Every time I drive down the freeways of any town, I'm always shocked by the HUGE number of storage facilities. You can literally spot these places on just about every other off/on ramp in any town. Keep an eye out for them next time you are out on a long drive. If you haven't noticed them before I think you'll be shocked when you stop and notice just how many there are!
According to the Self Storage Association (did you even know that there is a Self Storage Association? Speaks volumes if you ask me), the self storage industry has been one of the largest commercial real estate sectors in the U.S. for the past 35 years. It's incredible to me that we now even have television shows where people bid on storage units hoping to make a big return on what's inside. Apparently there is an "art" to looking at the front contents of a unit and determining if there will be anything of value inside. Who knew?
Now I have to admit that I've used a storage facility in the past. When I married my husband we had two homes to sell before we could buy our home together. My house sold first, so I packed up those items we were going to keep for our new home and put them in storage. It made sense because his house was for sale and we couldn't clutter his space with my possessions and expect it to show well. So, I do understand that there is a purpose, a reason and time for self storage units. However beyond a need such as moving, temporary storage between relocating, etc., I just really don't understand why Americans have so much stuff that they find a need to not only fill up their homes but need additional storage space in order to keep all of their possessions.
At the end of 2008 there were approximately 51,000 self storage facilities in the country! In fact there is 7.4 square feet of storage space for every person in the nation - meaning that every person in the country could stand under a self storage roof at the same time. Does this sound crazy to anyone but me? I've not had the occasion to travel much over seas but my husband has and he has told me that he has never once seen a self storage unit in other parts of the world.
As Americans many of us live a life where we believe more is better. I ask you however, how is more better when chances are you don't even know what it is you have? If you have a storage unit I challenge you to make a list and recall everything in that space. Can you do it? I bet not. Why do we spend hundreds and thousands of dollars storing items we may one day have a need for if we can't even remember all it is that we have? Chances are when and if you end up needing something that is stored in your storage unit, you may end up going to buy new simply because you forgot you have the item stored away!
If you are paying for self storage, ask yourself when was the last time you used these items? Is it worth paying good money to keep them? How important are these items that they are not good enough or important enough to go in your home? If your answer is "I don't know" or "no," then I highly recommend you spend a day at your unit and take your items to a local charity for donation. The tax write off may be of a benefit to you and just think about what you'll be able to enjoy doing with the money you've been spending to rent that space each month! Take up a new hobby, save and go on a vacation and truly enjoy the "uncluttered" feeling of being free of that monthly payment and those old possessions.
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