Storage Tips & Local News | Bargain Storage Blog

Moving in Midlife: Reinventing Your Lifestyle, Career, and Goals

Moving

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet.A midlife move isn’t just about changing your address — it’s about redesigning how you live, work, and define fulfillment. For many, relocation at 40, 50, or beyond becomes a turning point: a chance to align environment, community, and purpose with who you’ve become — not who you were. TL;DR Moving in midlife is less about escape and more about alignment. It can reignite your sense of purpose, help you rebalance work and personal life, and put you in a community that truly fits. Plan with intention — from evaluating real estate to reimagining your career path — and you can make it one of the most rewarding chapters of your life. Section 2: Decluttering Space and Mind Before anything else, declutter — not just your home, but your expectations. Downsizing or right-sizing means identifying what genuinely adds value to your day. Affordable storage solutions like Bargain Storagecan help you keep essentials secure while transitioning, especially during those “in-between” months when your new home isn’t ready yet. Pro Tip: Label every stored box by future use, not by past location. It’ll help you focus on where you’re going, not what you left behind. Why a Midlife Move Feels Different By midlife, you’ve accumulated more — responsibilities, memories, maybe even regrets. Relocation at this stage is an act of redefinition. It’s less about chasing opportunity and more about choosing intentional change. Category Younger Moves Midlife Moves Motivation Exploration or career growth Balance, purpose, and renewal Challenges Financial and social adaptation ...

Michael Longsdon
October 24th, 2025

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New Town, New Life: How to Get Comfortable and Settle in After a Big Move

Moving

Starting over in a new city can feel like someone pressed the reset button on your life. Whether you moved across the state or across the country, the early days of relocation come with a mix of excitement, stress, and awkward uncertainty. You're stepping into a place where everything—from street names to grocery store layouts—feels unfamiliar. But with the right approach, you can transform this transition into a season of growth, connection, and even joy. These strategies can help you not just survive, but truly settle in and thrive. Unpacking With Purpose It’s tempting to rip open boxes in a frenzy just to feel like you’re making progress, but intentional unpacking lays the groundwork for feeling at home. Start by focusing on the rooms you use most—your bedroom, bathroom, and kitchen. These anchor spaces are where your routines begin and end, so getting them functional fast brings a sense of normalcy. As you unpack, take time to reassess your belongings. Don’t just find places for things—ask if they still fit your life. Use this as an opportunity to purge what you no longer need, streamlining your space to reflect who you are now, not who you were when you packed. Using Storage as a Flexible Solution Sometimes, your new space just can't hold everything right away—or you may be in a temporary setup while waiting for your permanent home. Renting a storage unit can offer breathing room without forcing you to make rushed decisions about your belongings. It’s also a smart move if you’re downsizing or unsure about what you’ll need seasonally. Companies like Bargain Storage offer secure, affordable units in a range of sizes so you can store overflow items safely. This gives you time to organize thoughtfully while still keeping access to what matters. Investing in Yourself with Education Relocation offers a rare chance to reassess not just your surroundings, but your long-term goals. Going back to school—especially through online programs—can create both a mental refresh and new career ...

Michael Longsdon
June 17th, 2025

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The Cross-Country Move: Tips for an Easy Move

Moving

If you’re planning to move cross-country, uncovering the best and most cost-effective way to get from your current home to your new home can be daunting. Couple that with the added stress of moving, and you have the recipe for a moving meltdown. Moving cross-country doesn’t have to be stressful however. In this article, we’ll take a look several different cross-country storage methods that will help you budget and plan for the best outcome. Load Up the Truck One cost-effective method of moving is using your own vehicle. If you’re lucky to own a truck and not a lot of belongings, using your own vehicle could be a great way to save on rental and fuel costs associated with other methods. If you need just a bit more space than your truck can provide, you can easily hook up a trailer found at many rental companies. Many will even install a hitch if you don’t already have one. Note: If you’re renting a trailer, be sure to follow all safety warnings. Many moving trailers are not rated to go highway speeds or may have weight limits. Benefits of using your own vehicle: ● No rental fees or extra insurance to buy ● You won’t have to tow or ship your vehicle to your new home ● Your vehicle will likely be more comfortable than a rental Downsides of using your own vehicle: ● Limited cargo space ● Limited carrying/towing capacity ● Limited security - what’s inside may be on display to potential thieves Bonus: Declutter your home before moving to help ensure you’re not moving your clutter with you. A pre-move decluttering will also give you a more accurate picture of your moving and storage needs. Rent a Truck If your vehicle doesn’t have the space, you can rent a truck instead. Most people live within range of a truck rental company. If you’re unsure if ...

