Winter Storage Tips


Winter Storage Tips for a Successful and Enjoyable Storage Experience Winter weather brings unique challenges for those storing items at our facility. With the cold temperatures, snow, and ice, it's important to be prepared for these conditions to ensure that your stored belongings remain safe and accessible. Here are some practical winter storage tips to help you navigate the season with ease: 1. Unfreezing Locks One of the most common issues during winter is frozen locks. The cold temperatures can cause moisture to freeze inside the lock mechanism, making it difficult or even impossible to open. To avoid this frustration, keep a few helpful tips in mind: Use Lock De-icer: Keep a lock de-icer on hand. These products are designed to thaw out frozen locks quickly and efficiently. Lubricate the Lock: Applying a dry lubricant like graphite powder before the cold weather sets in can help prevent freezing. Avoid using oils or WD-40, as they can attract dirt and grime. If your lock does freeze, don’t force it open as it could damage the lock or the door. Use a de-icer or allow the lock to warm up naturally for a few minutes. 2. Shovel the Snow Immediately Snow accumulation can make it difficult to access your unit, and sometimes after some warm and cold cycles it can freeze in a block at the base of the door. To ensure you have smooth access: Bring a Shovel: If snow has accumulated right in front of your unit, it’s a good idea to bring a shovel to clear the path. Our plowing services are only able to get within 6" inches of the doorways. This way, you can get to your items without delay. Consider clearing the snow after a snowfall: If you are looking to have regular access throughout the winter, consider removing the snow from the front of your door after a snowfall so it doesn't have the chance to become a block of ice. While our facility works hard to keep access clear, it’s helpful for you to have ...


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December 18th, 2024

Top Tips for a Smooth Experience


Mastering Self-Storage: Top Tips for a Smooth Experience Self-storage has become an indispensable solution for many people facing space constraints, moving houses, or needing a temporary spot for their belongings. Whether you're a seasoned self-storage user or a newbie, optimizing your storage experience can save you time, money, and stress. Here are some expert tips to help you make the most out of your self-storage unit. 1. Choose the Right Size Unit Before you start packing, estimate the amount of space you’ll need. Self-storage units come in various sizes, from small lockers to large garage-sized units. A common mistake is either overestimating or underestimating the space required. Create an inventory of the items you plan to store, which will help you determine the appropriate unit size. You can use our storage calculator on our website to help estimate the correct size, or give us a call - we'd be happy to help! 2. Pack Efficiently Efficient packing is crucial for maximizing space and ensuring your items are protected. Here’s how: Use Uniform Boxes: Standardized boxes stack neatly, saving space, and making it easier to retrieve items. Label Everything: Clearly mark each box with its contents and the room it came from. This will make finding specific items later much easier. Disassemble Large Items: Take apart furniture and other bulky items to save space. Keep screws and small parts in labeled bags taped to the item. 3. Protect Your Belongings Proper protection prevents damage and keeps your items in good condition: Wrap Fragile Items: Use bubble wrap, packing paper, or blankets to cushion delicate items. Avoid Plastic Bags: These can trap moisture and cause mildew. Use breathable materials instead. Use Pallets: Elevate your boxes and furniture off the floor with pallets to prevent potential water damage. 4. Maximize Space Utilize every inch of your storage unit by following these strategies: Vertical Space: Stack boxes and furniture up to the ceiling, placing heavier items at the bottom and lighter ones on top. Shelving Units: Portable shelving can help organize smaller items and improve access. Utilize Hollow Spaces: Store items ...


