Guess what freshman… Mom has converted your room to her home office, her sewing lounge or fill-in-the-blank empty nest syndrome coping mechanism. Dude, time to store your stuff.

If you’re going home for the summer, you probably need to find a place to store your crap. If you’re crashing on a buddy’s couch for the summer – this is the smart move, because a college town in the summer is still a lot more fun than the boring suburbia town you grew up in. College towns usually include good deals for students especially in the summer. Here are 5 things to look for in a self storage facility.

1. Climate-control

It’s going to be freaking hot out. Unless for some reason you want a drive-up unit, spend the extra couple bucks and get a climate-controlled unit. This will be your best shot at convincing friends to help you move. Well, this and a couple 30-packs.

2. College clientele

Ask upper classmen where they’ve stored their stuff and find a facility close to campus. If nothing else, you increase your odds of running into a hot co-ed who you can help move and you look like a saint. Boom! Your summer nights just improved drastically.

3. Mullets/rattails

Are these 80s hairdos awesome? Yes. But if you see a manager rocking either, would you want that person watching over your things? Not likely. Next year if you’re moving into a rental house, you want to steer clear of slum lords. Same goes for self storage; slum and bad 80s hairdos always seem to go together.

4. Security

Most facilities have a gate that requires an access code and surveillance cameras monitoring the site. If they don’t, take your business elsewhere.

5. Cats

If people are storing their cats, that’s just creepy. (Yes, some idiots store their cats in self storage.) If there are strays hanging around the facility, it’s probably because mice are nearby. Mice will ruin your crap.

And the last bit of advice… Make sure you pay your bill so you don’t end up on a crappy reality show as your stuff is auctioned off to Billy Bob Joe. Maybe Mom will help pitch in.