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The Money Pit: Mini Storage

Writer's picture: Hilary JayHilary Jay

Human laziness is the self-storage industry’s best friend. It’s easy to throw things in boxes and stash them away for another day, especially things we don’t particularly like or want in the first place: grandma’s floral china pattern for 12, Uncle Oscar’s retired baseball equipment, and boxes of kids’ school projects that even your kids won’t look through. We’re sentimental and decision-averse, draining us both emotionally and financially. Or worse, we tell ourselves these things are worth holding for the day we may need that king size bed frame finished in crackle pink paint. At an average $100 per month, we pay for a future that generally doesn’t arrive.


Tales of strange stuff found in self-storage units are legion. In 1989, James Bond’s submarine car from The Spy Who Loved Me turned up in a unit on Long Island. After being auctioned for $100, the restored car later sold at auction to Elon Musk $997,000.


The first Superman comic book, Action Comic No. 1, was found in a San Fernando, California facility. Worth $1million, Nicholas Cage, its rightful owner, welcomed it back.According to the Self Storage Association, the U.S. commercial real estate industry has been one of the fastest-growing for over three decades. There are more than 51,000 facilities in the United States, home to 90% of self-storage businesses. One in ten households have a storage facility - 54% of those being Gen Xers, 40% millennials and 25% of Gen Z. Rentable self-storage space in the U.S. totals more than 2.3 billion square feet, about three times the square footage of Manhattan. That’s the definition of a cash cow industry.


Of course, legitimate reasons for renting storage units exist.

  • Short-term, off-site storage makes sense when you’re buying or selling a home, and need bridge space to hold your worldly possessions. Or, you need space to stash your overflow when staging a home for potential buyers.

  • Storage is a good option when you’re moving for your job, and don’t yet have a place to live yet.

  • Alternative storage is indispensable if you happen to collect antique boats or other sizable investments like fine art that’s on view in installments. If that’s you, check that the facility has climate control and insurance to safe guard things easily damaged by water, heat, and humidity.

  •  Equipment intensive small businesses may find storage units less expensive than renting an office with a built-in warehouse.

  • Likewise, a storage unit stocked with filing cabinets can be a terrific solution for storing paperwork and visual archives that don’t require regular access.

Before spending money that only propels inertia, run a cost-benefit analysis. Are the things being stored valuable enough to warrant that chunk of your budget? Would your funds be better spent investing in a custom closet or custom cabinetry that will increase the value of your home, rather than drain your wallet?. How about donating your furniture to families in transition from homelessness or displacement.

In the final analysis, de-cluttering will cost you less, lift your spirits, lighten your load, and might even make you some money.


Hilary Jay is a collection curator and project manager. Her transition concierge company, Department of Better, serves the Delaware Valley. She loves a challenge. Write her with yours. hello@departmentofbetter.co


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