Traditionally January is the busiest time of the year for Self Storage.  Many people tend to spend time over Christmas tidying, sorting and preparing for the year ahead – so if YOU have a spare room, garage, shed, parking spot, office, hall, backyard, or even a paddock or barn that you are not using – it may be of use to someone else – and NOW is a perfect opportunity to turn it into some extra ongoing income.

As a special Christmas/New Year offer to SpaceOut members and visitors, we are giving you the chance to try out SpaceOut for free.  So if you’ve wondered whether renting out some of your unused space might be a good way to earn some extra cash, but didn’t want to commit to an upfront listing fee, now is your opportunity to try it out for absolutely nothing.

Limited Time Only

For a limited time (until the end of February 2012) you can create your Space for Rent Listing and get the first two months for FREE.

You will need to sign up for future payments, but can cancel any time you wish, so you could advertise and rent out your space within the first two months and pay nothing at all to get an ongoing residual income.

If you have a finance related resolution this year, chances are that you can utilise SpaceOut to that end. Whether it’s to save money or add to your monthly income, SpaceOut is a great place to start.

Looking for: Office space, Storage space, a handy parking space, a place to park your boat or caravan or truck, a paddock or shed, then SpaceOut is the place where you can find the best deals that are not found anywhere else! Space Owners are regular people who offer their space for very reasonable rates, and you’re likely to find something that suits in the suburb you want it.

Of course if you own any of the above, clean it up and list it now – get in early and see how you can leverage previously unutilised space into cash income that is literally money out of thin air! We receive great feedback every day from people putting all kinds of space to great use, and love hearing from our members. Go ahead, add SpaceOut to your New Year Resolutions and tell your friends so they can benefit too.

We here at SpaceOut wish everyone a happy and prosperous 2010, and a big thank you to all our members who helped to make us what we are today.

A new Australian Government report released yesterday, reveals that a frightening number of Australians suffered financial pain in the first six months of this year.

The survey of over 1600 families found more than a third considered themselves financially worse off in the six months to June 2009.

• 1 in five families reported levels of hardship that meant that made it hard for them to pay their utility bills.
• Of the families unable to pay their rent or mortgage on time, nearly 80 per cent were suffering this way for the first time.
• Of those who had gone without food, 70 per cent had not experienced this before.

Coincidentally, the government survey was released on the same day Anglicare Australia released its annual State of the Family report. The Anglicare report also highlights that Families have been under increasing pressure because of rising costs.

Families are using a variety of strategies to save money and reduce their costs including :

• One in 10 is putting off plans for a new job
• Five per cent have put off having a child until the economy improves
• Five per cent have postponed their wedding celebrations in order to save money
• One in three is travelling less
• One in four is spending more time with the family
• One in five is planning to grow their own vegetables

Obviously SpaceOut also offers a great option for many struggling families – to either make money by renting out unused space in their homes – or to save money on self storage costs.

But a new online service has just added hundreds of new storage locations throughout Australia (maybe even in your suburb or street), and the number is rising every day!

Now, anyone with spare space in their  home, business, shed or garage can rent that space out to anyone who wants it! And the best part is that there’s a good chance there is someone in your neighbourhood who has space to rent out right now!!  Because this storage space is private, you can typically pick up some space for heavily discounted rates – often half the price that the big guys are asking!

“The idea came to me when I travelled overseas” says Damon Russell, founder of SpaceOut. “I was able to leave my stuff at a mate’s place and I thought it would be great if anyone needing  storage space could do the same”.

From a Space seeker’s point of view, this service really opens up the field. Regular self storage can cost an arm and a leg – in Brisbane and Melbourne for example, it costs between $350 and $750 per month for a space the size of a single car garage! Sydney costs are even higher. Private storage however, offers the chance to make significant savings.

The flip side to all this is that average Aussies who do have space, can now turn it into a regular cash income they would not otherwise have had access to. Roger H of Carseldine who rents half his garage out says “I think it’s a great opportunity for average people to save some serious cash. I personally like the fact that I can save someone $200 a month on their storage costs  – that’s over $1,000 a year for them – and the rental income for the space sure helps my family out too.”

“We get a lot of great feedback from people telling us how easy the site is to use” says Russell,  “You just locate the area where you’re looking for storage on the website’s map, send a message through the site message system (protecting both parties’ identities) saying you want to look at the space and the owner gets back to you. It’s simple, and many people are actually surprised that it is that easy to find cheap, local storage space.”

