Student Storage Near Claremont McKenna College | CMC Student Storage
You have probably already looked at the flights. Two thirds of the first-year class comes from outside California, and the picture in your head is the same one every May: book the trip, rent something with a hatch, and spend a Saturday carrying a mini-fridge down a stairwell at Claremont McKenna College. Every student, seniors included, is out by noon on the Sunday, and the college stores none of it. Coffee in Claremont Village and a drive up to Mount Baldy are what that weekend should be for. That is what student storage near Claremont McKenna College buys back, and it is why families book Claremont McKenna student storage instead of the trip.
Valet
CMC sits in the middle of the Claremont Colleges and shares a library, a campus safety office and a health service with the six other institutions on the same 546 acres. What it does not share is housing. The Claremont Museum of Art is a walk away, the San Gabriels start where the town ends, and Claremont Village is close enough that most students go four years without keeping a car here. That is the appeal, and in the third week of May it is the whole problem: six other colleges are emptying into the same few streets, and the nearest storage is out on Arrow Highway.
Why CMC Students Need Student Storage Near Claremont McKenna College
When finals end the housing contract ends with them, and the room has to be cleared within days of the last exam. The vast majority of CMC students live on campus, so the date is set by Residential Life and not by a landlord. The college opened in 1946 and has set that calendar itself ever since. Storage near Claremont McKenna College has to cover fourteen weeks with nothing left on campus.
The squeeze is that the packing and the exams fall in the same week. Donation bins go into the hall lounges in the days before closing, textbooks go back to the CARE Center in Heggblade, and a late departure is billed by the half hour. A room shipped home in May and back in August costs more than storing it here. Halls reopen for returning students on the last weekend of August, which is a little over fourteen weeks with nowhere on campus to leave a bicycle.
The Traditional Claremont McKenna Student Storage Experience
The default plan is a rented unit off Arrow Highway and somebody in the family to drive to it. That means a flight for the parent, a vehicle at the far end, and an afternoon of stairs at the point in the year when the student still has two finals to sit. Then the same afternoon in reverse in August.
Counted honestly, the trip is the expensive half and the unit is the cheap half: airfare, two or three nights, a car, meals, and a truck by the day with mileage and insurance on top. That is also the version where nothing goes wrong, in a week when plenty does. Families avoid most of that by choosing a service with the pickup and the delivery included.
Box-n-Go: CMC Student Storage Made Simple
CMC student storage takes the trip out of the plan. The boxes or the container arrive at the hall, a crew carries the load out of the building, and it waits in an indoor warehouse until a date in August that you pick. Nobody in the family has to be in Claremont for any of it. Before the boxes go anywhere, Packing and Protecting: How to Box, Wrap and Prep Your Belongings is worth ten minutes.
Self-Load Flex Container: Claremont McKenna Summer Storage for Apartments
For students moving out of apartments with furniture and larger items, the Self-Load Flex container is the one to take, and it runs from May to August. The container is eight feet by five by seven and it is delivered to the apartment, the house, or the parking lot the college assigns for containers. The window is short: it arrives about four days before move-out and is collected by the Monday after it. The lot changes from year to year, so check the current one with Residential Life. It rests on the ground the whole time it is there, so nothing has to go higher than waist height and no ramp is involved. Terms you have not met before are defined in Student Storage Terms: A Plain English Glossary.
It gets loaded across several days rather than in one afternoon, which is the only way the week works while exams are still running. When it is full we collect the whole thing and put it indoors. In August it goes to whichever address the student is moving into. It earns its place when there is furniture in the load and not only cartons.
This is the smaller of the two services here, because it goes to the few who are not in a hall. A quad can put one container between four and divide it four ways. Loading help can be booked if nobody in the room wants to carry anything.
A La Carte Valet: Storage Near CMC for Dorm Residents
For dorm residents and students with fewer belongings, the A La Carte Valet service reaches the same storage near CMC, priced by the box rather than by the container. You are charged per item, so a room that yields a lamp, a fan and a dozen cartons costs exactly that.
Your kit is mailed out ahead of pickup day and holds five Box-n-Go U Boxes, tape and a marker. That count is a starting point and not a ceiling: request extra boxes, adjust the kit before it goes out, or use boxes of your own. These boxes are made for a student room in storage. The cardboard is heavier than the kind a hardware store sells flat and the flaps overlap the whole way across, because these boxes spend the summer underneath other boxes. Fill them across a week, then choose the pickup slot. The crew collects everything from your room at the scheduled time, labels each piece, loads it onto the truck and stores it indoors, then brings it back to your room when the new term opens.
It is not restricted to boxes. A bicycle, a mini-fridge, a desk chair and a rug all go on the same collection. Charging by the box is what keeps a small load small on the invoice. For a first-year student it is usually the whole reason a parent does not book a flight across the country to help carry cartons.
Other Storage Options Near CMC
Conventional self storage exists around Claremont and it is worth knowing what is on the map. Keep in mind that these options require you to transport items yourself using a truck or large vehicle and typically involve monthly contracts with less flexibility:
- Extra Space Storage, 775 S Mills Ave, Claremont, CA 91711
- Public Storage, 2026 W Foothill Blvd, Upland, CA 91786
- Extra Space Storage, 525 W Arrow Hwy, Claremont, CA 91711
- Public Storage, 10580 Benson Ave, Montclair, CA 91711
- Extra Space Storage, 2680 N Garey Ave, Pomona, CA 91786
- Public Storage, 211 W Allen Ave, San Dimas, CA 91711
- Extra Space Storage, 1675 W 11th St, Upland, CA 91786
- Public Storage, 5587 Holt Blvd, Montclair, CA 91786
These are the Claremont options, and every one of them wants a car and an afternoon. For a student with no car and two exams still to sit, the traditional version is not really available at all.
