Westminster, CA: Top Things to Know About Storage

This Year’s Forecast:  Sunshine and No Clouds

The main reason that people move to California and deal with its high cost of living is because of its gorgeous weather.  It’s true—California does have some of the best weather around, especially Westminster, which is in the heart of Orange County.  It barely rains, doesn’t get too cold, and it’s probably the only place in the U.S. that you’ll see people wearing shorts and flip flops in the middle of December.  However, just like everything else in life, there is a downside to the weather.  For one thing, it’s very unpredictable.  It can be raining one minute, and the next thing you know it’s super hot and sunny.  On the flip side, you should always keep a jacket in your car because you never know when it’ll get super cold.  These instances are far and few, but when they happen, they happen.

In terms of storing your stuff in Westminster, you don’t have to worry too much about things that can be affected by humidity because the summers are dry.  Temperatures do go over 100 degrees every now and then, so if you’re storing things that can be damaged by high heat, like wine, antiques or oil based paintings, be sure to store them in a climate controlled unit.

Wind, Fires, and Ashes

You should also know about the infamous Santa Ana winds.  These are strong, dry winds that originate inland but affect coastal areas like Westminster.  They mainly occur during autumn and winter, but are known for starting regional wildfires.  Thankfully, Westminster has remained safe from the actual fires, but has had to deal with the wind blowing ash all over the city.  There have actually been fires whose ashes have blackened the city’s skies and grounds.  If you’re storing your stuff in a storage facility in Westminster, look into the facility’s cleaning schedule and how well the units’ doors protect against debris.  Be sure to ask the facility manager about how their tenants were affected by the fires and what measures the facility took to clean up afterwards.

The Ocean and Rust

Westminster is a coastal city, so when looking for a storage unit, try to find one that is more inland.  Ocean air has a high salt content, which can have a bad impact on things in your storage unit, especially if you’re storing things made out of metal.  If you’re storing your bike, classic car, or RV, try to store in a facility that is farther from the coast.

Surf’s up, Dude

There are actually a lot more reasons for you to avoid storing things close to the beach, unless it's a kayak or something.  First of all, there’s a lot of traffic around the beach on sunny days, which is pretty much always the case in Westminster.  Even in the winter you’re bound to find that the beach is packed because it’s 80 degrees outside.

In late July and early August, Huntington Beach, which is the closest beach to Westminster, has the U.S. Open of Surfing.  It’s America’s largest pro surfing competition and attracts the world’s best surfers every year.  The tournament lasts a few weeks and is generally attended by about 200,000 spectators.  It’s a huge event in which there are live bands, vendors, and a sports expo.  The preparations for this tournament start much in advance, which means that local storage units are filled with things that will be used by the people hosting the event.  This also means huge traffic jams in and around the area, which will make it harder to get to your storage unit.  If you’re looking to store things over the summer that you’ll need to get to fairly often, store them in facilities that are far from Huntington Beach so you’re not stuck in traffic with the beach boys and beach girls who are trying to attend the tournament.  If you have things that you won’t be using at all during the summer, storing near the beach is not a problem.

College Student Take Over

Westminster is surrounded by 28 colleges and universities, and that’s only counting the ones that are in Orange County.  As soon as you hit Los Angeles, which is only about 30 miles away, there’s a whole new district of schools.  In Orange County alone, the University of California, Irvine, California State University Fullerton, and California State Long Beach have a cumulative population of about 90,000 students.  That’s the population of three out of 28 schools, meaning there are tons of more students in the area.  What this means is that storage facilities in Westminster and its surrounding areas are jam packed during the summer because that’s when students are using them the most.  If you’re in need of storage during the summer, make sure you plan well in advance and find a unit before the students take them.