Storage Battles: Why We Keep Everything? (Even That Hideous Chair)

Ah, storage units. The growing urbanization holes of modern life. What is it about these steel fortresses that compels us to squirrel away everything from childhood teddy bears to obsolete exercise equipment?

While our love affair with material items can sometimes border on obsession, it’s not all bad. Objects can bring comfort, spark joy, and even help us navigate through difficult parts of life. 

The key is to strike a balance, knowing when something adds value to your life and when it’s just cluttering up your journey and also affecting your financial freedom.

The Myth of "Just in Case"

You know the drill. “Better hold onto this waffle iron with the frayed cord, you never know when I’ll need to host a 3 a.m. waffle emergency party with your neighbours.” Spoiler: You won’t ever do that. But the possibility, however remote, keeps us tethered to our clutter for some ungodly reason. It’s not about practicality; it’s about hope and thinking we will be a better human. 

The Fear of Letting Go

Deep down, storage units and facilities are a safety net for our indecisiveness. What if we regret donating Aunt Mildred’s porcelain clown collection? The fear of loss, even if it’s completely irrational, keeps us hanging on to things. “What if that clown collection is worth thousands of dollars in the future and I just throw it away with no thoughts?” Storage becomes the middle ground between throwing something out and keeping it close. But it costs you..

The Curse of Future Value (So We Think?)

We’ve all fallen victim to this mental trap: “This Pokemon collection is practically a retirement plan!” The reality? - Actually THAT is a retirement plan. Lets go to your collection of “Furby’s” instead..That stack of plush animals is worth less than the gas it took to drive them to the storage unit/facility. But parting with them feels like admitting defeat and no one likes to admit they bet on the wrong collectible - especially when you're paying to store them every month as well.

Sentimental Self-Sabotage

Throwing away an old concert T-shirt or a lanyard from a festival feels like erasing the memory of that one amazing day & night you danced like no one was watching. Never mind that the shirt now has the structural integrity of a cobweb and also smells.. It’s not just stuff; it’s a physical link to who we were and, perhaps, who we’d like to think we still are.

Because We Can - Stupidly..

Let’s face it: Storage units are like subscriptions to guiltly pleasures or precious trash. Once you start paying for one, it’s hard to stop - its to easy. After all, if you’re forking over $350 a month to keep your uni textbooks, old linen, childhood bikes, you must really need them, right? It’s called commitment and you aren’t a quitter are you? And more importantly there is more of the population doing this than they say.. 

Survival Instincts

Back in the days when survival depended on what you could gather, having more stuff literally meant staying alive - this was the idea of power and wealth. Tools, food, and shelter materials were essential for basic living but some had more than others. Fast forward to today, and while most of us don’t need to hoard berries or pelts, the instinct to stockpile remains deeply ingrained in the human race. A closet full of sweaters might not save you from a harsh winter, but it feels like preparedness - similar to that secret underground bunker you’ve been building for the end of the world.