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May 28th, 2024

Holiday Storage


The holidays bring so much joy—festive decorations, family gatherings, and of course, gifts galore. But with all the fun and excitement, one of the lesser-discussed challenges of the season is dealing with the overflow of holiday items: decorations, gifts, and seasonal supplies. It’s easy to get caught up in the magic of the holidays, but when it’s over, where do all those holiday decorations and extra items go? That’s where a storage unit comes in. Here’s why investing in a storage unit for your holiday storage needs can make the festive season far more manageable—and stress-free. 1. Clear Up Valuable Space at Home The holiday season often leaves your home bursting at the seams. From large artificial Christmas trees and inflatables to seasonal tableware and extra linens, these items can take up a lot of space. Using a storage unit allows you to free up valuable space in your home so you can return to your regular routines after the celebrations.By storing your holiday items away neatly in a secure unit, you create more room for your everyday needs. You won’t have to worry about squeezing extra boxes in your closets or dealing with clutter in your living room. 2. Protect Your Seasonal Decor Holiday decorations can be delicate—think about that vintage wreath, the fragile ornaments, or the string of lights that make your home sparkle every December. These items are often stored in boxes that are far from ideal for long-term care. A storage unit, however, offers climate-controlled options that can protect your decorations from extreme temperatures, humidity, and pests.Storing your holiday decor in a storage unit helps preserve the longevity of these precious items, ensuring they’re in pristine condition when it’s time to bring them out again next year. 3. Organize Your Holiday Gifts and Supplies Shopping for gifts and stocking up on holiday supplies can often mean piles of items cluttering up your home. Whether you’re buying in bulk or simply want a safe spot to store those carefully wrapped presents, a storage ...


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December 1st, 2017

Toy Storage for Winter


Although Fall has just arrived, as we all know, here in Montana winter weather is just around the corner. Now is a great time to protect your toys and store them for the winter. At The Storage Place we have many storage unit size options to protect your prized possessions over the inclement months to come. We can accommodate ATVs, UTVs, Motorcycles (both on and off-road) in units as small as 10x10. Sports cars, classic cars, rock crawlers/jeeps and boats, jetskis, rafts etc fit in our 10x20, 10x25 or 10x30 units. For those who adhere to the adage “those who die with the most toys win” we have 20x30 and 20x50 units to accommodate your entire toy collection. If your toys can stand up to the harsh weather, but you just don't have a good parking spot for them for the winter we also offer outdoor parking spots. If you run seasonal construction/landscaping businesses we also have units that will accommodate your tools and equipment (ladders/scaffolding, mowers, skidsteers etc) until you need them to go to work in the spring. Benefits of storing indoors: Tires and other rubber compounds/components and interior upholstry won't be subject to daily solar/uv exposure. Roofs and seals won't be tested by snow and repeated freeze-thaw cycles. Maintain access to check on your toys (no digging them out from under the snow bank when you want to check on them). Free up space in your home garage to park your daily drivers indoors throughout the winter months. Our rental contracts are all month to month-only stay as long as you want or need to. Tips for winter storing: Stabilize all fuel. Remove your battery and take it home with you. Use a battery tender if possible to prolong the batteries life. Remove any food or attractants from the vehicles to prevent any unwanted insect/critter visits. If storing a motor boat be sure to winterize the engine and drain the bilge prior to storage. Make sure tires are all properly inflated and holding air (it is no fun to try and pump ...


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October 2nd, 2017

Back to School; Student Storage Solutions


With Fall's arrival, school is back in session. Rocky Mountain College and Montana State University-Billings students are back in town and arranging their living situations. Whether in dorm rooms or in shared apartments or houses, students often find themselves in a tight (literally) situation. Many dorm rooms and packed apartments do not have extra space to store all the stuff today's college students need. From bikes to skis and other outdoor equipment to seasonal clothing and accessories many items will be left without a place to be stored. Here are some helpful tips to maximize your storage spaces. Loft your bed. This will give you room to either store many boxes and additional items that wouldn't traditionally fit under a bed. Some students even put their desks under their beds if they loft them high enough. Check with your school; they may provide designated storage areas where you can store extra boxes, or equipment. Coordinate with roommates prior to arriving to make sure you aren't doubling up on items. Create shelving for closets and along walls. If all else fails come visit us at The Storage Place. We have units as small as 5ft x 5ft to store your extra gear. We also offer all students a 5% discount each month with valid student ID. Our 5504 King Avenue East location is 4 miles from Rocky Mountain College and 3.9 miles from MSU-B. Our 913 3rd Ave North location is 4.3 miles from Rocky Mountain College and 2.5 miles from MSU-B. Best of luck this school year and as always, Happy Storing! ...


