The Secret Aussie Storage Boom (We Don’t Want to Talk About)
There’s a quiet revolution happening in Australia. It’s not on the news. It’s not trending on TikTok. It isn't sexy or ridiculously funny. But it’s real, and it’s growing faster than a council permit backlog for apartments.
It’s the Great Australian Storage Boom.
That’s right. While we were all distracted by interest rates, climate doom, and the return of low-rise jeans (secretly we love it) ,storage units crept up behind us, multiplied and then some.
Currently, 1 in 10 Australians has a storage unit. That’s millions of people storing things they either forgot they owned or don’t want to explain to their partner or themselves. It’s like a national dirty little secret but made of boxes and years of hidden personal items.
No One Admits It, But Everyone’s Doing It
We don’t ask questions. We just smile and nod as someone says they’re “just keeping a few things” in storage. We have seen a lot and there is no judgement when we do get the opportunity to see the unit. But this is what they actually mean is (sometimes):
Three broken chairs,
Twenty mismatched mugs,
A mysterious printer cable
Heirlooms from family members they have forgotten who's is who,
First crockery set bought for your first apartment,
And a futon no human should ever sleep on again or a lovely dog.
But again, no judgment. We’re all just doing our best in this economy and what our mental health & general life can handle.
The Rise of the Storage Palaces
These aren’t your uncle’s rusty shipping containers anymore (although they are hot property in storage now and filling up quicker than your bloody coin jar). Modern storage facilities are more secure than most government buildings. CCTV. Pin codes. Climate control. Gun & Wine Cellars that people would gawk at seeing. Most have lifts, trolleys, boxes to buy and then some. Others have conference rooms with WIFI, in case you want to get your meetings sorted while running your business from your storage unit.
The options, choices, availabilities, luxuries within the Storage Unit world is endless..
In fact, there are now more storage units in some suburbs than petrol stations. Which is not handy at all as we have all noticed but because you’ll need fuel to go visit the things you’re paying to avoid - apparently we need both.
Why Are We Doing This To Ourselves & Our Country?
There are theories:
Minimalism (as long as it’s done 5-25km away)
Denial (because it’s not hoarding if it’s in a separate building)
Future You Will Deal With It (we all know our future self.. can we trust them?)
We’ve turned “I might need that one day” into a financial commitment that we shouldn't be burdening ourselves with. As Aussies we know better, we should do better and we should be spending our money lunching in the sun not on a cold storage unit..
The Bottom Line (And the Monthly Never Ending Invoice)
Storage isn't inherently bad. Sometimes it's crucially helpful. Sometimes it's absolutely necessary. Sometimes it is a massive savior in crisis and trauma.
But sometimes it's just $550 a month to keep things you haven’t thought about since Julia Gillard was Prime Minister. We did have a lot of PM's in a short period but that is not the point!
At Shift Your Storage, we help people take a warm, gentle look at what’s actually in that storage unit of yours. We firstly find them (happens more than you think), assess & quote them for our clients. We then catalogue, donate, recycle (hopefully sell some bits) clear, and dare we say it.. liberate that invisible weight off your shoulders.
Because it’s not just stuff. It’s paid for space. Not in your home that you use.
SYS gives - a peace of NEW mind. A NEW weight off your shoulders. NEW money! Money you have just ignored for a while for OLD pre loved items.
And sometimes, it’s the back-up NutriBullet you bought during covid lockdown. No judgement - we all used those NutriBullets to whip up Pina Coladas than we did (awful) kale smoothies.
So if your storage unit is more mysterious than your tax return, it might be time to take a peek inside. Just… maybe call Shift Your Storage.