A few years ago, a cartoonist portrayed an elderly man with a walker and his son standing in front of a self-storage unit, chock full of the detritus of a lifetime.
“One day, all of this will be yours,” the father told his son.
I tend to joke about these things with my children. But an estimated 1 in 3 Americans have storage units, and more than 40 percent are baby boomers (Gatea).
Generations ago, extended families lived together in large houses with attics and basements and often a garden packhouse to accommodate possessions. Since those times, our global population has skyrocketed, and our lifestyles have changed. Today’s houses have little storage.
The main reasons for having a self-storage unit are referred to as the Four Ds-- downsizing, displacement (e.g., relocation, disaster), divorce and death (Poole, Stepanian). Apparently, the growing use of storage units has nothing to do with the influence of Maria Kondo or (to keep those objects that bring joy) or Swedish “death cleaning,” whereby you reduce possessions and organize finances to make your succession easier for your heirs.
For many years, I scoffed at the idea, maintaining a storage unit was the first stage of hoarding. I also worked about a genetic predisposition to become someone like the Collyer Brothers. However, with the death of a close family member, a collector, and a series of break ins, we rented several storage units. More recently, I’ve used storage units for relocation.
Frequent moves?
Walking down the aisles of my storage facility, I note a cluster of units that rent costumes for galas while others have props needed for a Jamie Lee Curtis horror movie). Some have collectibles and vintage furniture, maybe for e-commerce or MarketPlace. Others have neatly labeled, standard-sized moving boxes for easy access and stacking--someone with a habit of moving. Still others are filled with a tangle of objects hurriedly (angrily?) tossed inside . Mops, buckets, clothing, lamp shades, blenders, suitcases and cartons from the local liquor store. A breakup of sorts? A few of those units are nearly empty, and a few have little-used exercise equipment.
Horror Props
Are there other underlying reasons to have a storage unit? After all, rental fees, which average between $75-$175 a month, add up. For some, a storage unit offers a transition—when you’ve cleared your house of many possessions but can’t bring yourself to part with them through donations or trips to the landfill (Poole).
Maybe it isn't all about decluttering our lives. Maybe it has something to do with memories.
Hum, memories. . . .
A storage unit filled with old photo albums, high school prom, stuffed animals or my favorite books would be a hard sell to justify the clutter and expense. And that father-son cartoon remains in my mind. As soon as I relocate to a new home. . . . I'm certain to find a place for many of these objects. . . .
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Works Cited
Gatea, Maria. “One in Three Americans Rent Self Storage as Space Shortages Grow and Demand Expands.” StorageCafe. 11 April 2025. https://www.storagecafe.com/blog/self-storage-demand-and-trends-2025/. Accessed 18 November 2025.
NOTE – The article above contains a methods section on survey data.
Poole, Julia. “Tired of Losing—Mother’s Journey with Self-Storage showed me how, for many Americans, these Units Hold Much More than Material Possessions.” Slate. 5 August 2024. https://slate.com/business/2024/08/self-storage-units-industry-growth-housing-insecurity-evictions.html. Accessed 17 November 2025.
Stepanian, Jim. “Why Self-Storage Is Steady Despite Economic Bumps.” Storage Caves. 23 October 2024. https://storagecaves.com/why-self-storage-is-steady-despite-economic-bumps. Accessed 17 November 2025.
Related Readings
Knierim, Ashley. “What is Swedish Death Cleaning, and Should You Do It?” The Spruce. 11 February 2025. https://www.thespruce.com/swedish-death-cleaning-4801461. Accessed 24 January 2026.
Meltzer, Marisa. “How Death Got Cool. The Latest Trend is a Cross between Hygge and Maria Kondo: A Sign that Dying Well Has Become a Sign of Our Time.” 12 January 2018. The Guardian.
https://www.theguardian.com/news/2018/jan/12/how-death-got-cool-swedish-death-cleaning. Accessed 24 January 2026.
