According to the Self Storage Association, the self storage industry has been the fastest growing sector of U.S. commercial real estate over the last 30 years. At the end of 2008, there were over 51,000 primary self storage facilities in this country. The total self storage rentable space in the United States is estimated to be over 2 billion square feet—an area more than three times the size of Manhattan!
In fact, there are 7.4 square feet of self storage space for every person in the nation—meaning every American could stand under a self storage roof at the same time (!).
If you are one of the 10% of U.S. households that currently rents a self storage unit, it’s time to ask some questions:
* Can you list the contents of your self storage unit from memory?
* If not, do you really need to own things you don’t even know you have?
* When is the last time you used these items?
* Is it worth paying good money to store things you rarely (if ever) use?
* How important is an item that you don’t use (or love) enough to keep in your home?
One of the first steps to becoming a minimalist is to empty out your self storage unit. This is even easier than decluttering your home, as you’ve already made a physical (and perhaps emotional) detachment from these things.
So make a final visit, bring home only what you need, and sell, donate or Freecycle the rest (please do what you can to keep it out of a landfill). You’ll eliminate the mental, and monetary, burden of renting a “second house” for all your excess stuff!
I fully agree with your idea of disposing of things that you will probably never use again. A lot of us get sentimental about possessions but we should move on.
So true, Jack–it’s very liberating to let go of unused items.