Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve probably heard about the tiny home trend, and maybe you’ve even heard about retrofitted
shipping container homes. Part of the draw to living in a shipping container is that apparently there are a lot of unused containers lying around, so you can buy them really cheap – and they are sturdy as all get out. A lesser known use for shipping containers (unless you really have your pulse on Southern California self storage) is storage units. So, here’s the good, the bad, and the ugly, about storing your prized possessions at a containerized self storage facility.
Let’s start with the ugly to get it out of the way. A basic storage container is no marvel in the design world. They are built for function. They have a certain industrial appeal, but shipping container storage facilities are not the Taj Mahals of the storage industry. The question is, do you care? They are affordable, durable, and functional. I wouldn’t advise choosing a self storage facility based on aesthetics. To really exhaust this issue, many self storage facilities with containers as storage units are built on utility company power line right of ways (that’s a mouth full!), so you also have all of those wires and metal adding to the “character” of the storage facility. Again, do we really care?
The “good” list is quite long. Storage containers are air tight, keeping your storage unit very clean. Like, no dust clean. I personally have three containerized storage units and I can vouch for this. I actually even drive 30 minutes to get to my storage facility, but I personally find it worth the drive to know my stuff is in a well-sealed impenetrable steel rectangle. This also keeps them quite safe from all sorts of pests – rodents, spiders, and any other fun critters. It also seems that they regulate temperature fairly well. I would imagine they would get quite hot inside with the sun beating down on them, but I’ve never opened my storage units up and felt like they were very hot inside, and that is in sunny SoCal. That said, if you have expensive or temperature sensitive items, a container might not be the right fit for your self storage needs. And clearly they only exist in moderate climates like the California coast. Arizona or Minnesota would not be a good place for a containerized self storage facility.
I hate to end on a negative, but there are a couple minor things to be aware of when renting a container storage unit (i.e. “the bad”). Although their airtight nature results in a clean and temperate environment, I have heard that shipping containers near the ocean can at times collect condensation on their ceilings. I don’t have any personal experience with this, and there is a self storage facility in Huntington Beach with containers, so it probably isn’t the end of the world, but I would suggest putting a few Damp-Rid containers in your storage unit as a precaution. Also be sure that you properly secure and lock your unit. All 4 points of each attachment need to be secured, and you need to know which pole to put your lock on (just look at the units around you). Easy enough, just something to be aware of.
By the by, Storage Outlet has ten locations, four of which are containerized storage facilities: Bellflower, Huntington Beach, South El Monte, and South Gate.
