“If only I had the space!” is something most of us have thought at some point in our lives. Whether it be an overly cluttered home, a partner`s expanding collection of 1940’s memorabilia, or any other life event. With property prices being so high and space being at a premium, we could all do with an extra room from time to time. This is something that Jo Moon of Totnes and Dartington Self Storage and Dartmouth Self Storage can help with. South Hams Online got the lowdown on the ever growing demand for self storage in today’s modern world….

How did the Indoor Self Storage Company come about?

The director spent a lot of time in America and self storage is a well known model over there. He brought the idea back with him after he finished sailing around the world. We spent a few years researching the topic and realised that indoor self storage was the model for us as opposed to container storage which is often containers in a muddy field!  We started Dartmouth Self Storage in 2015 and then opened the Totnes site in January 2018 where we have just finished our third expansion!  Ours is a premium product, from the bespoke steel used to make the rooms to the high spec PIN access control systems.  Every room is alarmed and with CCTV and fire and smoke alarms our customers have peace of mind that their belongings are well looked after.

What Services do you offer?

We offer indoor storage for home and business and have over 20 different sizes of rooms so there`s a space to suit everyone! . Everything from 20 square foot which is basically like a large wardrobe right up to 300 square foot which is like a large double garage and everything in-between. 

What sort of clients do you have?

A lot of the estate agents send people to us that have put their house on the market and need to declutter and put their personal belongings out of view - they might take something like a 20 or 25sq ft room.  We also have people who need extra space at home. I’ve got one lady for instance who has a unit to store her children’s toys. She comes every couple of weeks or so to swap them over so it’s basically a spare bedroom for her. Then you’ve got house moves who might take something like a 100 sq ft room which is basically garage sized. They generally want to rent space perhaps because they haven’t found somewhere else to live yet. We’ve got a lot of people at the moment who have sold large properties up country and they’re looking to move down here because of Covid. At all of these points people need storage and I can’t think of anybody that won`t need a bit of extra space at some point in their life. Then there are the businesses who store with us. We’ve got Ebayers, wine merchants and high street shops storing stock to name a few. We have a large loading bay and plenty of parking so customers can just drive up, pop into their room and grab what they need and go!   

How do you compare to the other storage options in the South Hams?

We're the only indoor self storage facility in the South Hams and are completely at the other end of the scale from containers. Because we have so many different sizes of room it means you only pay for the space you need. Customers can upsize or downsize as they need so it's really flexible too. The main thing is your goods are kept clean and dry and there's no problem with moisture like there can be if you store in a container.  We're a local company and so we're very easy for customers to get to and we have a fantastic Storage Team who love finding the right space for each customer.

What's your favourite part of the job?

I love helping people through what can be a very stressful time. We’re a really friendly company and we go out of our way to help people. No two days are the same – some days we might have someone turn up with all of their belongings in their car because their wife’s thrown them out the night before and the next we might have a customer whose parent has died and they need somewhere to store all their belongings until they can face going through them. We’re often speaking to people at a really difficult point in their lives so we always take time to sit them down in our lovely bright reception with a cup of coffee and do everything we can to make the moving journey just that little bit easier. We get to be there in their hour of need and help in that small but very significant way. It’s a people centred role and I love that!

What does the future hold for the company?

In Totnes, we are really excited to get our latest phase underway with lots of new units available from January 2021 and the Dartmouth store has really become part of the community supporting lots of local charities.  Indoor Self Storage is a fast expanding industry and we hope to expand with it.

Visit Totnes and Dartington’s Self Storage’s listing or Dartmouth Self Storage’s listing on southhams.com for their full contact details.