Thinking Outside the Box: Alternative Uses for a Storage Unit

This post is sponsored by Guardian Storage and The Motherhood. All thoughts and opinions are strictly my own.

When I moved into my new house, one of the things that I wanted was an extra room that I could use as my office. I envisioned doing my blogging work in there as well as storing my props and photography supplies. Well, lets just say I outgrew this room pretty quickly. Before I knew it, I was using my sunporch as a photography studio and my garage as a workshop. Trust me, neither are ideal.

That’s when I began thinking outside of the box and realized that there had to be a better way to make all of this happen without having to buy a bigger house (which isn’t an option!).

I partnered with Guardian Storage in Monroeville to help me come up with some solutions to my storage and space problems.

Using a Storage Unit for a Workshop

I recently have started getting into furniture flipping. I will scour my local thrift stores, flea markets, and garage sales in search of pieces that can use a little extra TLC. The problem is that a lot of these pieces of furniture aren’t exactly tiny. Then, once you get out all of the materials you need in order to sand them down, paint them, and finish them, it takes up a lot of space. Plus, in addition to the furniture itself you need a lot of tools on hand and set up.

I had big plans for doing a lot of furniture this summer and had bought several end tables, a printers drawer, and more. I wanted to feature the transformation of these products on my blog. However, the summer seemed to have different plans for me. Between several blog conferences, vacation, and life in general I have just now gotten around to starting work on the pieces.

This also meant that my garage was pretty much unusable over the summer and my car had to sit in the driveway. With winter in the not-so-far future I realized that I needed to get the stuff out of my garage so that I can eventually get the car back in.

That is when I decided that a storage unit from Guardian Storage might be exactly what I needed. I decided to rent a drive-up storage unit which would be perfect for storing not only the furniture that I was working on, but could also serve as a work space while I was working on it.

I put a large drop cloth down on the floor to keep the unit clean from any extra sawdust or paint and began moving things in.

In addition, this storage unit was a drive-up one which means that it was flush to the ground so I can easily load and unload furniture. In addition, with 10 foot ceilings in their units, there isn’t much that I can come up with that wouldn’t fit in the unit.

What was nice is that Guardian Storage outfitted the storage unit with electricity so I could utilize an extension cord in order to plug in not only my shop lights but also to power my power tools, which is an necessity.

Creating a Storage Unit Photo Studio

I have a small office in my house which I use for blogging and some of my basic photography needs. The problem is, when it comes to photographing large pieces of furniture, or even some of my party plans, my home office just doesn’t cut it. I wanted someplace where I could set up my studio lights, tripod, as well as my large background stand and leave it up for whenever the situation arises. Once again it was something that I couldn’t do at home.

Guardian Storage offers indoor, climate controlled units as well as their outside ones like the one I used for my work shop. As anyone who is into photography knows, camera equipment can be expensive which is why I love knowing that the Guardian Storage facilities are protected with a state-of-the-art security system as well as 24-hour digital video recording, gated entry to the property with personal passcode, and even motion detectors. This gives me the peace of mind to be able to leave my equipment on-site and not have to worry about it being damaged or stolen.

I also like that these units can be used for other blog-related things such as storing props (you don’t even want to see how many totes I have in my basement!) as well as using it as a recording studio for things such as YouTube videos, stop motion, or even Facebook videos.

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In addition to the amenities the actual storage units have, the Guardian Storage facilities have other amenities such as free use of a truck during move in, free wi-fi, and even conference rooms. Plus, I got to meet the managers and staff at both locations and they were all super nice and very helpful. Did I also mention that they offer delivery acceptance so you can have things delivered directly to your unit?

No matter what your needs are, whether it be extra space to work, a place to store furniture, or anything else you can think of, be sure to check out Guardian Storage in your area.

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