January 25, 2010
Ben Cower

When you first buy a new home, even if it isn’t your first, one of the things that probably impresses you the most is just how much available space there is. Odds are that you even buy a home with one extra room, thinking “There is no way we will ever fill this house up!”

A few years down the road, though, things can really change. You might start a family, or you might add to the numbers you already have. All of a sudden, there are high chairs which need to be stored until the next baby, cribs that await a similar fate, extra clothes, albums full of pictures, toys, books, shelves, and a plethora of new furniture. And those extra rooms? Well, they have been occupied for years now, and their usefulness for storage has long passed.

Even if you don’t add to the numbers in your family, odds are pretty good that you will accumulate more goods as time in your new home goes by. We can be pretty surprised at the money we spend in a year on toys, knick knacks, and hobbies, and everything we purchase needs to be stored somewhere.

Eventually, though, the space in our house runs out. Suddenly, we find ourselves with bigger families and/or more things, without the room to fit everyone and everything. But our financial situation has improved only marginally; we’re not sure if now is the time to buy a new and bigger house. What are the options in such a situation?

Well, one thing you can do is rent a self storage unit until it’s time to buy a new house. Self storage units are the perfect options for furniture and other items which you won’t be using for a while, but that you are not quite ready to give up. Simply pack them towards the back of the unit, where they can sit until they are either needed or you complete the closing costs on a new home for your family.

Infrequently used items aren’t the only things you can use your self storage unit for either. Ever looked around the house and realized just how much of your stuff gets used on an infrequent basis? That pressure washer which only comes out twice a year, cans of paint leftover from your last project, and sports equipment are all candidates for self storage when you don’t have any room left in your house.

Self storage can also take care of the problems created by the accumulation of toys, too. There are many units big enough to house your dirt bike or ATV all winter long, without taking up space in the garage or the basement. Again, you can use the unit to protect these valuable belongings until your financial situation allows you the ability to move into a bigger and better house.

Having a lot of stuff in your home doesn’t necessarily mean you have to get rid of it. Think about moving some stuff into a self storage unit until you are ready to enter the market to buy a new home.