“According to SpareFoot, a company that tracks the self-storage industry, the United States boasts more than 50,000 facilities and roughly 2.311 billion square feet of rentable space. In other words, the volume of self-storage units in the country could fill the Hoover Dam with old clothing, skis, and keepsakes more than 26 times. […] The self-storage industry made $32.7 billion in 2016, according to Bloomberg, nearly three times Hollywood’s box office gross.”
“High-end self-storage sites can command two or three times the rent per square foot than commercial or residential uses, and in many major metros, these warehouses are 90 percent occupied.”
I resisted renting a storage unit for many years and broke down this year because I need a place to store the Land Rover’s hardtop when I switch to the soft top this spring.
I rented one once after I had moved but did not immediately have room for some things. I thought “just for a couple of months” but a couple of years went by and I could probably have thrown everything out that I had stored, saved the rental cost, and bought new stuff later if I needed anything.