Stuck in storage unit living and need advice to get out... (relocate, pod)

[RamenAddict]

OP, most people with a one bedroom have a 10x10 worth of storage, not almost 3x that. Your stuff will not fit into a one bedroom, and then you are anticipating again putting it into storage. The more you put stuff into storage, the more you have to spend to actually get it out of storage and pay to rent the unit. You could probably afford to spend more than $850 a month if you weren’t spending all this money on storage and transporting items from one storage unit to another and then restoring stuff.

The reality is that you are not focusing on cities where apartments that are significantly cheaper than $850 a month with all the amenities that you seem to want are going to be available. I have a friend in Albuquerque now and he is paying significantly more than that and I can tell you right now that anything within the $850 range is going to have coin laundry because that was something he was complaining about when he was looking. I imagine that the Arizona cities, many of which are much larger, will also have the same issue, and Santa Fe is quite upscale. If you want cities that are reasonably priced, you need to look at places in the Midwest, not at areas that are super popular with retirees or experiencing rapid population growth.

[wharton]

Originally Posted by Destination Succeed

Wow, I'm kinda dismayed at some of the comments stating I have some sort of hoarder problem. I find that quite offensive and judgemental. That's not the case at al.
I know I asked for advice, which warranted opinions...but can it be done with first getting the facts? .

Sorry, but you asked for and received the truth from those that read the facts. Giving the incomplete information provided, it's possible to determine that you have spent roughly SEVEN THOUSAND DOLLARS on storage in the last two years alone. Since you indicate that you had a single unit for some time previously, it's possible that you could of easily wasted ten thousand, or more, storing possessions that are not worth a fraction of that..

So you have several issues here:

1. You can't afford to pay this expense for many reasons. The fact that you have continual late fees involved reinforces the reality that you can't handle this needless expense.
2. You don't have any savings, but have personal goods spread out all over the continent, and don't have the thousands needed to transport all this stuff to your next location.
3. You have a hoarding problem. You have a huge volume of personal goods for a single person your age. Particularly given that you are not a homeowner, or living in a large, multi-bedroom, long term rental, and refuse to acknowledge this. ( My previously discussed personal moving and storage locker use, involving far less goods, TEMPORARILY stored while moving the contents of a modest THREE BEDROOM house. That included the contents of a garage, car repair and construction tools, a collection of ladders, and yard equipment. ALL of this stuff takes up less volume that you describe in your case )
4. You are not special, none of us are, when it comes to the worth of your personal stash, and sadly, your stuff is essentially worthless to others. In the last few years I was executor for two family estates. Both parents left nicely appointed three bedroom homes. Discussions with two auctioneers, in two different markets, revealed that there was no way to hold an onsite auctions at these homes, since they would be "contents only" auctions, and the bulk of a typical three bedroom home was bringing $900-1500. This reality should make it quite clear that you can outfit a new apartment with nice used and inexpensive furniture for a fraction of what you have wasted in storage fees to date.
5. If you had not wasted $7-10K, or more on storage, you wouldn't be in this mess.

Sorry to be cold and blunt. You read pages of the truth, and apparently have no interest in listening. Good luck, as I see little effort on your part in putting this emotional and financial fire out, so you are probably not going anywhere, anytime soon.

[Threestep2]

Prices have gone up since 2011? Back to the Future happens in movies only. The storage units are only part of your problems. Sit down, be honest with yourself, take stock, make a plan and stick to it.

[chiluvr1228]

Originally Posted by Destination Succeed

For all the people saying I should let everything get taken away, how about donating some money to help me locate and move into a place, or pay for all the things I'd give up? If I were to appraise everything I had in my storage unit from starting fresh, I'd say likely $5,000. That's not something I can replace within a year or 2.

And there it is. Like so many other newbies, you posted you needed advice however you don't want to take the advice. So why did you bother posting at all?

[wharton]

Originally Posted by chiluvr1228

And there it is. Like so many other newbies, you posted you needed advice however you don't want to take the advice. So why did you bother posting at all?

Not to mention that his $5K valuation is most likely new retail numbers, and it's now worth 10-20% of that. Since he wasted $7K in the last two years of storage and late fees, it's a little hard to build a sympathy case based on the math.

[bookspage]

What you need to start over in a new apartment:

A bed
A set of sheets, pillow and a blanket
A bedroom lamp

A couch
A coffee table
A lamp
A TV

I would say a kitchen table but you really don't need that if you have a couch and a coffee table so I will leave that out

Dishes
Fork and knives
A few cups
A pot and pan

A few bath towels

This adds up to about $1500 max to me. You could probably go cheaper if you scour secondhand for a couch. So four months of storage fees will have you on your way to being set up with new stuff.

But the math doesn't matter. For whatever reason, you are holding onto the contents of these units. That is the question that you have to answer for yourself

[barb712]

I agree with the above posters. Get rid of your storage units and the items in them. Sell them off or donate them to charity. Save the piles of money now yours instead of somebody else's. Throw off the shackles. Since you like to travel, find a place of your own somewhere - anywhere - that suits you as a home base. A studio apartment, a small house, anything that's affordable, comfortable, and convenient for you. When I say affordable, I mean as low as you can go. Get yourself a comfortable bed for starters. The rest will fill in in time. Travel! Enjoy. Feel free and empowered by having a place to ground you, saving your money and not being indebted and "stuck," and having a place of your own to come home to.

[Threestep2]

[quote=Destination Succeed;52600455]
For all the people saying I should let everything get taken away, how about donating some money to help me locate and move into a place, or pay for all the things I'd give up? If I were to appraise everything I had in my storage unit from starting fresh, I'd say likely $5,000. That's not something I can replace within a year or 2.

/QUOTE]
Crowd funding, family, friends, second job, …..

[CGab]

Originally Posted by germaine2626

That's what I was thinking. Get rid of everything.

If some of the things are family heirlooms see if a relative wants them or will store them for you (for free). I would only ask a relative, to store something, if it was something small and extra special.

Agreed! If you're not using any of it, then you obviously are not that attached! If you want to keep it all, then find a solution to keep it! Simple a that!

[fluffythewondercat]

Originally Posted by Parnassia

I suspect for some people that "stuff" is a symptom, a physical manifestation of other things in life that never came to pass. Never satisfied, never resolved, always left wanting, unresolved regrets, denying realities.

Having lived with one hoarder and having to clean up the disgusting mess of another, I can confirm that you are largely on target with that observation.