Tag Archives: Northfield self storage facility

Why do we keep stuff?

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Why do we keep stuff?

Americans love to keep stuff. As the manager at a local self storage facility, this is something that I can attest to firsthand. We love  to keep things that we will probably never need, or use again – but why?  A recent survey asked just that , and surprisingly, 94% of the people asked had an answer.
Here are the 5 top reasons that people say that they keep too much stuff…..

“I might need it sometime”

I have a friend that has a storage unit that includes a box of size 30 jeans. He is currently a 36 inch waist. He is in his 50’s, and does not exercise.  He will never need those jeans again.

“Sentimental Value”

This one I get to some extent – Photos, awards, etc., kept in storage – but Grandma’s old tattered armchair is just going to sit there – I guess sometimes we feel that we are discarding part of our family history.  A photo of grandma  sitting in that armchair, might be the better thing to keep.

“I’m going to sell it “

A friend of mine has a pile of stuff stored in one corner of his garage, that he has kept for years, with the intention of selling. These items include a punch bowl set,  a VHS tape rewinder, and a rooftop TV antenna .The best salesman in the world could not sell these items – ‘nuff said.

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“Feeling guilty”

This is a tough one. Some people just feel guilty discarding anything that is not complete and utter trash, even though they know that they will never ever use it. This is one of the biggest reasons that people become hoarders.

“I can use it as a gift “

This is a great one!  These are new or unopened items that you have no desire to keep for yourself, but somehow think that a friend, or family member would be thrilled to receive as a gift. All I can say is that if you have a family member or friend, who receives a punch bowl set, or a VHS tape rewinder, as an anniversary gift , you will know what happened.

Self Storage through the Ages

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Self Storage through the Ages

Where did self-storage come from? Historians say that the concept came about in ancient China. Legend has it that people in that era would store their valuable items in clay pots, kept in guarded underground pits to protect them from Invaders.

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Modern Self Storage has its roots in the moving and storage industry of the 1950’s. After World War II, Bekins Moving & Storage of Omaha Nebraska built a network of large fireproof warehouses throughout Southern California. They found that they could rent these areas not only  to civilians and military personnel in transition, but also for storing business records, records management, film storage, and office and industrial moving.- and so it began…

The first successful commercial self storage facility was built in Odessa Texas in the early 1960s. The “A-1 U-Store-It U-Lock-It U-Carry-the-Key” facility was built in an industrial area where fishermen could rent storage space for their boats and oil field workers could store equipment for quick access. Eventually the general public caught wind of this idea and by the early 1970s, the first public self storage facilities began to open – the first popping up in El Cajon, California.

What a difference 40 or 50 years can make! There are now nearly 60,000 self-storage facilities across the United States, with enough space available for every man, woman, and child  in the country to stand comfortably within the walls of self-storage

 Where will the self-storage industry go from here? Who knows, but one thing is for sure –  Americans are accumulating more stuff, not less!  

Did you know? Self Storage Facility fun facts

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Self Storage Facility Fun Facts

Did You Know that……
 
The self storage industry has been one of the fastest-growing sectors of the United States commercial real estate industry over the period of the last 40 years?
 
U.S. self storage facilities employed more than 170,000 persons, or an average of 3.5 employees per facility.
 
There is 7.3 sq. ft. of self storage space for every man, woman and child in the nation; thus, it is physically possible that every American could stand – all at the same time – under the total canopy of self storage roofing!
 
Source – International Self Storage Association
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