Do you have a storage unit?

[mountainsoft]

We have over 12 storage facilities along a 2-3 mile stretch of road on our way to town. Most are massive multi-story buildings. There are dozens more in any direction we travel. I just don't understand why people own so much stuff they have to pay to store it somewhere. They're not cheap either. The local U-Haul facility is advertising a "sale" of $80/month for a small 5x5 unit. That gets expensive fast.

We had a 5x5 storage unit when we first got married (1986) but only paid about $10 back then. Even at that price we only had it a few months as it seemed silly to pay to store stuff we weren't even using.

The last storage unit we paid for was when my mom had a stroke and we put her stuff in storage in order to sell her house. That was a 10x10 unit and cost $180/month! Ouch. After trying to sell a few of her things, we realized the storage unit cost more than the items were worth. So we got rid of everything after a couple months and ditched the storage unit. We could buy new things cheaper if she really needed them (she never did).

I can kind of understand people living in a small apartment. Our daughter stores her holiday decorations in our garage attic, so she would need to pay for storage if we didn't have the space available. Then again, it would probably be cheaper to just buy new decorations than to pay the monthly storage fees.

 

[Golden Mean]

Negative. And we park both of our cars in the garage. Unlike many of our neighbors who have turned theirs into a storage unit.

I think I'd use one if I ever decided to travel long enough to consider moving out of the place I rent/own.

 

[MC Rider]

We have a shed for that.

 

[Aerides]

I used one once, as I sold my house to move in with DH, but we both expected we'd move to a new place together the following year.

We didn't, and instead remodeled. So I think I had my stuff in storage (10x12') for almost 2 years, at about $200 a month even in the early 2000's.

I can see them being a good idea for a short term solution (ie, declutter your home before staging to sell), but for a long term to keep "stuff" - nope.

 

[RunningBum]

My running club has a storage unit. We have a lot of gear for races and it's much more convenient than spreading it out among the members and trying to find it all when needed.

When I go it seems I see more small business people getting stuff there (as best I can tell, from the logo pickup trucks) but the AI google answer is that 80-90% of storage units are used by individuals, and only 10-20% used by businesses.

Occasionally I think it would be nice to move some of my clutter to a storage unit but I'd be better off getting rid of that stuff.

 

[Souschef]

We moved from our manufactured home to an apartment. I had to do all the heavy lifting (figuratively) to clean out our home and storage shed.
I found a storage place just down the road and rented a 5x9 unit. The cost is less than what I was paying for homeowner's insurance on our old place.
I would like to get rid of all the stuff, but DW has a sentimental attachment to some of the stuff.
I will put up with it for family tranquility. It could be worse, we had a friend who still has 2 units back in Indiana with her mom's stuff in it.

 

[Sojourner]

I once heard that the self-storage industry in the U.S. was driven largely by the very high divorce rate in this country. Apparently, a typical scenario would be that one person moves out of the house, taking all their stuff with them, then ends up renting a storage unit because they can't fit everything into their new, smaller living space. And then they simply continue to store stuff there for years, out of habit and laziness.

To answer the OP's question, neither DW nor I (nor any of my close family or friends) have ever rented a self-storage unit.

 

[disneysteve]

Nope.

Unless you are in the midst of some sort of transition, a storage unit likely makes no sense. If you have so much stuff that it doesn’t fit in your home, you’ve got too much stuff. The cure for that is to do some serious decluttering. Shoving it all in a costly storage unit very likely never to be seen again is just ignoring the problem.

 

[Jerry1]

we realized the storage unit cost more than the items were worth.

When we moved to our current home, it required a significant amount of downsizing. Toward the end, the "easy to get rid of" stuff was all gone and it got really tense between me and DW. My main mantra was that the stuff was worth less than the storage and that we could just re-buy it if it ever came to us needing it again. She got rid of a bit more and now she lives with her office being a storage unit. It's not crammed full, but the closet is and the stuff seems to never be all put away. She also has a space in the garage but we do get one car in there which is fine because my truck wouldn't really fit in there anyway. I'd never rent a storage unit for more than a very temporary solution to a problem. Space wise, storing the Christmas items is the biggest problem.

 

[Sojourner]

I'd never rent a storage unit for more than a very temporary solution to a problem.

+1

 

[pb4uski]

Never had one. DSIL had one when he and DD first started dating. He was sharing an apartment with a couple other guys, moved home and put most of his furniture and some boxes in a storage unit. After a year, he realized that what he had paid for storage exceeded the value of the belongings therein by a wide margin so he got rid of it and most of the contents.

 

[Car-Guy]

My storage unit(s) are on my property. I had them build for my better collectable cars. They are all gone now so I've got plenty of storage room.

 

[aja8888]

No, all my "stuff" I don't need is either given away or trashed. I have more if anyone wants it.

 

[Mark1]

We have never had a storage unit and have always been able to park the cars in the garage too.

I'm not perfect, as we still have my grandma's china that my I believe DF brought back with him during the Korean war. It is in our china cabinet, but is never used so I shouldn't judge.

 

[pjigar]

My storage unit(s) are on my property. I had them build for my better collectable cars. They are all gone now so I've got plenty of storage room.

