Ideally the modern central Toronto homes development will have your unit available for you as soon as you close on the sale of your old house, but things don't always work out that way. Sometimes construction gets delayed, sometimes the previous owners of your new house can't get packed up in time, and sometimes you just don't know where you're going to head next. In cases like these, your stuck with a truck full of belongings and nowhere to put them - unless you put them in storage. Here's some info on storing your stuff in the interim.

There are two ways to go about storing your belongings. The first is to hire a full service moving company like Premiere or North American Van Lines. These companies have their own storage facilities in most of the cities in which they operate. If you hire them, you have the option of storing your stuff in their facility until your Toronto condo is ready. They'll pick the stuff up and drop it off when and where you want. Or, if you're going the self service or discount route, you can rent your own storage unit at a self storage place.

To find a self storage facility, look in the yellow pages under "storage." There are several companies, like Atcan, Sentinel, and Storage Mart that are chains with branches all over the country, and each city will also have locally owned places where you can store your woodworking machinery. If you choose to self store, you will have to arrange for your possessions to be transported to and from the storage facility, sign a rental agreement with the storage company, and choose the size of the storage unit that you need to contain your belongings.

Storage units come in a variety of sizes from small closets that will hold a few extra boxes to huge warehouses where you can house your airplane. Staff at the storage facility can advise you on how much space you need based on the size of the home you packed up and show you the different units. Once you have all the patio umbrellas in Toronto squeezed into your unit, you will need a padlock to secure the door. You will also have to get a code or key from the attendant so you can enter the facility.

Some storage facilities are not climate controlled, so it's important to check whether your modern bathroom vanity is going to deteriorate if exposed to the heat of summer and the cold of winter. Remember to pay your storage bill and to pick your things up on time or the facility owner is legally allowed to sell or throw away your things.