Storage units the money suck that no one talks about (business, wealthy)
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There are some situations where a long term storage unit is useful. Let's say a person owned a motor cycle for example, but rented an apartment with no garage. During the winter months, it would probably reduce the wear on the motor cycle to put it in storage.
Come the summer, they may want to put the car in storage instead.
Really, the only time I can envision storage units being necessary are when you can't keep something you need inside the place you live and you would have to increase your living area just to store the object.
To continue the above example, the person could buy a house with a garage and use that instead, but they'll wind up paying a lot more in money. Similiarly the person who is moving close to a temporary job may find it's cheaper to use a storage unit for their furniture if they'll be moving back once the assignment is over. Doesn't make sense to buy everything new when they return, doesn't make sense to ship it all(and let's assume they can't fit it in their temporary residence), and they are definitely going to need it again, so they store it.
People get into trouble though when they think they're going to need something in the future, but they don't. That's how you get the 10 year storage units.
My parents have had several storage units for about 30 years now. The car I drove in High School sat in one of them for 12 years before that. I would never suggest doing that, as all the rubber tubing had deteriorated and had to be replaced. But other than this stupid use, they really have needed the storage units. They are self employed and have to store fixtures, staging furniture, machinery, records, etc, related to the business. For example, they have to keep all real estate contracts, all leases, all applications, all building files, etc. Those are a lot of papers and take up a lot of space that we don't have at our office. A lot of the non-paper stuff, they actually get out and use on a semi-regular basis.
So sometimes, especially for small business owners, a storage unit is logical.
One thing about Public Storage (and probably most others). When they try and raise rates (usually at least once a year, and the increases are way higher than the inflation rate), you can call them and threaten to leave unless they cancel the increase. There's a good chance they'll agree to do so, or at least to charge less of an increase. Find out what their new customers are being charged from their website (which will likely be much less than what they want to charge you, after increases) and use that as a bargaining point.
That wouldn't work in my area, most of the storage units around here have waiting lists. And because there's so much demand, none of them do introductory offers.
I'm like some of the others who have posted. I pay $45 for a storage unit that primarily holds off-season and seldom-used items, plus a few heirlooms of mostly sentimental value. In order to store these items at home I'd have to rent a bigger place which would mean increasing my rent by $100-$150. It just makes sense to me.
Once was for a classic car that offered MUCH cheaper insurance if it was kept in a garage (or storage unit) vs in a driveway. I'm talking $200/year vs $2K+/year. On top of that, there was peace of mind knowing the car was protected from elements, theft, etc. We have rough, snowy winters and I didn't want the car exposed to elements. It wasn't the mose winter-friendly car either. Plus i could also store spare wheels, and car related stuff in there too. Kept the car in there for 3 years at a cost of about $10K. Insurance would have run me $6K alone for that time period, so the extra $4K over 3 years was worth it to have the car safely stored when not in use and easy access when I wanted to go for a drive (and it was always clean). This was my vice, so I budgeted for it (and could easily afford it)
2nd time was when i started dating my G/F. Decided to sell my condo and move in together. Rather than buy a house, we rented to just see if we were compatible first. Things going well, probably going to buy a home together. We rented a unit to put excess stuff in short term, vs moving it into an apartment only to move it out in a year. Plus some of it was duplicated stuff like tables and couches that we weren't willing to ditch yet in case things went sour. Some of it is valueable, some if just things we didnt need at the time. For example, i have a 125 gallon salt-water aquarium in there that will be set up in my future home when I buy it, but it didn't make sense to put it in the apartment and take up space. I paid $2K plus for the complete setup, so not something I wanted to part with. Plus, when we do buy a home, we can rent a Uhaul and go pick that stuff up whenever it's convienent. Just less stuff to move when the time comes to move out of Apt.
And yes, every 9 mos or so they try and increase the rate. I got friendly with a few of the office managers there and managed to get a delay or waiver for a few bumps. All you do is ask and worst they can say is no.
Last year I moved in with my husband & I am struggling with closet space. There is just enough space to keep in-season/daily wear. Those special event outfits, off season & shows/purse or my DIY project of I will glue the necklace & fix it someday..etc there isn't enough space for any of those. I was wondering how people living in apt survive & have been thinking storage might be a great solution
Currently I use my childhood closet in parents house as my storage (luckily they live close by)
People might sing a bit of a different tune if most of what they owned had to fit in a 10x12 room! My closet is above the stairs so the floor is at my knees (so no boxes on the floor) and, as I said, only the width of a door frame. Even without having that much stuff, I have to make use of every surface and have a lot of shelving up the walls, including adding a board to the top of my radiator in the summer to use as shelving.
I store my suitcases under my bed, filled with linens when not in use because the ONE closet in the apartment that is not in a bedroom is filled with coats , toilet paper, and cleaning supplies. The kitchen cabinets are overflowing with kitchen gadgets of 3 roommates who lead very different lifestyles. In the summer, I keep my crockpot in my storage unit because I don't use it as much and I can't compete for space when my roommates each have one of their own!
Our small living and dining rooms are lined with bookcases and storage cabinets. At any given time, there are boxes of things that we need to get rid of on the back porch, along with our 3 window AC units and plethora of fans in the winter, or heavy window coverings in the summer.
My parents live 1000 miles away and still have a ton of my books. Luckily, they have the space, because I can't squeeze in another bookcase.
I hope to be in a position in my career in the next few years where I will be able to afford my own place in the very expensive Boston metro area. Then, all the stuff in the storage unit will be useful - and work out to be way cheaper than buying new. All the little things add up! At any given time, 6 or 7 friends share one storage unit, even using someone's stored shelving/bookcases to split up the space. It's cost effective.
My parents have had several storage units for about 30 years now. The car I drove in High School sat in one of them for 12 years before that. I would never suggest doing that, as all the rubber tubing had deteriorated and had to be replaced. But other than this stupid use, they really have needed the storage units. They are self employed and have to store fixtures, staging furniture, machinery, records, etc, related to the business. For example, they have to keep all real estate contracts, all leases, all applications, all building files, etc. Those are a lot of papers and take up a lot of space that we don't have at our office. A lot of the non-paper stuff, they actually get out and use on a semi-regular basis.
So sometimes, especially for small business owners, a storage unit is logical.
But that makes it a business expense. And that's another use I didn't think of.
I think we can all agree that there are legitimate uses for a storage unit, but the OP is not wrong to point out that they have the potential to become an enormous money pit.
This thread reminds me of one awhile ago in which the OP was complaining about his mother in law buying his kids things like Easter outfits, coloring books, reading books and blankets. He stated that it caused clutter and wondered what kid needed more than one book anyway.
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And that's another use I didn't think of.
