After I graduated, I decided that I did not want to start a new job right away. Instead, I wanted to head overseas to spend some time backpacking and exploring new places first. This meant that I wanted to simply throw some basic necessities into a backpack, head to another country and start exploring on my own. I figured I could put store away most everything I own with a local self storage company, and I could just pick up and go with only what I needed carried in my pack.

I had never needed to store anything before. My parents had lived in a big house for many years that had a lot of extra room, but they recently down sized to a much smaller home. This meant they simply could not help me out. So, I needed to find a place where I could keep my belongings that would be both economical and safe.

After asking everyone I knew if they had any good suggestions for me. I found a place that has climate controlled units. I have a lot of antique furnishings that were passed down to me by my grandmother, so this was very important. I feared the monthly rental cost would be high, but I found the opposite to be true. I could rent space that would fit all of my furniture, most of my clothing and all of my decorative items for a pretty small fee.

My dad and brother helped me move all of my things into storage over just one weekend. I was given a key, and I handed that over to my father. The plan was that if I needed to have anything from my belongings while I was away, he could simply go there, get it and mail it to me. It turned out to be a really good idea, as when I got overseas, I found the temperatures are much cooler than I’m used to. Dad was able to grab some of my winter clothing and mail them to me with ease after I left for my journey.