I hate paying monthly to someone to store stuff. But we also have a plenty of local storage for a lot of stuff/tools/materials/etc. I guesstimate about 500-600 sqft.

 

[StillFiguringItOut]

I got a storage unit once parents’ house had a buyer and a month before closing. 10x15, climate controlled, $185/mo, which of course went up after a year. Had it for three years total, but most of the stuff in there had sentimental value though not worth real $$$.

First six months, never went to it as I was dealing with my medical issues and grief. Then started going once a week to bring home a few things, sort between keep and give away. Didn’t really worry about the money, since it was cheaper than property taxes for one year on parents’ house, plus I didn’t have to shovel snow or mow grass.

I agree that storage units should really be for life’s transitions. Most of the units around me were being rented by small business owners, and that makes lots of $$ sense.

 

[FlaMariner]

I can't justify a storage unit........

The cost of the storage unit would quickly exceed the value of the stuff I put in it.....It is a much more positive business case for us to put storage stuff in the trash/goodwill/Salvation Army....and thus replace the stuff later, if a need arises.

 

[disneysteve]

We like to watch Storage Wars and are always amazed by two things.

1. People spend a fortune to store crap. Many of the lockers they open hold items barely worth even a month or two of the rent.

2. People store a ton of truly valuable items in units that end up abandoned. It makes you wonder what happened.

I guess the two lessons here are:
1. Before renting a unit, ask yourself if the stuff is worth more than the rent.
2. If you do rent a unit, make sure that your loved ones know about it. That way if something happens to you they can retrieve the items.

 

[Sunset]

I can't justify a storage unit........

The cost of the storage unit would quickly exceed the value of the stuff I put in it.....It is a much more positive business case for us to put storage stuff in the trash/goodwill/Salvation Army....and thus replace the stuff later, if a need arises.

+1

I do see some businesses in them frequently, so I guess some small businesses use them instead of renting warehouse space because it's cheaper if only a small spot needed.

 

[Lorenzo]

No, we don't rent a storage unit, but we should have. When a few years ago we decided that the scuba gear, camping gear, bicycles, kayaks and homebrewing equipment that had completely taken over the second bedroom of our condo (and then some) had become too much, we moved from the condo into a house, thinking that would solve the storage problem. But the house we could afford didn't have a garage (just a carport) or a basement, so we built a backyard storage shed. The shed project evolved from simple storage into a he-shed-she-shed with full-on HVAC, plumbing, etc. In the end, we realized we could have stayed in the condo and spent the same amount of money we put into the shed into renting a storage unit for 40 years.

 

[aaronc879]

I don't have one and would never use one for any long-term storage. My Dad got one briefly when his Mom passed and they had to empty out the house to sell it. I suppose I may have to do the same one day. That is the only use I can think of.

 

[mystang52]

There are a few of these storage places, and another one is opening shortly, in area of New Jersey. Clearly, there's a big market for these but I can't figure out why.

 

[JackJester]

Answer for me is 'Yes'. Normally I would never have one, but we are building a new house and need to sell the current one. We are downsizing from 3000 sqft to 800 sqft. We have gotten rid of lot a of stuff to goodwill and the dump, but we still have everything for the smaller house that needs to be stored for 6-8 months, not to mention trying to juggle 3 vehicles and a small camper. So, until the new one is ready we are renting a 10'x15' locker from Uhaul, and also an outdoor parking area (24'x40'). Not cheap, but necessary.

 

[finnski1]

No but I seriously considered building some as a retirement business. Once paid off they seem like cash cows.

 

[athena53]

Personally- never, but two sad stories.

When my Ex and I divorced he took the bulk of the furniture and other household stuff, including things that according to the Property Settlement were supposed to be mine. (I was on-site at a new consulting client the day he and his mover got what he took out.) I got over it- it had been a messy divorce and Stuff was replaceable. Despite having netted $100K from his share of the home equity, he stayed in a cheap motel, eventually ran through it all, and eventually stopped paying on the storage unit. All of it was sold. Sadly, it included his late mother's sterling silver, 2 sets of china (Rosenthal and Riyal Doulton) and a beautiful album of photos from his sister's first wedding that included a lot of beloved family members (and the family dog). Neither of us had any warning the goods were to be sold.

A dear friend who struggles with finances got a storage unit when he had the opportunity to work from home during COVID. It allowed him to clear out an area for a home office. From what I gather, mostly old family papers and other old family stuff that no one else wants and he can't bear to lose. He moved into a bigger apartment last year and said the increased rent would be offset by getting rid of the storage locker. Nope. He ended up getting two more for a few months and eventually consolidated everything down to the largest, but the garage in his new place (his old place didn't have a garage) is now- a storage area.

Those have been lessons learned for me. I'm planning on moving into a retirement community and am gradually paring down. With the luxury of time, I can list as Free Stuff on Craigslist, sell on e-Bay, donate to trash- whatever works. I try to be practical and unsentimental. When I sell the house I plan to give buyers a list of things I'll leave if they want- lawn mower, some of the furniture, a treadmill, etc.- with the stipulation that their decisions won't affect the price one way or the other. I'll then get rid of what they don't want before the closing. The retirement community has storage units for rent and I may need one as I settle in and see what I need/don't need but the ultimate goal will be to empty it ASAP.