One in Ten Aussies Now Has a Storage Unit! Are We Becoming the America of Hoarding?
Are We Becoming the America of Hoarding?
You read that right: one in ten Australians now rents a storage unit. That’s a full 10% of us who have paid good money to put stuff we probably don’t need into a locked storage unit we rarely visit or think about for that matter..
Look, we’re not judging (okay, maybe a little), but crikey! That’s a lot of stuff and old IKEA furniture hiding in the shadows of these storage buildings world wide. We only say IKEA as a recent fact came out that 1/3 of the worlds landfill is IKEA.. Kudos to IKEA.. not so much the human population.
If this trend continues, we’re only a few steps away from supersized sodas and deep-fried butter. Yes Aussies – we’re slowly becoming the Americans of self-storage.
From "She'll Be Right" to "She'll Be in Storage"
Remember when we used to just shove things under the bed, in the shed, or leave them out for council cleanup? Ah, the glory days. FYI - you can still use council pick ups. They are rather convenient if you remember. I know! Wild stuff!
Now, we’re spending $300+ (ON AVERAGE - not reality) a month to keep an ex-boyfriend’s surfboard (sucker) and that broken Dyson because we spent a mini fortune on it when we should have never paid for a lovely Dyson.
We’ve turned “out of sight, out of mind” into another lifestyle and apparently we are bloody nailing it.
The Great Aussie Storage Boom (Yes.. there is a BOOM)
You know it’s serious when storage units are being built & bought faster than apartments. Some facilities even offer wine cellars, gun holders, climate control, and 24-hour access - plus much much more - as if your first lounge from your first apartment needs concierge service? Seriously?
And let’s talk about that 1 in 10 stat again: that’s more people than own dogs in Sydney (probably - can't be sure - we do love a dog). More than go to the gym. And definitely more than have a working printer at home! (it really has become a rarity to have a printer)
Why Are We Doing This?
Sentimental clutter: Because your Year 6 school project might be worth something… emotionally. And your mum absently adores it.
A future garage sale fantasy: We all think Antiques Roadshow is going to come calling and we may have landed a jackpot family heirloom from somewhere.
Procrastination, premium edition: Paying to delay hard decisions like “Do I really need six air fryers?”
Time to Shift It.. With Shift Your Storage
At Shift Your Storage, we’re not here to shame you. We help Aussies inventory what they’ve got, decide what stays, and rehome the rest to people and causes that actually need it. We recycle responsibly, look to sell some things but mainly try to make Aussies who have been struggling a bit - to life a bit easier for them.
Because if you’re paying $6,600 a year to store stuff you forgot you owned… it might be time to break up with your storage unit, or a quick "let's catch up msg" OR you can hit SYS up and completely ghost the storage unit of shame!