We are all guilty of it, that need to have something. We think about it, research it, buy it. We love it, use it and then before you know it, our new treasure ends up in the corner for a month or two before eventually making its way to the garage or basement.
After a few years, we simply run out of space down there and decide to regain control of our lives by renting a storage space.
Or maybe we are selling our house and have a same-day move-in/move-out date. To make things easier we rent a storage container and “temporarily” store our non-essentials for a month or two.
The problem is “a month or two” turns into a month or six and, before you know it, it’s a year later and you’re adding stuff to the locker instead of removing stuff – which is all an excellent way of de-cluttering, but it’s expensive.
The average locker will cost you $100 to $150 a month. That might not seem like much, but, over the course of a year, it comes to $1,200 to $1,800. That is some serious money.
It’s apparently a booming business and a very lucrative one at that.
I recently sold the Agassiz storage facility at several multiples of its assessed value. Even out here in the country, it’s a very successful business model, fueled by our obsession for more and more stuff.
Somehow even when we don’t need or use this great stuff, we are reluctant to let it go. So off to the storage facility. Better to save it because you just never know when it might come in handy.
What that means in practical terms is after paying for the item once, we pay again by keeping it in storage. Are these items likely to increase in value sufficiently to justify that kind of investment? Judging by the show Storage Wars, the answer is mostly, no!
Of course, there are valid reasons for storing goods and using storage facilities. But for most of us, if we were a little better organized and a little more disciplined, we wouldn’t need this extra space.
So what’s the solution? Well, one solution is your garage. I hear you, it’s probably already full. The trick is to organize it properly.
There are a wide variety of storage systems offered by places like Canadian Tire or Rona. You double and triple the usable space in your garage or crawl space.
There are also companies that specialize in storage management. For a small one-time investment, you can avoid costly ongoing storage fees.
Another simple idea is to build your own storage sheds. You can purchase DIY storage sheds for under $1,000. Set it up in your backyard in a weekend and – voila! Your storage problem is solved.
Lastly, there is biting the bullet and facing the reality that you don’t really need all that stuff. Have a garage sale or, better yet, enrich your local thrift shop. You will feel good about yourself and feel much better about not paying all that money to your local storage facility.
After a few years, you may even save enough to buy your own storage facility and start making money off those who are still looking for more space for their stuff.
– Freddy Marks, 3A Group with Sutton
Agassiz/Harrison Hot Springs