Storage for International Students over the Christmas Break

If you’re an international university student, you’ll need to consider where to store your belongings when leaving the UK. With Christmas and the winter break quickly approaching, it’s important to plan ahead.

Reasons for Needing Short-Term Storage

If you’re returning to your home country for the winter break, you’re likely to have limited luggage capacity. This means you can only pack the essentials while leaving your remaining belongings behind. Storage is a great way to keep your belongings secure until you return to the UK, giving you valuable peace of mind.

Perhaps you have large or high-value items that you don’t want to leave unattended in your shared accommodation. Or, you may have no secure place to keep your bike or sports equipment outside of term time. Your landlord may also rent out your room during university breaks, meaning you have to move out any items you don’t take home.

Choosing a Storage Provider

Here are the main things you should find out when looking for a storage provider:

• Collection: Does the provider offer easy collection from your doorstep? Having your items collected by van will simplify the process, meaning you won’t have to arrange transport. 
• Location: Where is the storage facility based in relation to your university? If collection is offered, the facility’s location is less important. If collection isn’t offered, it’s probably easier to choose a local provider.
• Costs: Shop around and ask for quotes to see which provider offers the best value for money. Also enquire about any other costs, like sign-up fees or deposits.
• Items: What would you like to store? Is the provider able to store these items? Remember that anything perishable, illegal, flammable or dangerous isn’t suitable for storage.
• Insurance: If you’re storing lots of items, including high-value possessions, you should ask about insurance options.
• Security: Find out what measures are in place to keep your items safe, whether that’s security cameras, personnel and so on.
• Accessibility: Can you access your belongings at any time, or does the facility close? If you’re storing items for a longer duration, you may need to access them from time to time.

Planning on storing your items then shipping them home afterwards? Read our blog post on things to ask your freight forwarder here.

Packing Tips

You’ll need to use boxes to pack smaller items. Check whether the provider offers boxes or if you’ll need to get hold of some in advance. For larger items, you’ll need to seek advice from your storage provider on the best way to pack them. 

It’s important not to add too much weight to each box, so you’re still able to carry them. Instead, spread heavier items across different boxes. Fill each box to capacity but don’t overfill them, and make sure you can neatly tape them shut.

Protect small items with bubble wrap and paper, and fill any gaps in the box to prevent things from moving. Once your boxes are closed, label them with your details, including your name and address.

About Andrews Shipping

We offer great value storage and shipping solutions for students. We provide storage rooms for weekly hire at our secure facility. As part of the service, we can collect items from any fixed address in the UK and provide storage boxes at a small cost.

Planning to store your items for a longer duration of time? Not to worry – we can keep them for as long as you need. If you need to ship them overseas at any point, we can easily arrange shipment too.

If you’d like to find out more about our storage service or receive a quote, contact our team today.