Monthly Archives: October 2018

It’s a “Boo”-tiful day in the Neighborhood!

Happy Halloween from The Storage Inn

It’s almost Halloween here at The Storage Inn in Egg Harbor Township New Jersey (cue spooky music) – Time to stock up on candy for the storage rental office ! The 31st will bring costumed visitors from some of our storage space tenants, as well as some of our neighborhood kids. One thing that I have noticed on my drive home from our self storage facility, is that it seems that more people decorate the exterior of their homes for Halloween than ever – some of those decorations are quite spectacular, and I assume, pretty expensive! This got me wondering just how much time and money is spent on Halloween in this day and age, so I did a little digging. Here is what I found.

A Brief History of Halloween

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Halloween is a holiday that straddles the line between Fall and Winter, plenty and scarcity, and even life and death. The ancient Celts celebrated their New Year on November 1st, making October 31st a sort of New Year’s Eve for them. It was said that on this day, the ghosts of the dead would return to Earth. This is believed to be the origin of celebrating Halloween by dressing as ghosts, witches, and skeletons. Eventually Halloween evolved into the secular, community-based event that we know today, characterized by Halloween parties and trick or treating.

Halloween by the Numbers

$69 Billion – Total that will be spent on Halloween this year!

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$360 Million  – On Halloween greeting cards (Wow – who knew!)

$4 Billion – Will be spent on candy and decorations

158 Million will celebrate Halloween in some fashion

36 Million ages 5 – 13 will go Trick or Treating

51% of families will decorate their yards

20% of families will carve a pumpkin

24% of US households do not celebrate Halloween – Boooooooooooo!

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Costume Ideas

Where do we get our inspiration from?

35% – Halloween/Costume store

32% – Social Media

20% – Print Media

11% – Friends / Word of mouth

OK – so now you have some facts and figures about Halloween that you can spring on your friends while they’re bobbing for apples at the Halloween party! To all our readers of “The Storage Inn blog”, I’ll leave you with a Halloween joke.

What does a ghost use to wash his hair?
Shamboo!

Happy Halloween everyone!



National Cholesterol Awareness Month!

I was sitting in an our storage rental office here at The Storage Inn in Egg Harbor Township New Jersey, eating a bacon cheeseburger, when in walked Dr. Ron, one of our long-time self-storage customers. He informed me (as he stared at my bacon cheeseburger) that October has been designated as National Cholesterol Awareness Month and that maybe I should stop by his office where they’re doing free cholesterol screenings as part of the cholesterol awareness program. I told him that I would “try to come by”, as he grabbed some packing tape and boxes, and headed for his car.

Good cholesterol, bad cholesterol? What exactly is cholesterol, and how much is too much? I swung by Dr. Ron’s office on my way home, and picked up a pamphlet on preventing high cholesterol.

Here are some interesting tidbits about cholesterol…

Cholesterol is a waxy, fat-like substance found in all your cells. It can tell you about your future heart health. High cholesterol doubles your risk for heart disease.

A blood test will tell you what your levels of total cholesterol, bad cholesterol, good cholesterol, and triglycerides are.

About 74 million U.S. adults have high cholesterol. Less than half of them are getting treatment.

You can’t live without cholesterol. We’re born with cholesterol in our bodies. Infants get added cholesterol from their mother’s milk. Cholesterol is even added to baby formula.

One out of every three adults has high cholesterol. Everyone over age 20 should get their cholesterol checked every five years. About about 75 percent of people actually do.

High cholesterol can be genetic. Current research says the main influencing factor for high cholesterol is your genes.

Children can have high cholesterol – Especially kids with obesity or a family history of heart attacks.

Sweating can raise your good cholesterol levels. You can raise your good cholesterol levels, which protect against heart disease, by working out. The key is to use interval training by exercising at a medium-intensity, sprinkling in periods of high-intensity.

Supplements may work to lower cholesterol. Supplements need to be taken daily and they don’t work overnight. Diet and exercise should always be your first options.

Cholesterol-lowering medications work quickly. You can take a cholesterol-lowering pill today, and your levels may be down by 3 to 4 percent tomorrow.

So there you have it – A combination of diet, exercise, and possibly medication, can keep your cholesterol in check. As for me, I am cutting back on the bacon cheeseburgers and trying to get more exercise. Maybe I’ll start walking around our storage facility instead of driving the golf cart!