadium after a disaster strikes. The security of most of these units is sketchy at best!
True confession time – I’ve had at least one of these units for most of my adult life! Originally, I kept a storage unit for unused personal items that I wasn’t sure I wanted to part with yet. Later in life and currently, I have business related information that I’m required by law to keep for 7 years stored away. In defense of my earlier usage, these were useful things, not just certifiable junk… What I’ve found is that what was a useful, even valuable item when I stashed it away in one of these places, turned into a mill stone around my neck by the time I saw it again. So, the moral to this story is “Be very sure of your plan before you start renting.”
Exterior entry roll-up door
OK, back on track… The security issue must be confronted right from the initial outset. You must go to the property and take a look around before you sign any rental contract. If the owner or manager isn’t willing to let you take a look around, then no dice… Your on-site evaluation is going to tell you everything you need to know… Is there a fence around the property? Is this fence securely gated? If it’s gated, what hours of the day or even night will you have access to your unit? What kind of locking hardware is used to secure the units door? Is there an on-site manager? Does the property use guard dogs at night?
Did I overwhelm you? If any of these questions have made you decide not to bother with one of these places – Great, that’s probably a good decision! If you’re still with me let’s keep talking…
You need to know ahead of time what particular preps will be going into this unit. Is it the food buckets? Guns and Ammo, cringe? Emergency equipment, sleeping bags, camping gear and other durables? This is as important as the security question. You might find that the unit is secured day and night with randomly roving security guards complete with snarling rottweilers, I doubt it but you might! However, what if the roof leaks? Have rats or mice found there way into the walls? Does the renter of the unit next door have access to your stuff via climbing over the common wall between your units? What’s the layout, inside hallway access or a roll-up door outside? Do your homework!
Hallway access storage units
Next, how much do you want to spend on this convenience? The rental rates vary from one property to the next. In the larger cities there is a lot of competition but rates are pretty high, in my opinion. I, meaning my business, pay $110 per month for a 10′ x 10′ unit. This is in a Seattle suburb but I’ll bet its fairly indicative of what most of you would find in a similar area near you. In smaller cities and towns, I have seen much more attractive rates but these usually come at the cost of security. The rate is less than half but the units often don’t even have a fully fenced property, much less an on-site manager. Cost is certainly a big part of the determining factor but if the property doesn’t pass all the tests than your answer to this overall question should be a resounding – NOT WORTH THE RISK!
Stay with me, I’m not just trying to scare you away from this option… There are a few decent reasons to go this route, not many though! For instance, a rental unit could be found that would allow for your preps to all be stored in a convient fashion. I know I sometimes have a difficult time finding my gear because there is so much of it that it can’t all be stored nice and neat in a single closet. If you rent a large enough unit, it could be setup with shelving and a real method to your madness.
I have heard of preppers that have rented these units with the exterior roll up doors. They then utilize the entire space as a garage. Inside their garage they park a designated bug out trailer… The trailer is packed as if they were bugging out and then stored in “Ready to Roll” condition. This option actually is one that seemed almost worth the cost to me. In a situation like this it is still imperative to answer all of the above mentioned questions. If a forward looking prepper had his trailer all set but got to the property only to find the gate locked for the night – NOT GOOD!
Wait for it…… Did you all hear that? I know about a hundred voices read that last comment about the locked gate and said out loud that “No stinkin locked gate’s gonna keep me out!” Alright, I’m with you in theory – maybe even in practice too but when we’re making the long awaited, “Gettin Outa Dodge” trip, it wouldn’t be a great time to get waylaid by some trigger happy on-site rental manager or even find ourselves in the back of a patrol car, when we should be speeding our family to safety ahead of all the slumbering sheeple!
Another variation on the preps in storage theme that I’ve seen is – prepositioning the gear at a unit in a town either along the way to the BOL or even in the nearest town to the BOL… Not bad ideas, if indeed your brand of prepping includes “Buggin Out”. Mine does and I know I’m not alone in this but many folks either don’t have anywhere to go or are better off staying put! I do see the wisdom of storing the Bug out preps in a rental unit near the BOL, if and only if there is inadequate security at the actual BOL. I better leave it at that or I’m going to end up going down an entirely new road away from today’s topic…
Still inadequate but better hardware
This has been a good question and I have spent a bit of time considering it for part of my personal prepping plan over the years… I know that the person that sent me the question is really wanting to pin me down on if I would do this or not! I don’t ever want to tell anyone that the way I do something or what I decide is best for me and mine is the final word… But, since I have to answer – No, I wouldn’t choose to put my preps in a storage unit. What I would do, if I just had to have the space freed up for more preps, is store some other items that are currently taking up valuable storage real estate in the rented unit. This might be inconvenient, if the stuff in storage was needed frequently but better to risk less important goods, if you indeed have to risk.
Hopefully you will be able to use some of my thoughts to make up your own mind as to the viability of this tpe of plan… Just make sure you take into consideration the things I suggested you watch for and proceed with caution… Oh, on a final note… Be sure to check on your unit faithfully, even if the stuff inside isn’t as important as your preps… Better to know its gone or ruined, sooner than later! Think about it… See you tomorrow!
Prepper