StorMe

StorMe lets college students rent storage space in local homes, slashing the high costs of storage units. It’s a win-win: affordable storage for out-of-state students, passive income for local hosts!

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Inspiration

One of our team members, an out-of-state student, faces the challenge of spending $80 per month on a storage unit every summer, only to use 10% of the total space. This allowed us to come up with StorMe - a marketplace to find a cheaper alternative for college students to store their belongings.

What it does

StorMe is a platform which connects hosts and renters in the Amherst area. Hosts in the area can rent out extra spaces or unused parts of their properties to students looking to store their belongings over break, helping both sides save money and maximize space utilization.

How we built it

We built the frontend with React, TypeScript, and TailwindCSS to create a clean, modern interface. For the backend, we used Express and Node.js, with PostgreSQL as our database. We utilized Docker to streamline deployment and manage the stack efficiently. We aimed to create an intuitive UI for students to find and book listings.

Challenges we ran into

This was our whole group's first time using practically all of the technologies utilized within this project. There was a steep learning curve, as we were unfamiliar with how things were organized, and how things worked in unison; as well as the individual functionality of each technology. This challenge, combined with the limited time frame, meant that we couldn’t implement all the functionalities we initially envisioned for StorMe, such as a functioning signup/login system with authentication, as well as unique profile pages for accounts.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We are proud of creating a novel idea in StorMe, implementing it in an aesthetic, functional manner. We are also proud of our teamwork, and our quick adaptation to all these new skills which all of the members of the team learned.

What we learned

We learned how to build a full stack project from scratch, and learned all the new technologies associated with building a full stack project, such as React, Git, Express, Node.js, and PostgreSQL.

Fun Facts

StorMe's logo was based entirely on a pun. 36 hours goes by extremely fast, not only when you are having fun, but also when you are learning several new technologies at once.

What's next for StorMe

If StorMe is successful within the UMass community, we wish to expand to the Five College Consortium, and then potentially expand to other colleges nationally.

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