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Organize and Maximize Your Outdoor Time

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Self-storage can help make your camping more organized.

With spring on our doorsteps, thoughts of camping trips are on many minds. Maximize the time you spend camping and lessen the work that goes into the set up with a few organization and storage tips from some long-time camping pros at our storage office.

Making yourself a couple of pre packed containers will help get out the door quickly for those spurs of the moment camping trips driven by great weather or a little extra time off.  Your first container will be non-perishable food, label it as such so there is no guessing what’s inside. The second container will have toiletries. And if you are tenting consider a third container.

Container one: non-perishable food. Think about quick and easy meals, dry soup mix, cereal in small, sealed containers, graham crackers and chocolate bars ready for smores night, trail mix, granola or protein bars, jerky, freeze dried meals, instant coffee, drink powders or shelf stable milk products.

Container two: Biodegradable toilet paper, Hand sanitizer, biodegradable shampoo, toothbrush and toothpaste, quick drying towel, feminine products, a first-aid kit, or first-aid supplies.

If you are tenting consider a third container that has kitchen equipment like a can opener, tin foil, cutting board, knives, paper towel, weatherproof matches, or a BBQ lighter, cookware, travel mugs, utensils, a sharp knife, biodegradable dish soap, water bottles, trash bags, a dish towel and pot scrubber. This could mean doing a double up purchase, so you are not stealing from the kitchen.

Pro tip: If you are glamping or renting a condo somewhere have a kit on hand that contains, favorite spices, gravy mixes, cutting board, knives, dish cloth and tea towel, rope, corn holders, salt, pepper, and sugar because not every short-term rental comes with these items.

Happy Trails…

….. oh yes, now you don’t have to unpack these contains in colder months. Now, let’s consider where and when you are keeping all this summer camping gear during the cold months.

A 5 by 10 storage unit will hold a person’s camping gear.  Take some time and wipe down your tent, tarps, storage containers, and small equipment. If you found un-used items, its now time to think if they can come off your list for next summer.  Things like oars, water skis and life jackets can stand up in a corner of your storage unit in a laundry basket to keep them together. Pull out all batteries from lamps or other equipment to avoid damage from corrosion that can happen when these items sit.

Keep your heavy items at the bottom of your unit, putting the lighter containers or boxes on top to maximize your space.

A hint to help keep all your items dry over the winter months is to keep all those little silica packets that you find coming in nearly everything you purchase. Also to avoid musty smells consider hanging your tent and sleeping bags instead of storing them in their stuff sacks.

A little organization and storage wisdom will help get you get quickly on your way to your next adventure.

*Remember, if life takes you on the road long term, we have offices in Lacombe and Medicine Hat

Porch Pirates, Are they Real?

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Keep Your Packages Safe
Pirates have always been something that appear in story books. But lately piracy has become very real for a lot of online holiday shoppers. The name Porch Pirates sounds cute and maybe you’re thinking of all the kiddies showing up on your doorstep at Halloween, but these are not your neighbor’s children in costume. Porch Pirates steal packages from door steps and porches. Sometimes these thieves will even follow a delivery vehicle and scoop the package right after it’s been dropped on the doorstep.

As of Sept of this year, nearly one quarter of online shoppers have felt the sting of porch piracy. The average value a stolen package is about $113.

Some shoppers that have fallen victim to Porch Piracy before have taken it upon themselves to fight back. People are putting out boxes full of glitter, dog poo or the cat litter to “be taken.” While we admire people’s creativity why even give thieves a chance?

Between 2010 to 2017, there was a 581% rise in reports of packages stolen off doorsteps. With porch piracy on the rise, we’d like to offer a solution for keeping your packages safe.
Our office is insured to receive your online orders and we offer this service free of charge to everyone on our community. It’s our way of helping you have a happy holiday season. For more self storage hacks and ideas, follow along with our Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/DraytonValleyStorage/

How Do You Use This Free Service?

