It could the end of the first year or last year at university but the start of June signals the mass exodus of students away from campus and accommodation.
For those who are not yet at the end of their course it’s unlikely you’ll be able to stay in their accommodation over the summer months. Landlord agreements don’t normally allow it and halls of residence, generally empty and shut down, the accommodation often being given over to commercial opportunities. The dilemma is what do you do with your belongings for the summer? Clothes and lap tops will come home with you, but do you really want or need to bring home those car loads of kitchen pots and pans and dishes etc. only to have to load up and take them all back again in 12 weeks time? A self storage locker close your university is the answer. For those not yet able to get in to their private accommodation, box it all up and leave it over the summer in a place where you know everything will be secure and it will be close by once they’re ready to move in.
If you’re already in private accommodation, generally things are reasonably safe but you may want to take a small student locker to keep paperwork and text books safe over the summer. It’s unlikely you’ll need everything at home, but you may have project work, textbooks or things that are important to you that you won’t need at home but want to keep safe while the property is empty.
If it’s graduation that’s looming, it won’t be long before you have to vacate your student digs and move on. You’ll have a whole host of cleaning to do and will probably find things in the back of cupboards you forgot you had. Bedding, kitchenware, desks and anything else you’ve collected along the way (which always seems to be way more than you went away with!) will need to be packed up and moved along with you. It’s very likely that there will be some things that will be thrown away but there will still be a fair bit that will need to find a new home. The question is – whose home will it be going to?
If you’re going home, do your parents have the space? And if not, what do you do with it? The answer will depend in part on how long you intend staying at home. If you’re going to be home permanently, there’ll be some sorting out to do to free up space. Your parents may have made changes since you left that means those old spaces you used to stuff things are no longer there! You need to be brutal with the sorting (bin/charity/sell) and decide what goes and what stays.
If you’re only home temporarily and for a short period of time you may well need the things they’ve packed up, after all, there’s no point in having to buy things all over again. If you don’t have the space in your loft or garage, you may consider a short term self storage locker. Most facilities don’t tie you in to long contracts and are flexible about leaving early or extending slightly, but be sure to check.
Finally, the travellers. You’ve finished university and want some freedom before settling into a job or you have a job but your start date is a long way off which is allowing you to take time out and travel. You’re not going to be home but you want to hold onto everything in case you need it when you get back. Again, if you don’t have the space to keep everything at home, a self storage locker is the solution, but if leaving things longer term there are a few things to remember.
- Make sure the appropriate weekly or monthly payments are set up
- Make sure you pack things properly. Items need to be clean and dry before they go in to storage to prevent mould etc. and don’t overfill boxes, it just results in breakages
- You will be the only person with a key – if you’re not going to be home for a long time, consider leaving it with someone / somewhere safe at home to make sure it doesn’t get lost
- Make sure the storage facility has the contact details for someone else to contact in an emergency. Mistakes happen and if something goes wrong with the payments and the centre can’t get hold of you, you risk losing your belongings.
If you are at university in Bristol or Gloucestershire and need a place to store your things over the summer months, or for longer, get in touch. We can advise you about packing and how much space you’ll need as well as answering any questions you may have.
If you’re a student who’s used self storage to help over the summer period, why not share your hints and tips for all those first timers out there?