[Anne]

Do you need the documents in paper form? Can they be scanned to eliminate?

[Carl]

I would probably go ahead and pay for a “real” climate controlled storage unit on the second floor somewhere if you want your stuff to be there when you get home.

[Stacey]

As a side note, make sure there is absolutely nothing that smells. No soap. No food. No perfumes. Mice are kind of like bears where they smell well.

Even the former scent of food. And even if you don’t have food, neighbors might.

Invest in plastic bags inside well sealed (not just lids that set on top but lids that clip) containers.

If you do get a storage unit, I second the second floor idea. But still super protect your items.

And don’t believe the wives tale that mice don’t like certain soaps. It is NOT a preventative measure.

I have helped friends with storage, I have helped friends move, I had storage myself for six months.

Mice will EAT soap.

[Sarah]

I put a nice used shed in a friends yard and gifted them the shed when I took my stuff

[Christina]

If it’s mostly clothes or bedding, maybe pick up vacuum sealed bags for those. They really flatten stuff down, so maybe you can get a smaller storage unit.

[Lauren]

it’s not as common, but you can also look at options for a safety deposit box at a bank… you may want somewhere more secure for documents that are hard to replace, some external hard drives with family photos and things.

For other records, if you keep amazon prime membership, you get free unlimited storage of photos.

Google accounts also have limited photo storage now (it used to be unlimited).

For most bigger things, it normally costs more to store than replace after a year, but you can also ask friends and family to actually rent a closet in a garage or attic space.

Just document the items, value, photographs, so if the worst happens and their house burned down while away, your items are included in the insurance payout.

[Christine]

For documents, if they are not a big pile…you could check out some banks in your area and see if they have a safety deposit box then you pay for the size you want for the whole year as long as you open up an account with the bank, then you leave the same or more amount in the checking account in case you spend longer than a year abroad, the bank will just deduct the yearly fee for the box.

[Charlie]

I found storage 5×5 for $40 a month. Have to research storage units around you.

[Author]

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