SpaceOut is turning heads overseas too. This Australia first concept has been attracting a lot of attention in many countries that could use the service including the US and Europe, and this Aussie innovation will be expanding overseas to give this opportunity to as many people as possible. The service is currently completely free, but is likely to start charging a nominal fee for listings in the near future. It seems like now is the time to get onboard if you’re looking for storage.

Feedback about the site shows that many users have been telling their friends and family about SpaceOut too, either to find or to provide space – this a sure sign that people see the benefits and potential for this type of service. To start searching for space, SpaceOut can be found at www.SpaceOut.com.au. You can search for space from the homepage, and SpaceOut also lists office and parking spaces.

Owners of the 66 apartments in the Verve development will be offered an options of buying or renting on-site storage units – which will be located underground beneath the carpark.  The concept has drawn interest from baby boomers looking at downsizing their existing properties, but concerned about the more limited storage that is typically available in an apartment.

Owners may also be offered free storage for a period after their move – while they get settled and work out exactky what they need (and what they don’t).

Rental Prices for these storage lockers has not been determined, with work on the $40 Million development expected to start later this year.

Moving day!!

You will have quite a few choices when it comes to storing your things. If you’ve never used storage before, here is the list that will simplify the process and help you on your way:

1. Do you REALLY need to store your stuff? Is this stuff you will ever use again? You should establish that ‘Yes’ you do want to keep the stuff you are thinking of storing, and whether keeping it will be worth paying the storage rate.

2. Work out how much stuff you have to store. This is usually calculated in cubic metres. You can either stack all your stuff in a square pile and measure the height, width and depth and multiply these numbers. For example a pile 2 metres wide by 3 metres deep by 2 metres high (2x3x2) equals 12 cubic metres. The alternative is to work out the cubic metre size of each item and add it all together at the end. A free online space calculators are available here

3. Next, decide what kind of storage you are looking for. You have a choice of ‘Traditional Self Storage’ – this is typically the highest priced choice but offers the most features like high security and your own storage unit. You can search here

Then there’s ‘Warehouse Storage Space’ which means you rent a portion of big warehouse next to other people’s stuff. This is usually cheaper than a Self Storage Unit, but you usually have to pay to have your stuff stacked both in and out.

Lastly, you can now use new online Private Storage Services like the first and biggest SpaceOut.com.au. Sites like SpaceOut allow people with a spare room, shed or garage in their house or business to advertise it to people seeking space. This is typically the cheapest option and can be a great way to offset the costs associated with storage. Look carefully at the spaces on offer to make sure you get just what you want.

4. Once you’ve found an appropriate storage site, you’ll need to actually move your things. Depending on how much you have, you made be able to use your car which is probably the cheapest option. However, if you have a lot of stuff, you may need to rent a Ute, a small truck (you can drive up to a 3 ton truck on your regular car license), or you may even consider a removalist.

Look carefully at your budget for moving and consider if multiple small trips in a smaller vehicle may work out cheaper than one big trip in a larger option. You can find rental vehicles and removalists online for your area – go with a reputable company, and consider whether the value of your stuff is worth insurance for the move.

Insurance can usually be arranged through the removalists or rental vehicle company.

5. The moving day can take some coordinating, so particularly if you have opted for the cheapest option above – Private Storage, you will need to make sure the space owner has prepared for your move in. Stay in close contact with him/her until your move is complete, and we recommend some kind of binding agreement. The SpaceOut site provides a template for free.

It is better to allow more time than less to move, so start early in the day if possible.

6. Payment: the easiest way to pay ongoing for your storage is by automatic bank transfer – you can set this up through your bank, and most Self Storage facilities will set up a regular credit card payment for you.

And that’s about it! If I’ve missed any big points, let me know. And I’d love to hear of your storage story – good OR bad.

As the Government extends the city’s urban growth boundary by thousands of hectares, a Transport Department report showed there were already 1.3 million spare bedrooms in existing suburbs, enough to accommodate projected population growth during the next 20 years.
Almost 70 per cent of houses within current city limits had extra bedrooms, with the highest proportion in the wealthy eastern and bayside suburbs, and in outer growth suburbs where the blocks are comparatively larger.
The report showed increased wealth had led to homes being built larger than ever, with the number of households having two or more spare bedrooms in the decade to the 2006 census more than doubling. At the same time, the number of people per household had shrunk.
”We are being greedy with space,” said University of Melbourne’s planning expert Philip Goad.
Source: The Age August 11, 2009

A new, innovative online service called SpaceOut has the potential to help make use of these unused bedrooms, making money for the home owners, and at the same time, provide everyday Australians with a solution to their storage problems.

