Be Careful How You Pack Take the time to properly pack and wrap your items. Cover furniture with a blanket, a sheet or a moving pad (not plastic…which can trap moisture. Box up any small items for protection from breakage. Using a plastic tote will provide even more protection. Personal Property Insurance Since you probably care about the items that you are storing, you might want to check on some personal property insurance. Sometimes your renters or homeowner’s insurance covers personal stored items. Check with your insurance about getting this type of insurance. Perishable Items Don’t store any perishable items in your unit. This can lead to bad odors, rotting food or plants and it could attract bugs and rodents. Personal Security It would a wise security idea to be careful with whom you share access to your storage unit. Don’t allow anyone into your unit or even that you have a unit or what is stored in your unit unless you trust them around your belongings. Some people have bad intentions…imagine that. In addition, don’t share your unit number, gate security code or storage unit keys for the same reasons. Get Help Ask for help from a friend or family member to move your items into your unit, especially if you have large or heavy items to store. The extra set of hands can make the move easier and faster and reduce the risk of injury when lifting furniture. Use a Packing Strategy Store your items with an idea of ‘ready access’ in mind. If you think you’ll need certain items during the storage period, place them toward the front of the unit. Provide a aisle to reach items stored in the back of the unit. Don’t be afraid to stack items to take advantage of the height of the unit (our units have 8 ft. ceilings). Place the heavier items near of the bottom of the stack. Also make use of ready made useful storage areas…inside drawers, inside appliances like refrigerators and ovens and inside cabinets. Labeling Storage Containers If the items that you are storing will be in storage for a while, be sure to label the boxes or totes in case you have to go looking for something. You could even take a picture of the contents before you close the container as an added means of knowing what’s inside. Take Inventory of What You Plan to Store Take a quick inventory of the things that you’re going to store to able to chose the right size unit. Determine what furniture, the number of boxes or totes and other large items that will be stored. Invaluable Item Storage: Don't Do This Everyone has those certain items that they couldn’t bear to lose…items that have a lot of sentimental value or history. Also, items of high monetary value…don’t place these things in a storage unit. Just remember…things go wrong. Packing Boxes/Totes Pack as much as you can in each box or tote but don’t overpack. Also, don’t under pack as this can make the box unstable if you stake other boxes or totes on top of it. Under packed boxes tend to collapse with heavier items on top of them. Wrap all dishes and glass items separately wth paper or packing material to prevent breakage. Stack dishes on edge if possible.

Back when we first opened in 2001, all contracts for moving into one of our storage units was done in person with hard copy paper leases. Now, almost contracts are completed over the phone with the Lease being signed electronically. Our process for renting a unit over the phone is detailed below. Initial contact is done over the phone when the customer calls to inquire about the availability of a storage unit of a particular size. If the customer has already visited our web site, unit availability can be checked by clicking the 'Unit Availability' button in the Main Menu Bar. We take all relevant personal information from the customer and enter it into our database; name, address, phone number, email address, etc. We notify the customer that we send out invoices approximately 10 days prior to the end of each month, that the Lease will come to them by email and that a Welcome Letter will also be sent to them by email. The Welcome Letter contains: Page 1 is a general welcome to Cardinal Self Storage with a thank you for renting with us. Page 2 has all of the instructions that will be needed to use the physical storage site and our web site. Rental payments can be made through the web site including setting up Autopay to make monthly automatic rent payments. Page 3 is a map of the Cardinal Self Storage site so that the customer can locate the unit or outside storage space that they just rented. Page 4 has pictures of the Entry and Exit keypads for the site so that the customer can see what to look for to gain entry to and exit the site. The same Gate Code is used to enter and exit the site. During the phone call we request that the customer take a picture of the front of their Driver's License or ID card and text it to the Cardinal Self Storage business phone number. This can be done during or after the phone call. Also, we give the customer a Gate Code for them to use to access the site. After all customer information has been entered into the database, we take the initial 'Move In' monthly payment. We prorate the first month's rent so that the customer only pays for the part of the 'Move In' month that is left. We don't prorate the 'Move Out' month...the rental period at Cardinal is monthly. Payment can be made by debit or credit card. We take Discover, American Express, Visa and MasterCard. A receipt is sent to the customer by email. Once all of this is complete, the only thing that is left to do is for the customer to open the Lease email, click on the link to open the Lease and then electronically sign it. After the Lease is signed, Cardinal Self Storage and the customer receive a copy of the signed Lease by email. This sounds like a lot, but the whole process only takes about 10 to 15 minutes. All of this can be accomplished on a home computer, a tablet or a cell phone.

Access to your stored items: Store items you'll need most often at the front of the unit. When you pack your storage unit, create a center aisle for access to all items. Space saving and keeping things fresh: Do not place boxes directly on concrete floors, but use pallets or skids to allow air flow around and under items. If you're storing tables and other furniture, remove legs and store tabletops and sofas on end to save space (as long as standing the sofa on end will not mash flat the end of the arm; depends on the style of the sofa). Or if you cannot remove the table legs, at least you can then stack boxes and other items on top of the table and below it on the floor. However, be careful not to overload the table. Storage caution and photo suggestion: Never store a love seat upside down on top of your sofa. The weight of the love seat will mash down the arms of the love seat and the cushions and the back of the sofa. The smashed cushions will rebound to their original shape. Both the sofa and the love seat will be ruined. Old photographs tend to curl over time. To keep them flat, place them between two pieces of cardboard and tape them together. What not to store in your unit for best safety practices: Drain gasoline and oil from lawn mowers and other items with small engines. Common sense and state law determines what may be stored. You alone control access to your storage space therefore never store firearms, illicit drugs or drug paraphernalia, live animals, perishables, liquids, explosives, flammable liquids and fuels, toxic materials, or other items that need a controlled environment.

PROTECTION PADDING AND WRAPS Wrap furniture legs with protective bubble wrap, furniture covers or pads to prevent scratching. Leave slipcovers on upholstered chairs and cover them with plastic chair covers. Tape or tie bed rails together. Mark the pieces for easier assembly later. Place covers or plastic bags on mattresses to keep them clean during storage. TAKE ADVANTAGE of USEFUL SPACE Use valuable space inside dresser drawers and larger appliances, such as stoves and refrigerators, to store small items such as towels, linens and small, fragile items. Secure items in drawer by filling empty spaces with towels or packing paper. PACKING BOXES AND PACKING Pack as much as you can in the same size boxes. Fill boxes tightly, but take care to neither over pack nor under pack. (Bulging cartons tip when stacked, while half full boxes tend to collapse). Use wadded up newsprint, bubble wrap, rags, towels, or blankets to fill in empty spaces. For maximum protection seal cartons with tape. Use lots of paper to pack dishes and glassware. Place a layer of packing paper inside the bottom and top of cartons. Wrap each dish and glass separately and cushion them with crumpled paper. Plates are best stacked on edge. LABELING Label boxes on all sides for easy identification. Keep a list (as well as pictures and descriptions) at your home or office for reference. Mark clearly all boxes containing fragile items. Make sure fragile boxes are placed on top of heavier, less delicate boxes.