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Did you know that until the 1960’s “self-storage” did not exist in the U.S! too
“Self-storage” facilities lease space to both individuals and businesses to store non-toxic property.
A really amazing fact is that it took the industry more than 25 years to build its first billion square feet of space, but it only took 8 years (1998-2005) to add the second billion square feet of space. By the end of 2009 there was more than 2.35 billion square feet of “self-storage” in the U.S. “There is 7.0 sq. ft. of “self-storage” space for every man, woman and child in the nation.” As of 2007 1 in 10 households, up from 1 in 17 households in 1995, rent a “self-storage” unit, an increase of about 65% in the last 12 years.
Have you noticed that almost everyone you know has some kind of designated storage space, at home or at a rented “self-storage” facility or both.
Many home owners do not use their garage for the intended purpose because it is being used for “self-storage”.
We purchase homes with multi-car garages not because we own that many cars or plan to purchase as many vehicles. We purchase these homes to use one or more garage as storage.
We use attics, basements and will even go out and purchase a shed all in the name of “self-storage”.
Our homes are getting bigger and bigger. It is not uncommon for a single person to purchase a home with 2,500 square feet or an apartment with 1200 sq. ft. It is beginning to look like these are the sizes of our new starter homes.
Have you ever thought why homes are so big and why we have so many ‘self-storage” facilities? I’ll tell you why, to hold our stuff!!
We want walk-in-closets in every room. The average master closet is 6’ x 8’, the size of an extra bedroom 40 years ago! Yes, it is true that we use to obsess over our kitchens now the new obsession is our closets, closets with lots of space! But why so much space? Stuff, that’s why!
“Self-storage” has a specific meaning, but we have created a new definition for the term. “Self-storage” now includes closets, garages, basements, attics, sheds, drawers, cabinets, space savers, shelves and the list goes on. We are willing to create “self-storage” anywhere we can to maintain and display our stuff.
We are a country of consumers and we need space to keep our stuff. Stuff we may never look at again until we decide to throw it out, give it away, or sell it. Stuff we must purchase to fill our space. We actually choose space with the intent to fill it with stuff. For most of us filling our space to capacity and even beyond is one of our primary
objectives in life. So, we purchase as much space as possible for stuff. Having so much space we feel we have a license to procure stuff.
We will do anything to add “self-storage” to hold our stuff. So, we add space and we purchase stuff and we add space and we purchase stuff……and the cycle continues.