According to surveys, about 15 % of Germans dream of moving abroad and settling there for at least a certain period of time. For many, it does not remain only a dream. They turn their castles in the air into reality.
Worldwide, Germany is among the top 5 countries whose citizens spend at least parts of their studies or their training abroad. According to statistics, more than 120 000 students travel abroad every year to study there. Added to this are about 3,4 million Germans who either work outside Germany for professional reasons or spend their retirement.
With such a high interest in stays abroad and longer trips, the question naturally arises what the globetrotters do with their things that have remained in Germany in the meantime. Among the millions who leave Germany, most expect that the stay abroad is only a temporary phase. Upon their return, they want the certainty that at least the basics of a household are still in their possession.
Selfstorage and Full Service storage offer a range of affordable solutions to store household goods during longer trips or a stay abroad over a shorter or longer period of time, without having to sell all the furniture. In doing so, parents, relatives, and friends can also breathe a sigh of relief, because their attics, basements, and garages are not claimed as a storage unit by those who are eager to travel.
Below you will find options that are offered for renting a storage space during a trip.
What does storage during stays abroad include, and when is it useful for you?
Regardless of whether you rent or own your living space, the question will arise what will happen to the apartment or the house while you are on the trip. In most cases, the option of subletting arises. In doing so, the living space is not only used sensibly, but you also do not lose any money through unnecessary rent and utility costs for something that you do not use during the trip.
While most people have no problem renting out the living space, many shy away from leaving their property entirely to strangers.
Selfstorage makes it possible to store your household goods safely and protected from the access of others. In doing so, you can also store sensitive documents, files, and correspondence out of the sight of unauthorized persons and protect your privacy.
Selfstorage and renting a storage space are sensible both for longer and for shorter trips, especially if you make your apartment available for short term holiday rentals on platforms such as Airbnb and Booking.com, in order, for example, to finance your trip.
Before you decide to store your property due to a trip, however, you must be clear about the scope of the goods to be stored.
What should I store during a stay abroad?
The items and the inventory that you want to store naturally depend on your own preferences. However, you should take some points into consideration:
- Do you know your future subtenants personally, or will your apartment be sublet to unknown people, for example as a holiday apartment? If you trust your future subtenant, it is probably not necessary to clear out and store the entire apartment/the entire house during your holiday stay.
- How valuable are your inventory and your household goods? In almost all cases, damage or breakage will occur through subtenants. If, for example, you are used to eating your lunch from Villeroy & Boch tableware, you should perhaps store it and replace it with IKEA tableware.
- Do you want to rent out your apartment during your stay abroad with or without furniture? In the case of a holiday apartment rental, you have to provide furniture. In doing so, however, you can place some furniture into storage and replace it with cheaper variants.
- Is the storage only about your household goods, or are other parts of your property, including motor vehicles, motorcycles, and boats, also affected? Then it might be appropriate to find a Selfstorage provider that also offers the storage and safekeeping of motor vehicles.
If you have decided which inventory should be sent into storage during your trip, you have to calculate the space that you want to rent. In doing so, you can:
- Measure the stored goods piece by piece in order to calculate the storage scope
- Use an online storage space calculator that takes over the calculation of the required storage area for you
- Contact your future storage space landlord and ask for help with calculating the required storage area. Reputable Selfstorage and Full Service providers generally have trained and experienced customer service staff that support you in determining the volume of the stored goods.
How do I find the right storage solution for my stay abroad/while traveling?
As you can see, serious decisions already arise before your trip abroad. In addition to organizing your affairs and storing your household goods here in Germany, you also have to concentrate on your travel planning and the stay abroad.
Note that, in addition to storage, you also have to organize packing and carrying as well as transport and the professional storage of your belongings. If you have the impression that planning both here in Germany and for your trip or your stay abroad is getting over your head, you should, depending on the amount of the stored goods, commission a Full Service storage provider or a freight forwarding company with the move into the storage unit.
Full Service storage is a Selfstorage option in which your things are not only collected from your home, but also transported to the final storage location. There, your stored goods are set up professionally by trained staff and stored securely.
How do you plan your storage step by step before departure?
As already mentioned, about 15 % of Germans dream of spending some time abroad in order to broaden their horizons. However, very few manage to realize this dream. Many are already discouraged by the idea at the planning stage and give up.
Here we give you some tips and bullet points for proper planning on how you can organize and store your household in order to then set off on the trip:
Decision for a stay abroad/a trip (6 months – 1 year before the planned departure)
At the moment you have made the decision to go abroad, planning begins for what will happen to your household. If you live in rented accommodation, you have to find out whether you are allowed to sublet your apartment/your house. Homeowners should decide whether they want to rent out their property or leave it empty. Give yourself six months up to one year to make these important decisions.
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Determination of the stored goods (~ 4 months before departure)
If you have decided what should happen to your household during your trip, you can begin sorting and decluttering. Throw away everything that you can no longer use to save storage space. Make a list of the things that you want to store during your absence in order to get an idea of the storage scope.
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Contacting Selfstorage providers (~3 months before departure)
Investigate which storage options are available in your area. Visit several of the Selfstorage providers to find out how access to the storage areas is organized and which security measures are in place at the storage location. Ask about the contract terms for your planned storage period. Choose a Selfstorage or Full Service provider and book your storage space.
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Transport (2–3 months before departure)
If you commission Full Service storage with your storage, this step will presumably be omitted. Otherwise, you must note that freight forwarding companies and moving companies require a certain amount of leeway regarding the transport date. Therefore book in good time in advance. If a van is sufficient for you, you should possibly now look around for rental vehicles.
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Packing material (~2 months before departure)
Get sufficient packing material for your stored goods. Most of it you can obtain online or in the hardware store. Depending on the stored goods, your shopping list should include bubble wrap, corrugated cardboard, plastic boxes, cartons, foam filler, adhesive tape, labels, etc.
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Disassembly and packing (1 month – 2 weeks before departure)
About one month before your departure, the real packing activities should begin. First dismantle the furniture that you use least in everyday life. Start packing things that are not used every day. Continue the activity over the next weeks until only the most essential everyday items remain.
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Storing (week of departure)
A few days before the start of your holiday or before departure, you should finally store your things. If you have booked a freight forwarding company or Full Service storage, the things are collected from you and delivered to the storage facility. In the case of Full Service storage, your property is also stored professionally. In connection with a freight forwarding company, the storage depends on your agreement with the company.
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Departure
On the day of departure, you should be in an apartment that is fully or partially cleared out according to your wishes. Hand over your apartment/house keys to your subtenant or to a trusted person, and set off on your trip.
How do your stored belongings remain safe during your trip, but still accessible?
While you travel around the world, your things are kept under lock and key and are strictly guarded by your Selfstorage landlord.
However, note that certain things are not allowed to be stored and therefore are not covered by insurance. These include valuable items such as jewelry, art objects, furs, and coin/stamp collections. As a rule, inventory that requires special insurance cover and is not covered by conventional household contents insurance is excluded from Selfstorage.
It can also happen that, during your trip or your stay abroad, you find that you need documents or items that you have stored at home in Germany. Therefore it is important that you label your stored goods and appoint at least one trusted person who has access to your things and can collect the required documents or items for you from the storage facility.
If you have decided on Full Service storage and have rented storage boxes for the duration of your stay abroad, the process becomes easier. The boxes are individually provided with a barcode that corresponds to the contents you specified and thereby makes the search easier.
Also ensure that your storage space landlord can contact either you or a representative appointed by you at any time in an emergency in order to inform you of unexpected events.
