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We all like to keep our photos and albums safe and sound, and when storing these sorts of items in a storage unit, there are a range of things you can do to make sure they look their best years down the line. Here’s everything you need to know about keeping them pristine when they’re put away. Digitise them An extremely effective idea is to scan your photos to preserve them in digital form – either yourself or through a professional agent. There’s nothing worse than losing track of your favourite memories, right? Once you’ve received your photos on a pen drive, DVD or hard drive, you should copy these over to your computer and another storage medium so you have backups. Put these somewhere safe as you wouldn’t want backups stores alongside originals, would you? Preparing your photos Before you store photographs, you need to ensure they’ll stay in […]

For many, musical instruments are a big source of joy and passion – and are cared for in kind. But even if they’re not being played, instruments require special attention and care, especially when they’re placed in storage. If you’ve got an instrument or two that you’re thinking of putting into storage – either for greater space or security – here’s everything you need to know about keeping musical instruments in tip top condition. Clean and prep  All instruments need to be cleaned and prepared correctly, prior to being stored. Clean and polish the instrument using the appropriate cleaning product – oil and alcohol should never be used on wooden instruments, and musical cleaning cloths should be used instead of regular, household ones. Disassemble where appropriate. This means removing reeds, mouthpieces and straps; relaxing strings and drum skins; and disassembling any other part of the instrument that would otherwise be […]

Vintage shopping – is there really a knack to it? When you’re a newcomer to the trend it can seem like a difficult task to know where to begin. You’ll obviously want to get good at digging out the best stuff quickly, so with just a little preparation you’ll soon be snaffling vintage bargains left, right and centre. Starting simple Due to the rise in popular vintage fashion recently, you’re more than likely to find a vintage clothes shop in bigger city centres. Historic cities such as York are a pretty good place to start – you’ll find both vintage clothes and furniture shops here, with a great selection to peruse. You can find out more about vintage shops near you by checking out Hey Vintage – a great site for finding your nearest store. The Telegraph also has a handy article on the best vintage shops in the UK. […]

Summer is here and we’re looking forward to enjoying some warmer weather (fingers crossed!) The days are now longer which means we can enjoy lighter evenings – what will you do with that time? Lynn with Alastair Alan and Dave Celebrations We’re always celebrating something here at Space Station (any excuse for a bit of cake!) This year we’ve celebrated our IT manager Lynn’s incredible 30 years’ service with Space Station. Alastair came in to present Lynn with some well-deserved gifts. Congratulations to Lynn on an amazing achievement. Talking of Alastair, his mother Dorothy has also been celebrating as she has recently been awarded a Guinness World Record Title! Dorothy has accompanied Alastair on a number of rallies over the last few years and has been named the Oldest Active Rally Navigator! Congratulations Dorothy! Back to our staff, Alan from our West London stores has also celebrated a very impressive […]

Here at Space Station, we’re delighted to announce our charity partnership for 2016, with children’s charity – Variety! Variety is very close to our hearts. They offer practical help to children and young people throughout the UK who are sick, disabled or disadvantaged, by providing specialist equipment, such as Sunshine Coaches and Variety Wheelchairs, through their grant programmes – as well as creating memorable childhood experiences through their Variety at Work scheme. Over the next 18 months we aim to raise £20,000 through a ‘variety’ of activities, to sponsor a new Sunshine Coach. Our fundraising plans and activities are already well underway, and each store will have a nominated charity representative who will be coordinating lots of different activities to raise the funds. We’re also building a charity hub on our website, soon to be unveiled, and our progress and other fundraising activities will be announced throughout the year here. […]

At Space Station, we’re really proud of our heritage as a family-owned company – Space Station was founded by Alastair Caldwell in 1983. Alastair enjoyed a storied career in Formula One before making a massive career leap to the self-storage industry. Alastair developed a big interest in cars at an incredibly young age, learning to drive at age 12 while living in New Zealand, and getting his license at age 15. Most of his life has been spent pursuing that passion for motor vehicles. Starting as a mechanic at McLaren for the 1967 Italian Grand Prix, and rising through the ranks to become the team manager between 1974 and 1976, Alastair was a big part of one of the most exciting periods in motor-racing history, and instrumental to the team’s success. The legendary James Hunt was part of Alastair’s team – a time that was depicted in the film Rush. […]

Family heirlooms, bulky furniture, sports equipment, excess business stock – if there’s no room for it at home but it’s too valuable to throw away, then it’s surely still worth insuring? If you kept it at home, it would be covered by your home contents insurance. But once it’s outside the home, it’s it could be outside the cover. Many storage providers will require you to have contents insurance for the items you store with them – we do at Space Station – and you will either have the option of providing your own or going with the storage company’s recommended in-house provider. While you may be thinking that any self-storage premises worth using wouldn’t need you to have insurance if they were any good at keeping things secure, just remember that – like any insurance – self-storage insurance is something that you buy without any intention (or hope) of […]

Storage auctions are currently the subject of a little bit of hype. Reality TV programmes like Auction Hunters or Storage Wars arguably make them look a little bit more exciting and profitable than they actually are, so it’s probably worth going over a few of the rules. Although there are fortunes to be made and excitement to be had from stumbling over long-lost treasures in an abandoned storage locker, it’s certainly not an everyday occurrence. Mostly, we need to auction of the contents of a storage unit to cover the costs from someone not paying their rent for an extended period. Don’t worry – we don’t start selling stuff off the second a payment is missed. The full procedure to contact customers and come to an arrangement that doesn’t involve the loss of any belongings lasts for 50 days, and the auction is always a last resort. On that 50th […]

What’s your passion in life? If you’re lucky, it’s something very inexpensive that doesn’t take up much space – but what are the chances of that? Anything that’s really worth doing can all too easily take over your life, your house, or your bank account! While the funds are probably better discussed with your boss or your bank, there is plenty you can do to find yourself some extra space. It’s a shame that square footage is all too often a barrier to people just doing what they want to do with their spare time, particularly if their hobby is of the outdoorsy persuasion – but it doesn’t have to be. Putting your gear in self-storage could be the solution you’re looking for. Equipment that’s built for tackling the wider world is unfortunately rarely built for convenient home-storage. If you live in the hustle and bustle of city centre and […]

There are a number of ways people use self-storage to help their business – for example, it can be a secure way to store excess stock without the steep up-front costs of investing in a warehouse. However, there’s another way self-storage can help ordinary people make some extra cash on the side. Many people have a spare bedroom in their house, especially older people whose kids have grown up and left the nest. This room often lies neglected and becomes a general storage space, but there could be a better way to use it: put what you want to keep in a secure self-storage unit, and rent out the room to lodgers or travellers. The Rent a Room Scheme Since 1997, homeowners have been able to rent out a furnished spare room in their houses and can earn up to £7,500 tax-free a year for doing so. This threshold used […]