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August 30th, 2017

Safety and Security at The Storage Place of MT


One of the biggest concerns of any customer looking for a storage unit is; will my belongings be safe and secure. At The Storage Place of MT, the safety and security of your belongings is one of our top priorities. We have enacted a number of safeguards to aid in our efforts to protect your possessions. Gates: All 3 of our location use high security electronic gates that require a key code. Each tenant is issued their own unique access code upon move in. Only the tenant on the rental agreement can change their access code, or retrieve it if they have forgotten it. Keep your code secure and do not share it with others. Our facilities have limited gate access hours; 6 am to 9 pm. Studies have shown that most criminal burglary/theft activities take place outside of those hours. To help keep our facilities safe for you and our other customers please do not tailgate cars going through the gate and do not allow anyone to tailgate you upon entry or exit through the gate. Wait until the gate has securely closed before leaving the property. Fences: All 3 of our locations are fully fenced with a mix of chain link topped with barbed wire, wrought iron and chain link, all of which are at least 6ft tall. Lighting: All 3 of our locations are lit at night by a mix of overhead and building mounted lights for your safety and security. We also employ motion detecting lights at our 5504 King Ave E location. All external units at our 5504 King Ave E. and 1835 Lampman locations have lighting provided inside of the units. Security Cameras: All 3 of our locations are equipped with security cameras, both wired and wireless. Tamper evident lock device: We place a tamper evident lock device on each of our customer's locks. If you ever change your lock please let us know so that we can put a new device on your new lock. If we find a lock without a device we will immediately ...


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July 31st, 2017

Financial Benefits of Using Storage


There are many reasons people use storage units, but did you ever consider that it could actually save you money? Residential/Consumer Users: You can rent a smaller house or apartment if you rent a storage unit to store your extra items, instead of using your extra bedroom for storage. After looking through the rental listings in Billings it seems that a rough average for 2 bed room houses for rent is about $800, and a 3 bedroom house is $1000. At The Storage Place, you can rent a 10ft x 10ft storage unit (approximate size of a small bedroom) for around $70 month. So if you really only need 2 bedrooms but were renting a 3 bedroom house to store your extra items, you could be saving $130 each month by using a more economical storage unit (That's a savings of over $1500 per year!). The storage unit at The Storage Place is on a month-to-month lease so if you move, or expand your family etc you are not locked into a year lease like most houses/apartments require. The Storage Place offers multiple unit sizes to best fit your individual needs. For example, you may be able to fit all of your extra belongings into one of our 5ft x 10ft units with 11ft ceilings which would save you even more each month. Business Users can benefit too. Any business that needs to store records or documents (Lawyers, Dr's. Dentists, Accountants etc) can save money by renting a smaller office and utilizing a storage unit. Retail businesses (clothing stores, furniture/mattress businesses, really any business that has to carry extra inventory) can rent a smaller store and store their back-up inventory at one of our 3 easy to access, secure storage facilities. Service businesses (plumbers, electricians, repairmen etc) may also find a storage unit a convenient option for storing parts and tools. We offer any verified businesses the option of having 24 hour a day, 365 day a year access to their units. Once again with ...


