Interesting Visitors

One of the additional interesting aspects of managing a storage facility is the unexpected guests that occasionally visit. Last week, a black and white herd-type dog, who looked something like this:

stopped by to visit. I have no idea where the dog came from or where it ended up going. I spent the better part of the day trying to get close enough to get a picture. I spoke sweetly, gave the dog enough space to feel safe and put out food, all to no avail. At the end of the day, the dog scooted under the fence about the time I was leaving for the day. How crazy is that? Maybe the dog was looking for work…

Last November, a pair of these showed up and feasted on the chrysanthemums for a break in their migration south.

 

 

 

 

 

 

My regular list of non-human visitors is comprised of the bunnies who do a nice job of mowing the clover, the crows who make a point to fuss at anyone who seems out of place and the chickadee who has taken up residence in the hollow top bar of the gate. (Maybe we need a sign that warns: This property is armed with an attack Chickadee!)

Other visitors have included Praying Mantis and Luna Moths. The night eagles (owls) frequently leave me signs (furry bone bundle owl pellets) that they are on duty during the evenings. One late fall afternoon last year, a mated pair of hawks entertained me by teaching their fledgling how to hunt.

We may only be 15 minutes from the heart of downtown, but some days, it’s about like Wild Kingdom around here.

Found Things

One of the interesting aspects of managing a storage facility are the things that turn up, sometimes seemingly out of nowhere. At least twice a day the property is walked by whoever is on duty. We check to make sure each unit is closed and has a lock on it. We pick up trash and just generally make sure everything is as it should be.

Some days, we find things that are down right peculiar. Over the next few weeks I will be sharing my collection of weird and wonderful finds. Today, I’ll share all of the nuts, bolts, screws and other fasteners I’ve found over the past year. Some of them obviously have come out of the buildings—all metal buildings shed screws over time.

Perhaps the oddest thing is shiny brand new screws, washers and other fasteners showing up when no one has been in or out to have dropped them. And there is no way you could’ve missed them when you walked by that very spot just a few hours earlier. Very curious, indeed. My best theory is that perhaps crows drop them.

Uh oh…

Every now and then unexpected things occur. If we are lucky and just a tiny bit clever, they end up working out okay in the end. The following is one of those stories.

 

One afternoon I was sitting in our office. It had been a slow day, nothing much happening when the phone rang. It was one of our tenants on the line. His wife had come out to their unit to search for some item she needed. In the process of moving stuff around in the unit to look for whatever it was she needed, there occurred an unexpected shift and she found herself pinned in the unit.

After quite a few minutes, several unsuccessful attempts to free herself and hovering on the edge of panic, she realized her cell phone was in her pocket. While she did not have the number for our office in her cell, she did have her husband’s number. She called him and then he called me. I trotted over to her unit and was able to help extricate her.

The moral to this story is to always carry your phone with you–especially when you plan on rooting around in your storage unit by yourself! Since I had seen her come into the property, I probably would’ve checked on her before I left for the day anyway. However, that means she’d have been trapped for at least another hour or so instead of the 10 or 15 minutes she had to endure.

Programming the office & emergency/after-hours number(s) for the facility where you store into your phone is likely a good idea, as well. Telling someone where you are going probably wouldn’t hurt either. In this case, it all ended well and I was able to do a good deed.

The Nature of Storage

If you asked the average person on the street what a storage facility was all about, they would probably respond by saying “storing stuff.” But they’d only be partially correct. 

While storage places wouldn’t exist without “stuff” that needs a place to live, it’s really the people that lend purpose and character to a facility. Every person who rents a storage space has a story. And oh, some of the stories! Each person’s story makes up the warp and weave of a rich tapestry reflecting where they’ve been, where they are, where they might be going–in short, life.

The most common reason people rent storage space is due to some type of transition. Be it minor – like de-cluttering the basement, or major – storing a family member’s belongings due to them entering a full-care nursing facility, life’s changes and shifts are what storage is all about.

We intend to feature interesting stories, photos, storage tips, and possibly even a special one-day-only offer, so be sure to check back early and often!