The available space that you have inside your home for storage may not be enough. Over time, you may pick up more items and run into further problems with built-up clutter in the living areas. It may not be in your budget to rent a storage unit and pay the full price for rent because of your financial situation. But, this does not mean you have to pass up on renting one, you just need to find strategies that work.
Do Not Rent for the Entire Year
If you have a lot of seasonal things that you would like to store, such as summer beach gear and holiday decorations, you should look into only renting for a certain portion of the year. You can use some of the items while creating temporary storage inside your home for everything else that will not be used. It will likely require you to get creative with your solutions such as using tarps in the backyard or setting up dividers in certain rooms to allow for storage without making the place look like it is cluttered. This will save you a considerable amount of money by not paying rent on a storage unit all year long.
Pick Up and Store Free Items
When you rent a storage unit, you should look at everything you need to store inside. Since you will be using some items during different seasons, it is always going to have some extra space available. If you do not have enough to fill an entire 5x5 or 10x10 foot unit, you may end up with even more free space. This gives you the perfect chance to pick up items that you find people listing for free. Then, you can use the unit to protect it while you figure out what you need to do to fix it or clean it and then sell it. It might be a little unconventional, but this is a reliable way to balance out the costs of rent on your storage unit.
Share the Rent with Family
Whether it is a family member or a close friend, you may want to work with them to save money. A great plan is to briefly contact anyone who you trust enough to start a storage unit with and see if they are interested in splitting the rent in half or into smaller portions if you find more than one person to share. Just make sure you pick a storage unit that allows you to store everything that you need to put away.
These different methods should help you pay less for storage with a way that works for you.