Sharing a storage unit with friends who also need storage space is a good way to reduce storage costs. This is particularly true if you don't want to store too many things. However, sharing a storage unit can also create disagreements between friends if you don't go about it the right way. The following tips can help you share storage space without too many complications.

Create Separate Inventories

You need to know the items everyone wants to store in the unit and creating an inventory is the best way to do this. The inventories will help you confirm that no one wants to keep prohibited or illegal items in the unit. Second, the inventories will help ensure that everyone gets their items during retrieval. This is particularly critical if your items are roughly similar. The inventories also help you to know when something is missing in the unit.

Agree on Space Sharing

Don't just rent a storage unit without agreeing on how much space everyone will get. What if you assumed that you would share the space equally and someone comes with items that fill three-quarters of the unit? Know the size of the unit you want to rent and agree on how much space each person will get.

Agree On the Payment Plan

The most common reason for sharing storage space is to save on storage costs. Therefore, there is a high risk of disagreement if you don't agree on how you will share the costs. For most people, the best way to do this is for everyone to pay the rent proportional to their space usage. For example, if you are sharing the space equally, you should also share the rent equally.

Label Your Storage Boxes

It is easy to grab the wrong box in a hurry if the boxes are similar in size or shape. Using different boxes can help, but it is not necessary. Just label the boxes, perhaps with your initials, so that everyone can identify their items with ease. This is particularly necessary if you are not sharing the unit equally.

Have a Written Agreement

You may be best friends when you are signing the lease, but that doesn't mean that you will always be friends. Besides, even friends disagree. Circumstances out of your control may also trigger controversies somewhere down the line. Thus, it's critical to have a written agreement detailing all the above. Your agreement should detail who is responsible for paying the rent, how you are sharing the rent, and how you are sharing the storage space, among other issues.

Hopefully, the above tips will help you keep the peace between friends while sharing a storage unit. Note that whoever signs the agreement with the storage facility will be accountable for the rent payments as far as the facility is concerned.

For more information, contact a self-storage facility near you.