Bargain Storage
December 6th, 2024

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The Ultimate Home Renovation Checklist

Moving

Putting together a dependable home renovation checklist is essential to ensuring your renovation — no matter the size — goes as smoothly as possible. Renovating your home can be a grueling process complicated by numerous unanticipated issues. Sadly, even this ultimate home renovation checklist won’t save you from all those unexpected complications. However, it can certainly help you mitigate many of them ahead of time and put you in the right place to quickly and cost-effectively manage them if and when they do arise.Let’s get planning! Put Together a Project Plan Even before you decide if you want to reap the troubles and rewards of doing a home remodel yourself, it’s best to plan out the scope of the renovations before getting started.At this point, you need to determine the scope of your remodel project, as it will impact what specific items need to be added to your home renovation checklist. So, what projects do you want to take on for the remodeling? Are you just going to focus on redoing the master bedroom’s bathroom, are you adding an addition to the house, or are you doing a complete remodeling of the whole house?Once you’ve established the general scope of your project, put together a list of all impacted rooms and areas. With this list in hand, do a walkthrough of the areas, taking notes on what needs to be done in each room. This can include everything from updating electrical wiring and fixtures to replacing drywall or the floors. As you go through this process, give yourself plenty of room on the list to go back in and add all the steps that will be required for each specific room/project.The list you’re looking at now should be your dream list. It should consist of everything you’d like to be changed if time and money weren’t limiting factors. However, unless you’re unimaginable wealthy or on some reality TV show, there will be at least some limiting factors.And, that’s okay. Just go through the list and ...

Bargain Storage
November 27th, 2024

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How to Find Good and Affordable Movers in the St. Paul Area

Moving

Whether you’re moving in or out of St. Paul, TX, you’ll need a reliable yet affordable relocation company. They can help you start a new chapter of your life by saving you money and transporting your belongings safely. Coming up are seven tips for finding high-quality and inexpensive movers in the St. Paul area. Tip 1 – Start Early The sooner you search for a St. Paul mover, the better quotes you’ll receive. Companies generally charge premium rates for last-minute services, which is why you should begin the hunt for your provider ahead of the peak season (April-September). Tip 2 – Get Recommendations All movers claim their services are unmatched yet cheap. The best way to separate the wheat from the chaff is to ask around. Consult your friends, family, neighbors, and coworkers to find out if they’ve ever worked with a dependable provider. If so, they’ll be able to recommend a high-quality, affordable transporter and save you a lot of time. Tip 3 – Consider Experienced Providers Only Although you prioritize inexpensive movers, you shouldn’t just consider the price. Quality of service is much more important, and you’ll most commonly receive such a service from experienced teams. For example, if you visit the Three Movers website, you’ll see that this company specializes in all types of moves. They also belong to numerous professional organizations that guarantee their services follow the strictest regulations. Furthermore, they have the equipment and methods to relocate your possessions from your house or storage safely and timely. Therefore, try to narrow down your choice to seasoned St. Paul providers only. Tip 4 – Perform In-Depth Background Checks After receiving a few recommendations, you should now go through your list of prospects and single out the most attractive offers. Base your picks on three criteria: your requirements, the company’s experience, and your budget. You can determine whether a provider is worth further consideration by reading online reviews. Check out what previous customers say about their professionalism, availability, rates, and other essential aspects. In addition, don’t forget to check if ...

