Did you know that one in ten households rents extra storage space!
Andrew Penny
President @ Kingsford - Advisors to CEOs and Business Owners | Strategy, New Business Development, Marketing
I was out the other day and noticed yet another self-storage place going up. It seems that these facilities are everywhere. Have you seen the same? Almost every industrial park, converted shopping mall, or cottage town has one these days.
Why on earth are so many being built?
Somewhere in the mid 19th century, the idea of convincing people to satisfy their needs was not enough and consumerism was born. ?Now, to be really truly happy you also have to satisfy your wants! And of course,? billions are spent every year convincing us that our lives would be so much better if we only had what we wanted: a new car, a better putter, the latest printer, a designer dog, a Hugo Boss, a new pair of Jimmy Choos, etc, etc, etc.
The trouble is that over the last 50 years or so we have bought so much stuff to satisfy these wants that we have nowhere to put it.? ?And that is why we have ubiquitous self-storage places to keep all our excess stuff with one in ten households renting extra storage space!
So, the next time you see a self-storage rental place, ask yourself how much stuff you own. If you are like most and have too much, rather than store it why not give it away? Or better yet, ask yourself before you buy “is it a need or have you simply been convinced to want it?”
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Postscript
When thinking about this newsletter, I remembered (vaguely) that in my misspent youth, I would host some epic parties. The partying would carry well into the night and the measurability of epic-ness could become a bit hazy. It wasn’t until the next morning that we could reliably determine how good a party it had been by assessing the mound of empty bottles, cans, and pizza cartons that remained. ?
I wonder if our present-day epic-ness will be measured? by the number of storage lockers we leave behind….
After dealing with "stuff" from my father's estate I was introduced to "Swedish Death Cleaning" ... it is a good philosophy/practice https://www.thespruce.com/swedish-death-cleaning-4801461
Director Client Growth & Customer Success Browning IT
1 个月Andrew totally agree our kids don't want our old stuff. Matthew House is a non-profit who assist new Canadians with good used furniture matthewhouse.org they would be thrilled to take your used items.
Development Officer, New Brunswick Public Libraries Foundation | Fondation des bibliothèques publiques du Nouveau-Brunswick at Government of New Brunswick / Gouvernement du Nouveau-Brunswick
1 个月There's so much to be said for simpler times and way of living.
Community Builder, Fundraiser, and Non-profit Executive
1 个月Good article Andrew, as our society ages and our parents (and ourselves) downsize, this will be more of an issue. I don't want 99% of the stuff my parents have in their house, and I don't "need" any of it. My kids are in the same situation. Hopefully, someone can use some of it through a secondhand shop, charity or rehoming.