Mommas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Have Storage Units
Woman in the Middle | January 23, 2012More years ago than I care to think about we planned on selling our previous house. In order to declutter the place to make it more attractive to a buyer we did something I said we would never do - we rented a storage unit. It was only to hold some things temporarily until we got the house sold and we moved into our new place. The new house did not materialize and the storage unit turned into exactly what I feared it would – long-term storage for stuff that we totally forgot we owned and should have gotten rid of a long time ago. All that storage unit did was suck our wallets and our souls dry.
With me being unemployed and all, I felt we should empty that storage unit and reduce our monthly outlay. With that in mind, Hubby and I girded our loins and went to the storage place this past weekend to deal with the situation. When we first entered the world of ministorage, we wanted a 5′x10′ unit. They didn’t have one available so they gave us two 5′x5′ for the same price. So, the “unit” I refer to is actually 2 units. When my hubby lifted up the doors on these black holes I felt like crying. I am telling you, if they had auctioned them on Storage Wars they might have gotten $25 each. One was actually pretty empty, so I was thrilled to realize I have been paying monthly to store 2 chairs, 10 empty boxes and five boxes of this and that. Talk about feeling stupid!
We filled the back of my Hubby’s PT Cruiser and took the first load home. While I began sorting out what was in the boxes Hubby went back for more. Before the day was out he had emptied the units, told the office we were out of there and brought everything home. I was so proud of getting that little job done. Yes, there is more junk in my garage but at least we can now deal with it, something that was not going to happen when it was all sitting in the Black Hole of Storage.
With God as my witness, I vow I will never rent a storage unit again!
You are a brave trooper. I have a friend who has had a storage unit for more than 20 years and has not visited it for at least 15 of those years. She kept surplus inventory for her floral business in there — baskets, containers of all sorts and artificial flowers. I expect the baskets are disintegrated and the flowers are either filthy or sadly out of date. However, I cannot get her to scrap the contents. Oh, yes, she has been out of business at least 10 years! My advice is always…if it doesn’t fit in your house, get rid of it!
I completely agree with you! That is my new motto – If it doesn’t have a place or a use it must go. OF course, I only have that control over my own things. Others in the family may have different ideas!
I have a friend who is in the exact same situation. She sold her house, rented the largest storage unit she could get to put all of her furniture in, and then rented a studio apartment. I suggested to her that unless she planned to move into a place where she could fit her furniture, she should give it away or sell it online. She said she wanted to keep everything just in case. Go figure!
Excellent post. I have to admit I have been there & done that.