Bargain Storage
November 27th, 2024

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Top Reasons to Move to Phoenix and How Storage Facilities Can Help

Moving

The state of Arizona is regularly featured in Top Ten lists for popularity and growth. It’s long been a draw for snowbirds and vacationers because of its gorgeous weather and relaxing amenities. But some areas are drawing more residents for reasons other than the stunning golf courses and spas, and the Phoenix area is one of them.Our 13 locations in and around the Phoenix metro are hopping with transplants to the area who are making use of our rental storage units to make their move easier. Here are some of the reasons we are seeing so many new Phoenix residents at our storage unit facilities: Work Phoenix is already either the 5th or 6th largest city in the nation, depending on which research you encounter. And, a recent study ranked the area in the top 10 for fastest growing in the nation. Residential builders are challenged to keep up with the growth in the area, and commercial builders are putting up business centers and offices for every industry left and right.This is largely because tech companies are giving tourism a run for its money when it comes to the economy in Phoenix. This part of the country is projected to place #2 in the country for IT jobs and #4 in STEM jobs in the next decade. Phoenix is also actively welcoming corporate headquarters to the area and recruiting for skilled workers. Learn There are a multitude of learning locations in the Phoenix area, and students are in abundance. It is home to Arizona State University, with the primary location in Tempe and two additional campuses in Phoenix proper: ASU West and ASU Downtown. ASU also has a satellite campus for Flagstaff’s Northern Arizona University.Other institutions of higher learning abound as well, such as the Barrow Neurological Institute, Arizona Summit School of Law, Grand Canyon University, and Arizona Christian University. Then there is The Maricopa County Community College, which is a system of ten community colleges in the area. And, of course, Phoenix is ...

Steve Reed
November 27th, 2024

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Using Self Storage To Speed Up Your Move

Moving

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet.We’ve all been there… It’s the end of the month and you need to move from one property to the next. You only have one or two days to pack up all of your belonging, move them to the new property while still leaving time to clean the old property. This process makes moving much more stressful than it needs to be and there is a better way.Use a self storage facility to help stage belongings ahead of time.Self storage isn’t always about long term security for your belongings, it can help when making the move from one property to the next. Here are a few tips to get you started. Start with the heavy stuff Heavy items can take the longest to move. One or two weeks before you plan to move, start preparing your largest items for the move. Things like appliances, furniture, and large toys are perfect items to get started with. Plan to spend a whole day moving your largest items and be sure to employ the help of a friend or family member along with a large enough vehicle to make the move easy. Don’t forget to use the extra time to take it slow to prevent injuries and fatigue. Move on to the small stuff There are a lot of small things that can take a ton of time to pack. Start packing dishes, and hard to pack items into easy to manage carrying boxes. Be sure to leave a few things behind so you’ll still have some amenities until you’re ready to move to the next property. Start cleaning If you can be sure to start cleaning some items ahead of time. Things like ovens, bathtubs, floors, and garages can be time consuming to clean. Be sure to start on those things during the week leading up to the big move. Final Packing The day before you need to move, be sure to finalize any packing that you can. Prepare everything and stage it near the door ...

Bargain Storage
November 27th, 2024

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What To Bring To College: The Ultimate Packing List

Moving

Moving into the dorms for your first year at college is a big deal. Beyond parental emotions and tears, deciding what to bring to college can be overwhelming: there are sheets, books, a toothbrush, a laptop, clothes — and lava lamps.Okay, you probably don’t need to pack a lava lamp.The key to making sure you don’t forget any of the essentials is by breaking down what you need to pack into categories: bedding, room basics, dorm workspace, ‘kitchen’ essentials, first aid, and toiletries.Some of the bigger items in these categories, such as an area rug or mini-fridge, are best to work out with your future roommate ahead of time — you’re probably not going to have space for two refrigerators.Here are some other tips when determining what to bring to college: Bringing the Bedding Good bedding is essential. When you’re in the dorms, perhaps dealing with your first shared living space, your bed is your sanctuary. And sleep comes at a premium. So, doing everything possible to have the most comfortable bed setup is worth the money and the effort.In general, you’re going to want to choose sheets, blankets, and a comforter that is easy to wash. This means no beading, tassels, or specialty fabrics. The pattern or motif you choose is, of course, entirely up to you. However, don’t forget that every guest that comes into your room is going to see them. It’s up to you if you want your SpongeBob SquarePants sheets to be a conversation starter or if you’d rather get to choose your own topic of conversation when having friends over for the first time.Your college bedding packing list: Sheets — two sets. Just make sure you know what size mattress is in your dorm room before buying anything — it’s usually an XL twin. Comforter. Pillowcases — two sets. Pillows. Mattress topper. Under-bed storage container — depending on the furniture arrangement in the room. Clip-on lamp for reading after lights are out. Air mattress or sleeping bag — in case friends come over or you go on ...

