Dickinson, ND winters are among the harshest in the country — and sub-zero temperatures, extreme dryness, and rapid temperature swings can permanently destroy books, documents, and paper archives stored without proper climate protection.
Dickinson's winters regularly push temperatures well below zero — and extreme cold does damage to paper-based items that many people don't anticipate until it's too late. Paper becomes brittle and cracks. Book bindings fail and spines collapse. Adhesives lose their grip. Photographs stick together permanently. Documents stored in a garage, basement, or non-climate-controlled unit through a North Dakota winter often don't survive intact. Storage Unit of Dickinson offers climate-controlled units that maintain a consistent, paper-safe environment through every brutal Dickinson winter and warm summer.
Before the first box goes into storage, invest time in preparation. Sort everything into keep, scan, and discard piles. Shred documents you're legally permitted to destroy — this reduces storage costs immediately. For everything you're keeping, scan the most important documents and back them up digitally in a secure cloud service. Organize remaining documents by category and date range before boxing so you can actually find things when you need them. Call (701) 690-5512 and Storage Unit of Dickinson will help you find the right unit size for your archive.
Books need careful handling before they go into storage in Dickinson's climate. Use small boxes — books are heavy and a large box quickly becomes unmanageable and damages spines at the bottom from weight. Store books upright with spines facing up, or completely flat — never resting on the spine or edges. Wrap rare, valuable, or sentimental books individually in acid-free tissue paper before boxing. In North Dakota's dry winter air, maintaining the right humidity level in a climate-controlled unit is crucial for preventing spine cracking and page brittleness — another reason a climate-controlled unit at Storage Unit of Dickinson is the right choice.
Dickinson businesses and professionals need to retain certain records for years — and a dedicated storage unit is one of the most cost-effective ways to manage a compliant archive. Label every box with document type, date range, and retention period. Number boxes and keep a digital index so any document can be located without opening every box. Store the most recent records at the front and oldest at the back. Plan an annual review to destroy records that have reached the end of their retention period and keep the archive lean and manageable.
Storage Unit of Dickinson offers clean, secure, and climate-controlled storage in Dickinson, ND — the only responsible environment for long-term book and document storage in North Dakota's demanding climate. Call (701) 690-5512 today to find the right unit and get your important papers properly preserved for years to come.