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What to Store This Summer: a Student Guide
Every year, at around this time, student’s cars – or their parents’ fill to the brim ready to take things home for the summer months.
For international students it’s harder, as they make the long journey home with a limited baggage allowance.
Small wonder then that student storage is becoming increasingly popular over the summer months, allowing students to travel light, and their parents and friends to breathe a sigh of relief at not having to find space for the entire contents of a student’s home.
easyStorage makes storage even easier by collecting and returning goods. Some students even club together to share an easyPod, filling the unit and reducing the cost to each of them.
It’s always worth students calling easyStorage on 0333 241 3137 to find out about any special offers both from the company and local to them. Scotland, for example, has recently launched packages to help students: Students Save on Scottish Storage.
Meanwhile, what are the most common things that students for the most part don’t need over the summer, and can store with an element of certainty that they won’t be needed until University starts back after the holiday?
Bedding
Unless you need to take all of your bedding with you to stay with friends, it can all be packed away safely. (Those moving back in with the parents may already have a bed there.
Bedding - duvets and pillows, sheets and blankets - are bulky to move around. They are therefore perfect candidates for leaving in storage over the summer period.
Resist the temptation to store in plastic bags. You may find that they encourage mould.
You may not need the best quality, or even new, box for packing a duvet, but make sure it’s at very least clean and dry. It’s also a case where a big box is a great option – duvets are not overly heavy, so moving the box won’t be problematic.
Books and Study Materials
Only take with you what books and notes you need to work on over the summer. Whether you’ve been set an assignment, are starting your dissertation, or need to get ahead for the coming academic year, unless you are having to re-sit a subject you are unlikely to need all of your notes for the year and all of the books.
In fact, sometimes now is a good time to be passing on or selling on any textbooks.
Whether storing or taking books with you, our ‘Six Point Guide to Packing Books for Safe Storage’ is useful.
Kitchen items
Whether returning home or staying with friends, and even more so if going travelling, students usually don’t need everything that’s in a kitchen to travel with them. The average home will have cups, crockery, glasses, cutlery and the like, even salt and pepper cruets. (We recently blogged on ‘How to Pack Up a Kitchen’ as part of St Andrew’s Day story – he’s the Patron Saint of Feasting!)
In general, pick smaller, sturdy boxes, and have plenty of packing paper to wrap things up and keep them safe.
Whilst purchasing good quality boxes and wrapping paper may seem like an unnecessary expense on a student budget, it's a false economy not to do it properly. Just one or two broken bits of crockery and a favourite set will stop being quite as usable.
Lamps
Be honest with yourself. Most places you are going to stay over the summer months will have lighting.
By moving things around you run the risk of breaking them.
Lighting and lamps are prime candidates for storage over the summer months, and we created a short guide recently on how to pack them: How to pack table lamps
Out of Season Items
Things you might not want to lug around with you include bulky winter clothing, Christmas decorations, and ski gear.
Put these away clean and dry and you won’t have to think about them until next term.
Photographs and pictures
Maybe your artworks and photographs won’t make a Christie's auction, but they are valuable to you.
So although the title of this blog suggests a professional move, it’s actually about packing like a pro for the rest of us mere mortals with things that have more sentimental value than monetary: Store your Art Works Like an Expert
Others
Our list isn’t exhaustive. You may also have bikes, University sports gear and the like that need storing. Do what you can to travel light and you’ll be at least part way to keeping things safe and ready to use next term.
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