Downtown Mini-Storage

I have a great little unit that is inside and that I can drive right up to. By Inside I mean I drive into the giant building. It’s pretty cool! Not all of the interior «climate controlled» units are drive up, some are down little passageways, so be sure you go in and look at the maps with the friendly staff when you sign up. I put «climate controlled» in quotation marks because it’s not like it’s some museum quality climate control. It is kept at a nice even cool temperature and seems dry enough. My only complaint is that a lot of the lights are burnt out in the main building, and while it’s basically light enough to see in my unit (the ones above it are currently working) it’s best if you remember to take a battery operated lantern. It might feel a little creepy to some, but I grew up in an old house with a rather creepy basement and attic and I feel right at home there. Again, it’s best to go in and see what’s available. The front desk person will probably show you around, but I think there”s usually only one person even working there at a time, so sometimes that may not work. Friendly, convenient, affordable. I feel like maybe they don’t take credit cards as I always pay with a check, but maybe I’m in an old rut or something. Oh, and you get a little discount if you pay 6 months at a time in advance!

I have been meaning to write a review of this place for years, as I have been using it on and off for years, so here I go.
It’s a mini storage. Nothing glamorous. I grew up in Eugene and I remember ages ago it used to be some sort of shopping center, which apparently got converted. It’s an ugly building, but I’m giving the place five stars because it has what you need for storage:
– the people who work there are really friendly and polite. They try to help, they have supplies for moving, they have recommendations for local services, they accommodate. Friendly and helpful.
– the place seems secure. The inside part is all locked up when nobody is working there (note: plan ahead! you can’t get in there either). The whole facility seems pretty busy all the time. There’s some commercial space in front, which maybe is why there is traffic.
– prices seem fine. I checked around once and the prices all seemed pretty similar.
– you can drive to your unit, even the indoor heated ones.
All in all, friendly, clean and uncreepy. They have been there forever. It’s in the middle of town and easy access from freeways. Can’t think of much else I would want.

2:30 am and my wife by my side, U-​haul truck stuffed to the gills with detritus of five years in Portland, the familiar stretch of I-​5 in front of us. A marathon packing job lasting 6 straight hours saw our adult lives packed into boxes and carefully labeled and categorized and everything else weeded out to the garbage for lack of space.
Eugene was our destination but we had yet to find an apartment. We needed to put all of this somewhere while we sorted things out. I personally am for the most part completely against the idea of becoming a pack rat and storing things in Mini-​Storage for eternity on the thought that the contents are more valuable than the cost of storing them for months (years?, decades?). I placated my internal struggles by convincing myself we would find a place soon and relieve my angst and financial burden in new digs near the University. It took slightly longer than expected so I’m glad we found Downtown Mini-​Storage to store our stuff.
Downtown Mini-​Storage is a bit of a misleading name in the fact it is not downtown at all but halfway to the airport near the intersection of the train tracks and Chambers/​River Rd. Also they clearly do more than mini storage because there were quite a few large boats and RV’s as well.
The front desk service is friendly and the cost was reasonable for an unconditioned unit. The gate was secured with a passcode and the units were clean and well lit. We ended up using storing our things there for 2 months but that seemed reasonable and they prorated the beginning and ending of our storage.
I hope not to need to use mini-​storage much in the future but this experience certainly changed my attitude toward it slightly. It can be very useful if used in moderation and will not necessarily create any long term health risks.