Learning More About Budgeting For Small Businesses

With 1 in 10 American households in the U.S. currently renting a self storage unit, it's safe to say that Americans rely heavily on self storage units for extra space; otherwise, their homes would be cluttered. If you have rented a self storage unit, there's a good chance that you're sharing the unit with your whole family – that includes young children. If your children will be accessing the storage units regularly, you'll want to take extra precautions to make your unit more child-friendly in order to reduce the risk of accidents. Here are 3 tips that you should consider.

Installing Rubber or Foam Mats

Before moving any of the packed boxes and containers into the unit, install rubber or foam mats in the storage unit first. You don't have to install rubber or foam mats at all areas, but it would be wise to install the mats in areas where your children may have access to or may frequent.

Rubber or foam mats will act as a cushion in the event that your children slip and fall in the unit. These mats will also act as a cushion for any containers or boxes that have fallen. This will prevent the contents within from getting damaged. In addition, rubber or foam mats will offer extra grip and traction within the unit for your children. This is particularly important as young children tend to run around. With the rubber or foam mats in place, you'll rest assured that your children will be in a safer environment.

Keep Boxes Light and Avoid Stacking Too Many Together

Depending on how young your children may be, they may not necessarily be able to lift heavy boxes nor reach high places. To make the storage unit a lot more child-friendly, you want to make sure that your children can access the contents within the unit easily. Keep boxes containing your children's items rather light. Double check to see whether your children can easily carry and lift their boxes without the help of an adult. You can pack your own boxes much heavier. Just make sure that those boxes do not contain any items that your children may need to access at a later time or date.

In addition, take your children's height into account. Do not stack their packed boxes too high; otherwise, they won't be able to reach the boxes on top without the risk of causing the entire stack to topple over.

Designate a Section for Your Children's Items

If you're renting a relatively large storage unit, you might even be able to get away with separating the unit into designated areas for everyone who will be storing their items inside. If this is the case, designate a section solely for your children's items. In this area, you can place short cabinets and shelves to further help your children organize the items that they are storing within the unit.

Having a designated space for everyone's items can be very beneficial. For one, you can stack the containers and boxes that your children won't be needing higher. In addition, you won't have to be as concerned as to whether sections that are off limits to your children are as child-friendly as you might have otherwise wanted them to be.

Conclusion

American households are relying on self storage units for storage more and more. If this pertains to your household, do keep in mind that your children will likely be storing some of their personal items within the storage unit as well. As a result, it's important that you make sure that the unit is child-friendly in order to prevent accidents and in order to make sure the contents within the unit are easily accessible to your children.