If you’re reading this over breakfast, the following may kill your appetite:
America has more than four times as many self-storage facilities as Starbucks locations. That's right: 53,000 storage facilities to 12,000 Starbucks coffee shops, to 14,000 McDonalds nationwide.
In fact, our country has more storage facilities than all the Starbucks, McDonald's and Subways combined.
53,000!!! The rest of the world has a combined 10,000.
An article from The Post and Courier has sparked some controversy amongst Charleston residents about yet another storage facility in the works to break ground on Coleman Boulevard. You can read more from this article here.
My takeaway message is this: storage facilities, and those who build them are not the problem here…
The NEED for so much off-site storage is the problem.
I am not against storage facilities. Storage units are a perfect temporary solution when used temporarily and wisely. Key word being temporarily. If you do store, have a brief time limit in mind and stick to it.
In Charleston especially, the demand for self storage units have risen due to:
Historic homes with less original storage areas
Need for storing furniture and items as you undergo home renovations and transitions
The trend towards apartment and condo living with less storage space
People downsizing (empty nesters) holding onto things for their children
“It’s driven by population growth and the anticipation of further population growth.”
With an average of 35 people moving to the region each day, we are simply running out of room for people to keep their stuff.
The problem is, as a society we’ve equated quality of life with having more, while in fact I would argue the opposite to be true.
What you do not have, you do not have to clean, sort, store, file, maintain, worry about, organize or pay for the real estate it takes up. Having too much stuff and being disorganized go hand in hand.
It’s up to US to lessen the demand for these types of storage facilities.
Before you store, check the following:
Your motives- Sometimes paying to stash stuff away feels easier than facing the tough, emotional decisions of going through it. Sorting, selling and donating your things can be time consuming and draining, but it’s better to face the inevitable NOW rather than years from now when procrastination has cost you hundreds or thousands of dollars. Plus, hiring a Professional Organizer will help expedite and keep you on track :)
What decisions you’re putting off- Then ask whether those choices will get any easier to make later. Delaying decisions you have to make anyway will cost you.
Run the numbers- How much is your stuff really worth? If the cost of storing it for an extended time exceeds the value of the item, would you rather have the extra money or the item you never see?
Family burdens- Letting stuff go is a gift not only to yourself, but also to whoever will be left when you're gone. Going through the stuff of a loved one is almost always emotionally draining. Taking care of your belongings before they get passed on to someone else can be one of the biggest gifts you leave them.