Bargain Storage
November 27th, 2024

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Expert Tips to Ensure a Stress-Free Moving Experience

Moving

Moving has a bad reputation for being stressful. Of course, there’s no doubt that it’s a complete disruption to life’s schedules. And, it’s true that without proper preparation a move can be downright disorienting. It also doesn’t help that a move is often connected to some kind of big life transition, such as a job change, which can add to the anxiety of it all.Being in this business as long as we have, we’ve seen that there are a number of things you can do to ease the transition and have a stress-free moving experience. Here’s how: Be in Charge of Your Timeline To ease the stress, take control with a well-crafted timeline. Prepare a moving plan that allows for 8 to 12 weeks’ time to tackle it all. The more time the better, of course, because as we all know, delays will happen and having a few extra days of wiggle room in the plan can make all the difference. Planning a move includes creating a schedule of times to pack, load, move, unload, and unpack. You’ll want to negotiate enough time with employers or landlords in advance to account for getting out of the old place and into the new without a rush. Some go as far as to choose to pay an extra month on one of the two places just to give themselves enough time to do it right, but smart movers avoid this by renting a self-storage unit instead. Renting a storage space ahead of time means you can move on your own timeline rather than someone else’s. You decide when to pack each room and create the map of how things will be arranged in the storage unit to best suit your family’s needs. Tackle the Preparations Your Way – In the weeks up to the move, there are always necessary preparations. We recommend putting your own twist on things to ease stress and make it fun. Here are some ideas: – Start eating the food you don’t want to ...

Steve Reed
November 26th, 2024

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Affordable & Convenient Self-Storage in Glendale, Arizona

Moving

Are you planning a move to sunny Glendale, Arizona? The city is known for its sunny skies and comfortable dry heat. Glendale, Arizona is number three on the list for having the most cloudless days per year and number four for the highest average days with sunshine. Additionally, the cost of living in Glendale is almost 12% below the national average. The city is just a 20 minute drive from Phoenix and has a steady job market. It’s a great place to live for active people, with robust hiking and biking trails at Thunderbird Conservation Park.In addition to the countless perks of moving to Glendale, the State of Arizona offers robust employment and business opportunities in a variety of industries including tourism, mining, manufacturing, retail, solar energy, technological manufacturing, finance, and healthcare. Arizona’s top employers include Banner Health, Arizona State University, the City of Phoenix, the State of Arizona, Wells Fargo, and Bank of America. How Glendale Shines The city of Glendale is a perfect haven for sports fans, avid shoppers, holiday enthusiasts, and health-conscious dwellers. Although Glendale doesn’t have any pro sports teams, some NFL games (including the 2008 and 2015 Super Bowls) are hosted at the University of Phoenix Stadium. Glendale’s historic downtown district has an abundance of specialty and antique shops for residents and tourists alike. Glendale is considered to be Arizona’s antique capital with signature shops and various antique events held throughout the year. Every year during the holidays, the Glendale Glitter & Glow Festival is held and the city is draped in 1.5 million twinkling lights. Glendale, AZ Storage Units At Bargain Storage, we offer three conveniently located storage locations in Glendale, Arizona to help you with your transition to the city. Not only is the cost of living in Glendale lower than average, our storage spaces are 12% or more below competitor rates.Find out more about each location and how we can assist you with all your storage needs for your upcoming move. Bargain Storage at Grand & Camelback Our ...

Bargain Storage
November 25th, 2024

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