May was made for Grillin’ and Chillin’

It’s May here at The Storage Inn in Egg Harbor Township New Jersey, and our storage customers are very busy retrieving spring items from their rental units. Lawn chairs, bicycles, and barbecue grills seem to be the most popular items. While Spring can be a mixed bag of temperatures, the change to warmer weather does seem to inspire people to fire up the grill. Just today I noticed two of our self storage customers, Jim and Sally, retrieving not one, but two grills from their storage unit. “You must be really hungry!” I yelled to them. “ Well, it is National BBQ month!” Jim yelled back to me.

It turns out that May is National Barbecue Month, and while most in the United States recognize Memorial Day Weekend as the official start of barbecue season, May is the month when most Americans take to their backyards to fire up their grills and smokers for delicious weeknight dinners and slow & low weekend feasts.

Here are our top 10 – Storage Inn – Barbeque Fun Facts to enjoy as you throw those burgers on the grill this year:

1 – 75% of U.S. adults own a grill or smoker.

2 – 62% of households that own a grill own a gas grill, followed by charcoal (53%), and electric (12%). Two percent own a wood pellet grill and 8% are thinking of purchasing one this year.

3 – The most popular days to barbecue are: Fourth of July (76%), Labor Day (62%), Memorial Day (62%), Father’s Day (49%), Mother’s Day (34%).

4 – The top reasons for cooking out? 71% of grill owners say it’s to improve flavor, 54% for personal enjoyment, and 42% for entertaining family and friends.

5 – The majority of grill owners (63%) enjoy using their grill or smoker year-round. In fact, 43% cook at least once a month in the winter months.

6 – Half of all grill owners have the most basic grilling accessories (cleaning brush, tongs, glove/mitts). The most popular new accessories that owners plan to buy include pizza stones, baskets, and cooking planks.

7 – Ten percent of all grill owners have a backyard kitchen (featuring premium furniture and lighting).

8 – Barbecuing isn’t just an evening activity. 11% of grill owners prepared breakfast on a grill in the past year.

9 – Nearly one third of grill owners (31%) grilled someplace other than their homes in the past year, including 24% who grilled while camping.

10 – More than one third (45%) of U.S. adults surveyed plan to purchase a new grill or smoker in 2018, while nearly a third (30%) of current owners plan to grill with greater frequency.

So whether your grilling plan is to sizzle some steaks, honey barbeque some chicken, or slowly smoke some ribs, you are now armed with some interesting grilling tidbits, courtesy of The Storage Inn. Enjoy!