DON'T PACK IT IN YET: THESE STORAGE UNITS COME TO YOUR DOOR
Author: By Tania Ralli, Globe Correspondent
Date: 11/24/2005 Page: B18 Section: Life At Home

In Miles and Judy Uhrig's Lexington home, it worked just fine to have several bookcases, each filled to capacity, on the landing of their staircase. But when they were preparing to sell their home last spring, their real estate agent suggested removing them, and paring their belongings in general, to make the house appear more spacious to prospective buyers.

"We looked around for all the things we should get rid of temporarily," Miles Uhrig said, and they settled on the bookcases, books, and assorted furniture.

Storing furniture with relatives was unappealing, and renting a truck to cart belongings to a storage facility was undesirable, since that would have meant loading and unloading twice. Their agent recommended storage that could be brought right to their door.

Store to Door of Woburn was prompt when it dropped three containers in the Uhrigs' driveway for them to fill at their leisure. The Uhrigs, who are retired, opted to use professional packers.

The packers moved the Uhrigs' possessions into the containers, which are 5 feet wide, 7 feet tall, and 8 feet deep, big enough to hold one or two rooms of furniture each. In the end, they needed only two containers. A few days later, a truck from Store to Door returned, hoisted the vessels onto a truck with a forklift, and brought the containers to a secure, climate-controlled warehouse.

Within two months the Uhrigs had moved into their new condo less than 4 miles away. With the first part of their move done, they called up Store to Door to deliver the two crates, which fit easily outside. The Uhrigs hired movers to unpack their boxes, but they could have unpacked at their leisure since there is less time pressure than with a rented truck.

From antiques and art to golf clubs and gas grills, anything that can be stored in a conventional storage facility can be loaded into mobile units. Randy L. Weissman, president of the Mobile Self-Storage Association, gave several reasons for using them. In addition to people who are selling their home, the units appeal to people who are renovating or moving into homes still under construction. For families combining households, it's a way to store the overflow items. And college students can pack away their belongings for the summer without having to unload and store them in their parents' basement until fall.

Tim Flaherty, Store to Door's general manager, said mobile self-storage decreases the number of times furniture and boxes have to be moved, which could reduce the chances of damage to possessions. "You eliminate having to handle the items four times. With us, the items get loaded once on the front end, and once on the back end of the move."

Store to Door's storage units consist of a wooden frame with a wood base. The sides are made of triple-ply corrugated cardboard. As an empty unit leaves the warehouse, it is tagged with a bar code and slipped into a weatherproof Mylar cover. On delivery, a forklift maneuvers the container onto the ground. It can be placed anywhere on a property.

Patti Fitzpatrick had two containers from Store to Door delivered to her Belmont apartment building and placed in the driveway as she prepared to move two years ago. After 20 years she had accumulated a very full house. She needed to downsize temporarily while she and her two daughters moved in with her parents after her divorce.

"I work full time, so my schedule is pretty tight," she said, adding that she liked that "we could keep the pods in our driveway and load them up whenever we had time to do it." She took the time to decide what she would need immediately and what could be stored for a year, the period she expected it would take to find a new place.

By the beginning of the summer, after storing her furniture and household goods for 18 months, Fitzpatrick had moved into a new townhouse and was ready to unpack for good.

In the Boston area, Store to Door charges a monthly storage fee of $59, plus a delivery fee based on location. The storage fees of most mobile self-storage companies are competitive with conventional self-storage. Yet convenience comes at a price. Fees to drop off and pick up the container can be more expensive than renting a Budget or U-Haul truck. Containers can also be sent across the country, but it is comparable to hiring a moving company.

Door to Door, which operates in more than 20 states and uses containers similar to Store to Door's, specializes in long-distance moves in certain markets. The company uses air-ride carriers to reduce shifting while containers are in transit, said national sales manager Ben Graham.

PODS also offers long-distance moves. The company has franchise locations in 45 states. Susan Green, a company spokeswoman, said PODS introduced long-distance relocation 18 months ago. Since then, more than 40,000 customers have used PODS to move from state to state.

PODS distinguishes itself by offering the largest containers 8 feet high by 8 feet wide and 12 or 16 feet deep which can accommodate entire apartments. The interior is made of plywood and the exterior is sheathed in aluminum. The containers have a rolltop door, which is convenient if the pod is sandwiched in a street parking space. Bostonians are permitted to place containers in the street, but they do need a street occupancy permit.

Even though mobile self-storage units make great long-distance shipping containers, the bulk of the business is still in storage. Storage is a $15 billion-a-year industry in the United States , and is growing at an annual rate of 5 to 8 percent, according to Tim Dietz, a spokesman for the Self Storage Association. Most of the revenue is derived from customers who use storage for years at a time. "Mobile self-storage is for people who need it temporarily," he said.

In some towns and cities, customers must be aware of zoning ordinances. Dietz said some local governments are banning residents from keeping storage containers on their properties for extended periods.

A benefit of traditional storage is that many facilities allow their customers to access their unit at a moment's notice. But people who use mobile storage containers can retrieve belongings, too, generally with a day's notice. Store to Door lets its customers pull their cars into a viewing area in the warehouse and delivers the container to the spot for free.

David Friedberg, who downsized to an apartment in Boston last month, did just that recently. His things may be out of sight, but they are not out of mind.

"I've already been back to add as well as subtract," he said. Friedberg anticipated another trip soon to pull out his holiday decorations.