Storage for Sun Valley households

Sun Valley sits just north of Sparks and Reno. The Census shows about 22,200 people, 6,900 households, 75.5 percent owner-occupied, with a median home built around 1990 and a median value near $349,100. With so few residents moving each year, households carry decades of belongings. When change comes, whether a sale, a death in the family or a move to a care community, the first job is sorting.

Low turnover, deep closets

A neighborhood where 6.3 percent move each year is a neighborhood of long tenure. Garages and sheds hold furniture from earlier stages of a family's life, and decisions about what to keep take time. Storage buys that time.

Vaults hold the undecided: the dining set that may suit the next home, the bedroom furniture waiting on a decision.

Close to the warehouse

The Census point is 6.7 miles and about 13 minutes from 2277 Glendale Ave, a short trip. The crew packs and loads wooden vaults of 7 ft x 7 ft x 5 ft, closes them and stacks them in the 30,000 sq ft warehouse by forklift.

Because the distance is small, there is room to take storage in stages: a first load now, a second after the sorting is done.

Sun Valley storage cases

• Clearing a home after a long tenure before listing it
• Moving to a smaller place and keeping some furniture for later
• Making space during a remodel
• Holding belongings during a transition to senior living

Planning the stages

See estate and downsizing storage for how families work through a long-held house, and long-term storage tips for what to expect over many months. The free in-home estimate includes 10 free heavy-duty boxes. Stored goods ship with about 2 to 3 weeks notice.

Going through a lifetime of belongings

Families sorting a long-held house often make three piles: keep, sell or donate, and decide later. The third pile is the one that goes into vaults. Because the crew lists what goes in, the decision can wait without anything being lost, and relatives who live elsewhere can review the inventory before the vaults are opened.