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Self Storage vs. A Records Storage Company – What Makes More Sense?

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by jklise

April 15th, 2018

The self storage business has been around since the late 1960s. Today it’s big business; an estimated 44,000 to 52,000 facilities offering more than 2.3 billion square feet of space are in the United States. You probably drive by several locations in the course of doing errands, visiting family and friends, or going to and from work. Chances are you know at least one person or company that uses a self storage facility to house furniture and belongings or business records.

Self storage is designed for storing items short term. Like when your parents are gone and you and your siblings need time to divvy up their possessions. Or when you need to empty out Great Grandma Jean’s apartment but can’t bear to give away all of her treasures at once.

Frequently, though, small and midsize businesses use self storage facilities for business records. They run out of space in their office so moving their files seems like the simplest, fastest way to solve their problem.

But how convenient is a self storage unit when you’re storing business papers you periodically need access to, and you have to drive to the unit in the middle of your workday? Not very.

And how cost-effective is a self storage unit when you need to store thousands of medical, legal or business files indefinitely? Not very.

The better solution is to store your documents with a records storage company like Paper Tiger. Here’s why.

Security. A records storage company like Paper Tiger is designed for companies to affordably store their documents in a modern, secure, private warehouse with advanced electronic security monitoring, heat/fire/smoke sensors, and a comprehensive sprinkler system.  

Cost. Instead of paying $100-$175 a month for a 10’ x 10’ self storage unit that is challenging to navigate (many people stack boxes from the floor to the ceiling in their unit), a records storage company is far less expensive. Paper Tiger’s customers pay $59/month for up to 245 boxes.  

Convenience. At Paper Tiger, for example, we use cutting-edge bar-coding and inventory-tracking equipment to set up a customized system for each set of records. We are able to track each file in each box and can retrieve information at a moment’s notice. When a client calls at 3pm on a Tuesday and says, “We need File XYZ for a 9am meeting tomorrow,” we are able to say, “No problem – we will drop it off.” We also provide clients with an array of reports for tracking purposes.

Finally, if you happen to choose a records storage company that is also a professional document shredding company (like Paper Tiger) there is another huge benefit over self storage: as your records age to the point where you no longer need to access or legally store them, all you have to say is, “Can you now please shred Boxes A-M? Thank you.”

Since 1997, Paper Tiger Document Solutions has handled records storage and residential and commercial shredding throughout the Chicago area and northeastern Wisconsin. Whether we provide shredding services at a client’s location in one of our mobile trucks, or we pick up documents and shred them at our facility, we provide a Certificate of Document Destruction.

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