Step 1
When you are online shopping use our office address as the shipping address for your package: Drayton Valley Storage: 7315 Township Rd 490, Site 455 Box 1 Comp 1 RR 2, Drayton Valley, AB T7A 2A2

Step 2
Call our office and let us know your name, your phone number and when the package is expected. Drayton Valley: 780-542-7582

Step 3
When the package arrives, our office will text you a pic of the package, text back an day and time when you can pick it up. Need to keep the package away from prying eyes? No problem, we can hold the package until you need it. Just let us know how long you need us to hold it. (Please keep in mind our holiday hours). If you are looking for more Christmas hacks or ideas check out this blog: 

Christmas Storage Hacks

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It seems as though Christmas has only just arrived, but here we are thinking of ways to organize your decorations as you put them away.
Of course, our first answer would be to send it to us for safe keeping. But we know not everyone can do that, so we are happy to share some holiday storage hacks we use in our own homes. Read more

Camping During Covid-19

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Now that the weather is finally nice most of us have the itch to get our campers out, spruced up, and on the road to our favorite camping spot so we can enjoy our summer. Well this season it is looking very different thanks to Covid-19.
Provincial campsites will all remain closed until after a government assessment on June 21, 2020. However, the private camp grounds are under county discretion as long as they comply with rules set out by Alberta Health Services. Here’s what to prepare for this Covid camping season: Read more

Wrapping, Joyful Or Not

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With Christmas so close, the wrapping paper starts coming out. Who does the work making these boxes with ribbons and bows look so beautiful? We asked our management team who gets wrapping detail at their home.  Read more

Deck the Halls

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Christmas can be a stressful time. You’re cooking, decorating, wrapping and so much more. And in the end, there’s an ingredient missing, one tree light is burnt out, and there’s tape in your hair. Here’s a few stories from our staff about their funny Christmas experiences. Read more

Top 5 Day Trips Around Drayton Valley

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Want to take time away but you’re under a time constraint? Here are a few places you can go for the day or longer that are nice for vacations or a day trip and won’t interfere with that dreadful time limit. Read more

10 Things Before You Leave for Vacation

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When you’re in a rush to leave the house on a trip don’t forget to take care of your home before you go away. With our economy being low it’s a good idea to make it look like someone is home to deter break-ins. In a troubled economy, crime rises and break-ins become more frequent. To keep your home safe and trouble-free, here are ten things our staff do before they head out on their trips.
  1. Clean out your fridge. Those leftovers may spoil by the time you get back and create a mighty smell. Don’t forget to check your expiry dates on your milk and other dairy products. Read more

Holiday Storage Hacks

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It’s that time of year again when we are faced with the task of taking down the Christmas decorations. If you dealt with a tangle of lights and tinsel garland when you put up the Christmas tree read on and save yourself from this holiday headache next year.
Retail stores offer all kinds of Christmas storage devices that work wonderfully, but these also come with a hefty price. At the Storage Group we have dedicated some of our blogs to repurposing other items to get the same effect without the expense. Here are some of my decoration storage hacks.Wide Drawer Sterlite storage
An ornament storage chest is great for keeping your holiday gear organized. These specialized chests start at $105. For $18 you get the same level of organization from a wide drawer plastic organizer like those made by Sterlite. I have used this plastic drawer system for Christmas decorations for years. It’s light weight and its three drawers allow me to organize what goes on the tree first to last by drawer.

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Our Little Elf on a Shelf

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We are thrilled to begin a new adventure this year! You can see what our elf, Bernie, is up to by liking us on Facebook (Drayton Valley Storage Center).elf and business cards
This past December I wanted to find a way to incorporate a fun aspect of reaching people with Lacombe Storage Center’s Facebook page. I have learned that not all social media posts from a business need to be about business. People enjoy pictures, humorous posts and community updates. in their news feeds too! Elf on the shelf was the idea I kept coming back to. To me, Elf brings to mind, the young hearted side of the holidays. Elf is smiling and always catches my eye. In order to start this, I had to get our Social Media Coordinator to back me up as she would be the one posting this for us on a daily basis.

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