Okay, so the other day this guy comes in. Mid thirties. Looks tired. Says he just bought a house and needs to store half his apartment stuff while he paints and moves things around. Normal story. I show him a unit. He looks at it. Says yeah that’ll work. Then he goes “so do I need to worry about the humidity thing everyone keeps talking about?”
And I’m standing there trying to figure out how to answer that without sounding like I’m trying to upsell him or scare him. Because yes. Obviously yes. But also not everyone wants to hear that. Some people just want to throw their stuff in a box and deal with it later.
Here’s what I told him.
Why I’m So Insistent About This
I grew up here. My parents are from here. My grandparents are from here. So I know what happens when you leave things in a garage or a shed or a storage unit through an Arkansas summer. I’ve seen it my whole life.
One time my mom put a bunch of old photo albums in one of those plastic storage tubs. Not cardboard. Plastic. With a lid. She put them in the garage because she was clearing out the guest room for Christmas guests. She said she’d get them out in a couple weeks. That was like. I don’t know. Eight years ago maybe? Anyway she pulled them out last year and the photos were all stuck together. The pages were damp. The whole inside of the tub had condensation on it. In her garage. Not outside. In a sealed plastic container. The humidity got in there anyway.
That’s the thing people don’t realize. You don’t need a flood or a leak or rain. You just need air. The air here is wet. It just is. You walk outside and you feel it. Your hair gets weird. Your skin feels sticky. That same air is inside your storage unit. It’s inside your boxes. It’s inside your furniture. And it’s doing damage whether you can see it or not.
The Truth I Lead With Now
So I told that guy. Look. If you’re storing clothes. Fabric. Wood. Paper. Leather. Electronics. Anything that can grow mold or rust or warp. You need to think about climate control. I’m not saying that because it costs more. I’m saying that because I have literally watched people open their units and cry. Full on cry. Because their grandmother’s hope chest got moldy. Because their kids’ baby clothes smell like a basement. Because their tools look like they sat in a puddle for a year.
One I’ll Never Shake
One woman. I’ll never forget this. She stored her wedding dress. She put it in one of those clear garment bags. The kind that zip up. And she hung it in a standard unit. She thought it would be fine because it was up off the floor and it was in a bag. Six months later she came to get it for her daughter to wear. The dress was covered in yellow spots. Mold. All over the front. The bag had trapped the moisture inside and it just sat there against the fabric for months.
She didn’t even yell at me or anything. She just stood there holding the bag and crying. And I felt like garbage. Like I should have told her. But she didn’t ask. And I didn’t know she had a wedding dress in there. You know? You can’t warn everyone about everything.
So now I just tell everyone. Even if they don’t ask. Because I’d rather annoy someone with too much information than watch them cry over something they can’t replace.
My Honest Take on Unit Types
Alright, so here’s what I tell people to do.
First. If you can swing it. Get climate control. Especially if you’re storing anything you actually care about. Not just stuff. Stuff you care about. The difference between a standard unit and a climate controlled unit is basically the difference between leaving your stuff in a garage versus leaving your stuff in your house. The temperature is steady. The humidity is managed. The air is moving. It’s just safer.
Second. If you can’t do climate control or if you’re storing stuff that’s not super precious. You gotta pack like you’re preparing for a flood. Even though you’re not. Because in a way you are. You’re preparing for water in the air. Which is kind of like a flood. Just slower.
How to Pack Like You Mean It
Plastic bins. Not cardboard. I know cardboard is free. I know. But free boxes will cost you when your stuff gets ruined. Go to Walmart or Home Depot or wherever. Get the black and yellow totes with the lids that snap down. They stack. They seal. Bugs can’t get in. Moisture can’t get in as easy. They’re worth the money.
Get your stuff off the floor. Put pallets down. Put 2x4s down. Put cheap plastic shelves down. Anything. Just get a gap between your boxes and the concrete. Concrete sweats. It just does. Even when it looks dry. Put your hand on it. It’s cool. That’s moisture. That moisture goes up into whatever is sitting on it.
Stop wrapping furniture in plastic. Don’t wrap your furniture in plastic. I see people do this constantly. They wrap a couch in plastic like they’re gonna leave it outside. And then they’re shocked when it’s moldy. The plastic traps moisture. Use a bedsheet. Use a moving blanket. Something that lets the air move. Keeps dust off but doesn’t trap wetness inside.
If you’re storing a mattress. Stand it on its side. Don’t lay it flat. Flat means stuff gets piled on it. Stuff piled means no air circulation. No air circulation means moisture builds up. Moisture builds up means mold. Simple.
The Low-Cost Stuff That Actually Helps
Put some DampRid in your unit. Those little white buckets. They pull moisture out of the air. They’re like five bucks. Change them every couple months. They help. Not as much as climate control but they help.
Also. And this sounds crazy but it works. Charcoal. Plain charcoal briquettes. The kind you grill with. Not the lighter fluid kind. Put them in a cardboard box or a tray and set them in the corner. They absorb moisture and smells. My granddad did this in his workshop forever. I thought he was just being an old man but he wasn’t. It actually works.
Two Things That Save You Later
Label your stuff. On the side. Not the top. Because you’re gonna stack boxes. And when they’re stacked you can’t see the top. So write on the side what’s in it. Not just “stuff” or “misc.” Write “kitchen” or “winter clothes” or “books.” Future you will appreciate it more than you know.
Leave a path. Don’t just fill the whole unit to the ceiling with no way to walk. You will need something from the back someday. And when that day comes you’re not gonna want to play Jenga with boxes for an hour just to grab one thing. So put the stuff you might need soon near the front. Put the stuff you’ll probably never need in the back. Leave a little walkway.
What We’ve Got Here
Look. I’m not trying to make this complicated. I’m just saying. The humidity here is no joke. You know it. I know it. We all live in it. And it doesn’t stop at the door of your storage unit. So you gotta think about it. That’s all.
We got units here. Standard ones. Climate controlled ones. Come look at them. See what fits your stuff and your budget. I’ll show you both and tell you what I think. But it’s your call. It’s your stuff. You know what you got and what matters.
I just don’t want anyone to end up like that lady with the wedding dress. Or that guy with the guitar. Or my mom with the photos. Because once that stuff is ruined it’s ruined. And it happens fast. Faster than you think.
Anyway that’s what I got. Come by if you want. Or don’t. But if you’re storing stuff anywhere in Arkansas this summer just think about the air. Because the air is gonna do what it does whether you think about it or not. So you might as well think about it.
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