Where does Storage meet If you haven't used it in a year? (moving company, jobs)
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Growing up and going over seas, I went through a few moves where stuff that was not immediately needed at the next stop was put into storage for 2-3 years till we got back to States. Even in modern times, talking to a current soldier, he told me of how taking his tools out of storage was like Christmas.
But today, I often hear from anothers, "If you haven't used it in a year or two, you don't need it! Toss it!"
Well, seeing how the world of storage is exactly that, where does one stand in face of the other?
not everyone puts stuff in storage and leaves it for years without use.
For example, I have used storage for seasonal items (Christmas comes to mind) that are used at least annually. The same goes for lawn and garden items I didn't have room for in the garage and I had no shed (against the restrictive covenants) but I still used the items several times a year.
I did the same with fishing gear when I lived in Pensacola -- left a lot of it in a storage unit near the boat ramp since I didn't have room in the garage and the boat was kept in storage there anyway.
From other threads it seems you have stuff you've held onto for many years with no realistic hope of using again.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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When my mother-in-law went into assisted living at age 82 we gave away some furniture but kept the rest in a storage unit, only because we thought she might ask for something. We didn't want to say "sorry, we threw that out." She ended up living until age 95, and in that time we spent $11,700 for that storage, and as it turned out, for no reason other than my wife's peace of mind. We just went through the same thing with my mother, but she only went into assisted living at age 93, and passed a year later, so much less cost, and we're meeting to get rid of all that stuff in a couple of weeks.
........From other threads it seems you have stuff you've held onto for many years with no realistic hope of using again.
Please, kind elder, keep to the subject.
Just in case others are thinking I am talking of storage sheds, I am not. I am talking about when a moving company will come and pickup your stuff to put it in storage, like with this company: https://www.allmysons.com/austin/index.aspx
Just in case others are thinking I am talking of storage sheds, I am not. I am talking about when a moving company will come and pickup your stuff to put it in storage, like with this company: https://www.allmysons.com/austin/index.aspx
And when will the moving company come to take it out of storage?
Unless there is a real reason behind storage such as building a home - it is just another way of hoarding. Check with storage places on how many units they put to auction.
OP, maybe a bit of punctuation in the title would have made this thread a bit more clear -- e.g., Where does "the need for long-term storage" meet "If you haven't used it in year"?
I grew up in the military and just as you remember, sometimes when we were going somewhere for years (like England for 3 years in the late 1960s), the USAF didn't ship ALL our stuff -- they shipped some and put the rest into storage.
And as a kid, it WAS really fun to get back to the States 3 years later and find things that you'd forgotten you had.
So I DO understand where you're coming from (literally, LOL!).
These days, my decent-sized house plus a 3-car garage (with loft storage above) plus a big basement plus a pellet shed plus a back yard shed PRETTY MUCH satisfy my storage needs ... although I may build just 1 more shed off the side of my garage so I can get my riding mower and other lawn/gardening supplies OUT of the garage. (And yes, I DO sometimes ask myself, "How can 1 person need all this stuff?" But I USE at least 80% of it pretty regularly ... so that's my justification for now! )
op, maybe a bit of punctuation in the title would have made this thread a bit more clear -- e.g., where does "the need for long-term storage" meet "if you haven't used it in year"?
I grew up in the military and just as you remember, sometimes when we were going somewhere for years (like england for 3 years in the late 1960s), the usaf didn't ship all our stuff -- they shipped some and put the rest into storage.
And as a kid, it was really fun to get back to the states 3 years later and find things that you'd forgotten you had.
so i do understand where you're coming from (literally, lol!).
These days, my decent-sized house plus a 3-car garage (with loft storage above) plus a big basement plus a pellet shed plus a back yard shed pretty much satisfy my storage needs ... Although i may build just 1 more shed off the side of my garage so i can get my riding mower and other lawn/gardening supplies out of the garage. (and yes, i do sometimes ask myself, "how can 1 person need all this stuff?" but i use at least 80% of it pretty regularly ... So that's my justification for now! )
in the moving biz, you CAN rent palletized storage from the big movers and its a monthly charge and it could be cheaper than a locker. OR, in the case of an indeterminate move, they do a 'pick and hold' where you have to vacate place A, not sure on place B so they grab it and assign to a driver LATER. however, when 'I was a kid' the pick and hold charge was $2.25 cwt per month. ouch, and I betcha it aint got cheaper.
Another way to look at it, its pretty damn hard to get a small locker for much under 70 bux a month.. lets assume 70. In one year you spent $840. how much is the (crap) stuff in the locker worth? for too many people, long term the contents gravitate to hefty bags of christmas decorations and not much else. Disregard the TV shows unless you REALLY do have a hovercraft in your locker or a cash hoard.
Personally I don't think this needs to be so hard, but it does require thinking ahead, forming a plan, and sticking to it. If there's no plan or you don't stick to one you have made, that's the problem. IMHO there isn't a specific magical length of time beyond which you need to get rid of something. Other factors determine what its usefulness may or may not be. The point is, someone needs to do the thinking, make the decisions, and put a plan in place. If the person endlessly procrastinates or is unable or unwilling to face the process instead, that's where the problem lies. It doesn't lie in the object itself.
IMHO, putting items in storage you know you won't need for a specified period of time isn't unreasonable. Storing them while you complete a long distance move, while your house is being remodeled, if you are traveling while you happen to be in between jobs/homes, if you're downsized your housing temporarily to a very small place that can't accommodate it, etc. There's a plan, an end point.
OTOH, putting items in indefinite storage because you can't cram it all into your house or can't bring yourself to sort and release stuff you can't use is different. There's no end point. It's enabling out of sight, out of mind. It screams you need to do some serious reevaluating of what's necessary, important, or even meaningful and let go of the rest. It can't all be essential stuff, or you'd either be using it or you will find a way to accommodate it at your residence. Building onto the house or building secure and organized housing for it on your own property.
I've definitely used commercial storage before, but each time there was a plan in place. For example: took a series of research jobs across the country. Some were 3, 4, or 6 month remote field camp situations. My non-camping, "civilized" household belongings and truck had to spend those months several thousand miles away. At the end of the field projects, I'd retrieve it all once I'd lined up the next job and knew where I'd be moving. The truck was put up on blocks in commercial storage along with my household goods. Very similar to someone being deployed overseas for a specified tour. Another time was a house buying/selling timing conflict scenario. My current house sold much faster than anticipated. I was in negotiation for a new house but the sellers were waiting for their new house across the US to become available, I couldn't move in before the buyers of my house had to vacate theirs and move into mine. Basically, the domino effect and the need for storage for about 2 months.
A different scenario: my parents downsized their house once the kids were out of the family home. They kept a commercial locker for decades. The majority of the stuff kept there was never even looked at more than once or twice a year (holiday decorations, a few items of kids' stuff waiting to be moved somewhere else, old clothes, old furniture, old clutter, old gadgets, old decor). The rest just sat gathering dust, mice, and bugs year after year. No idea how much $ they racked up in rental fees. In the end when they were both gone and the family house had to be sold, the vast majority of stuff in the locker was tossed. It might have been useful to someone (including someone it could have been donated or given to) years earlier, but by then it was damaged or obsolete beyond any useful life. There was no plan for it. And that was the problem.
Last edited by Parnassia; 03-20-2024 at 02:57 PM..
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