The concept was developed by 3 good mates who saw the need to create a service which caters for the supply and demand of useable ‘space’. The website, www.spaceout.com.au allows home and business owners to advertise their spare space as being available for rent. And now we know there are 1.3 million unused bedrooms in Melbourne – many of which could probably be rented out for storage.

Damon Russell, one of the co-founders says “SpaceOut provides a great platform for people wanting to make an extra income with very little effort. Storage in most cities is becoming very scarce- yet all these houses have spare rooms  If you had an empty room why wouldn’t you rent it out and make some cash?”

SpaceOut already has many spaces advertised across Sydney’s CBD, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide and the number of listings is growing fast.

Nathon Irvin, SpaceOut’s marketing coordinator can’t believe that Melbourne has that many spare rooms…”what a great opportunity for those households to earn money from people seeking cost effective storage”.

An article in today’s Melbourne Age Newspaper – Room to spare as city sprawls – draws attention to a Victorian Department of Transport report which claims that almost 70 per cent of houses within current Melbourne city limits had extra bedrooms that were not being used.

SpaceOut members are already making hundreds of dollars a month (that’s thousands of dollars a year) renting out spare space in their homes and businesses. This is space that would otherwise have sat there idle, or been used to accumulate their own junk.

If you have an unused bedroom in your house – you could convert it into a regular income by renting it out for storage – find out how to rent out your space now.

Selling your home
SpaceOut can be of great benefit when you are trying to sell your home. It is well known that a cluttered house seems smaller. By moving some of your furniture and maybe ‘junk’ into a temporary storage space, your home can look more spacious which can easily result in more interested buyers and a higher sale price.  In fact, one of our members runs a business based on this concept – see more about them in this featured space post.

Hoarders
Hoarding may be the result of a fear of throwing something away that you might need someday. Within the Self Storage industry there are many examples of people renting storage space so they can continue to collect items that they can no longer store in their own home. SpaceOut offers these people an opportunity to clear some space at home and still fulfil their need for collecting and keeping items.

Building a new home
If you are between homes while your new house is being built, what do you do with all your stuff that won’t fit in the caravan, or with your in-laws or friends? Using SpaceOut to find an inexpensive  and convenient place to store all your belongings can give you access to specific items as you need them until the new house is built and you can move in.

Home Renovations
People who are doing some renovations to their home or even just getting a room or two repainted often have a short to medium term storage issue. Instead of shuffling stuff around from room to room to get it out of the way, putting it into short term storage could very well provide an ideal solution.

Separation and Divorce
Unfortunately, sometimes relationship separations occur, and often one person leaves their family home and needs to find a temporary storage solution for their furniture, household goods, personal items and vehicle, etc.

Seasonal Wardrobe
Do you have a problem working out what to do with all your winter clothes during Summer or vice versa during Winter? What a luxury it would be to move your entire winter wardrobe into self storage during summer and swap them over with the change of season. All that extra wardrobe space and no more struggling to find the clothes you want (and what a great excuse to go out shopping for more).

Hiding Presents
You’ve spotted the perfect gift (at a bargain price), but it’s months before the event and you are having trouble keeping it hidden and out of sight. Using a local SpaceOut Storage Space gives you an opportunity to keep the present safe, close by and for a very reasonable price.

Having a Party
Are you planning a party, but want a little extra space or need to put some of those family heirlooms or delicate antiques out of harm’s way? Use SpaceOut to find local storage (maybe even in a neighbours home)

Although the initial SpaceOut concept was based around the idea of saving or making money by renting out storage space, SpaceOut listings are not just limited to Storage.  In fact, in response to increasing demand from their members, we have recently expanded the service to include other types of spaces that can be rented out, and we now also provide specialist search and listing categories for Parking Space and Office Space.

Libby, who is retired, said she was going to call her kids and tell them to pick up their stuff cos she was going to rent the space out. She did joke and say that she may just start charging her kids to store their stuff now that her space is worth something.

These days Empty Nesters or Baby Boomers are not only going to spend their kids inheritance they will rent their kids old bedroom out as storage as well. See www.spaceout.com.au