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June 14th, 2017

3 Convenient Locations Servicing Billings, MT


The Storage Place has 3 convenient locations in Billings to help serve our customers. All of our locations are fully fenced with electronic keypad access gates for security. For additional security each site has security cameras and night time security lighting. Each site is visited daily and every tenant's lock is checked to insure the units are properly secured. Gate hours at all sites are from 6am-9pm. 24 hour access is available to commercial/business customers upon approval. 5504 King Ave East This is our main office location. You can visit this site to set up your account for all 3 of our locations. Conveniently located near the city center I-90 interstate exit, this location is easy to access. The closest major intersection is Laurel Road and Parkway Lane. We are a few blocks west of Amend Park. This site is home to our on-site manager for additional security. We can accommodate a large variety of storage needs from units as small as 5x5 up to 10x30. Exterior access units have interior lights and power (for on-site use only ie no deep freezers or continuous use appliances). We also have outdoor parking spaces at this location. 1835 Lampman Drive This site is located across the street from the main UPS facility and behind Northwestern Energy's equipment and pole yard. This site hosts our bigger units, from 15x20 up to our largest units at 20x50. Each unit has power (for on-site use only ie no deep freezers or continuous use appliances) and lighting. 913 3rd Ave N Our downtown location is conveniently located for those needing storage close to MSU-Billings, The Heights or near the airport. This site is located on 3rd Avenue about 3 blocks east of the Metra. We have units from 10x10 up to 10x20 (10x20 units have doors on both ends for easy access) and a limited number of outdoor parking spaces. Stop in or give us a call anytime and we can help find the right size unit in the most convenient location for ...


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May 24th, 2017

Choose the Right Size Storage Unit the First Time


“What size unit do you need?” This is probably the most common question that needs to be answered when you are looking into renting a storage unit. If you've never rented a unit before it can feel like a daunting task. Here are some tips in helping you choose the best fit unit. 1. What is the largest item you plan on storing? If you need to store a queen bed set, that 5x5 with the low introductory price is probably not going to work. Think about your biggest items and work backwards from there. 2. Are your stored items stackable? If so, unit height is important. Our King Avenue units offer 11ft ceiling heights. Some of the new facilities are only building with 8ft ceilings. In terms of cubic feet a 10x10 with an 8ft ceiling has 800 cubic feet whereas a 10x10 with an 11f t ceiling has 1100 cubic feet, a 37.5% increase in useable volume. 3. How long do you plan to store? If the time period is short, the unit size isn't as critical. If your storage is long term, you don't want to be paying for more than you need over many years as this cost can ad up. 4. Use a storage calculator. There are many tools; including one on our website that can help you estimate the right size unit for your needs. Or feel free to call us and we'll be happy to guide you in choosing the right unit. Don't just wing it, or you might end up like the tenant who came back to rent 3 more units as she kept filling up her previous units up. Happy Storing! ...


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April 17th, 2017

What Not to Store in Your Storage Unit


While rules and contracts/leases may vary from self storage facility to facility there are some commonalities on certain items that are not allowed/illegal to be stored in your unit. Check your lease or contact your facility for the specific items prohibited where you store. Perishable Items: Most facilities do not allow perishable item/food storage in units. Food attracts rodents and other pests which may cause damage to your stored items, your neighbors and the facility. If perishable items rot it can lead to terrible odors which no facility or its customers want. Residing in Units: Storage facilities are not built for residential purposes. Living in a storage unit is dangerous and in most states illegal. Even sleeping in a your stored vehicle/RV is a no no. Combustibles and Corrosives: These items include things like gasoline, propane, kerosene, grease, oil and anything else that can be an accelerant or cause a fire. Chemicals like fertilizer, cleaning solvents, paint thinner/paint, acids etc are also not allowed due to the danger and possible fire and health risks they impose. Drugs: Illegal drugs are obviously not allowed to be stored at any storage facility. If you are a pharmaceutical rep, check with your facility prior to storing any samples, or prescription controlled substances in your unit. Hazardous/Radioactive Materials: No storing any biological waste, asbestos or any other illness causing or damaging substances. Vehicles: Some facilities do not allow vehicle storage inside of your units. Others require proof of current registration and insurance to store a vehicle. Check with your facility prior to storing any vehicles (cars, trucks, atv/motorcycles and boats etc). Happy Storing! ...


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March 7th, 2017

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