What Students and Parents Say
From students and parents at campuses across Southern California who have used it:
"Needed to store the contents of my college dorm in southern California over the summer, so I ordered some a la carte boxes and packed up myself. Box-N-Go provided the boxes, scheduled the pickup, and kept my things in storage until I could come back for the next semester and have them delivered to my new dorm. The moving guys were friendly, efficient, and really good about calling beforehand so I knew when to meet them. Didn't lose anything, even the stuff that wasn't in the provided boxes. Freddy, the customer service contact I talked to over the phone, was incredibly patient and made sure I was always in the loop about the pickup/drop-off schedule. 10/10, would trust them with my stuff again."
- Shawn T.
"Thank you very much. We Will use again. Very helpful. Thank you to Henry for all the help."
- M F., UCLA, CA
"We used this company for our UCLA student storage over the summer. A wonderful experience so far. They communicate well. Their crew is very polite and efficient. Highly recommend this company."
- Imogene C.
"Box n go has been a great storage solution for daughter in college. Easy to order online, they send all storage materials, and pick up for you. We are using them for a second year this year and communication has been great. We had to change the pick up date and they were super accommodating. Grateful to have this easy system for dorm storage over the summer!"
- Amirra M.
CMC Student Storage Tips: Preparing for Move-Out Success
Four things cause nearly all the trouble: food, liquids, mini-fridges and open toiletries. Everything below is aimed at those:
- Keep every box under fifty pounds. Overloaded boxes are unsafe to lift and collapse when stacked.
- Nothing that pours, nothing that spoils. Shampoo, detergent, half-finished drinks and anything sealed in the pantry all find a way out in a warm truck. Tape the lids, bag them, or leave them behind.
- Defrost the mini-fridge a day before pickup. Then clean and dry it, and clean the microwave. A fridge packed damp comes back smelling of what was in it.
- Label all sides of every box. Student name, a phone number, and where it is going. Boxes are stacked, and the top is the one face nobody can read.
- Trash bags are dust covers, not luggage. Never let one carry weight. Roll mattress toppers rather than folding them, and bag them.
- Pad anything breakable and mark it fragile. Wrap each piece individually. Nothing loose rattling in drawers.
- Photograph the inside of each box before taping it. It takes a second and it is the only inventory anybody actually keeps.
- Keep passport, medication, laptop and chargers with you. Nothing needed in the next few days goes into storage.
Cover for the higher-value items is described in Box-n-Go Protection Plans and Damage Waivers.
The whole sequence is set out in the student storage move-out checklist, which is worth reading before anything is taped shut.
Frequently Asked Questions: Storage Near Claremont McKenna
When do I pay for the service?
You will typically be charged for the packing kit and shipping during the order. You will pay for storage of your boxes and items after they have been picked up.
Can I store my bicycle?
Yes. Bicycles, skis, snowboards, golf clubs, and other sports equipment can be stored. Bikes typically count as a separate item. Clean your bike before storage to prevent dirt and grease from transferring to other items.
Can I store furniture?
Yes. Futons, desks, chairs, shelving, bed frames, and other furniture can be stored. Large items may need to be disassembled. Wrap or protect upholstered items to keep them clean.
| Self Load | A la Carte Valet | |
|---|---|---|
| Furniture Prep | You | You |
| Pack Boxes | You | You |
| Load Storage | You | We Do |
| Prorate | Yes | No |
| Access Notice | 1 Day | 3 Day |
| Min. Return Notice | 7 Days | 5 Days |
Can I use my own boxes?
Yes, if they are sturdy and not already worn out. A soft box collapses under a summer of other boxes on top of it. Our own U Boxes are heavier board with flaps that overlap the whole way across.
How should I pack electronics?
Use original packaging when possible. If not available, wrap electronics in bubble wrap or soft materials and place in sturdy boxes. Back up important data before storing computers or hard drives.
Should I store my mattress or mattress topper?
You can store mattress toppers: roll them tightly and place them in a plastic bag to keep them clean and dry. Standard dorm mattresses belong to the university and should not be removed. If you have your own mattress off campus, use a mattress bag.
Box-n-Go Student Storage at Nearby Southern California Schools
The same service covers the other Claremont campuses and the rest of Southern California. We run the same service at these campuses:
The Claremont Colleges Student Storage
Pomona College Student Storage
Pitzer College Student Storage
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Scripps College Student Storage
Harvey Mudd College Student Storage
University of La Verne Student Storage
Storage Resources for Stags and Athenas
CMC students use it at both ends of the year: residential hall storage in May and summer break solutions through to August. The full list of campuses is under student storage options. Compare Box-n-Go lines the choices up side by side, and Why Box-n-Go Storage and Moving explains why the company exists at all.
Get Started with Student Storage Near Claremont McKenna College Today
Book in April rather than in the week of the exams. The slots nearest the noon Sunday deadline go first. A container if there is furniture, A La Carte if it is a room in South Quad: either way it is one decision. Cancellations, access and what is charged when are all in Box-n-Go Service Policies.
Call and hold a date before the Sunday deadline books out:
Phone: 877-269-6461
The Google Business Profile carries the reviews that did not fit on this page, and the map of what we cover.
Box-n-Go Student Storage. Serving Southern California students since 2006. BBB Accredited Business | Member, California Self Storage Association.
