Our great American consumerist culture has one of the most expensive shopping habits on the planet. Americans absolutely love to buy things that we just do not need, but would look really good up on the mantel in the den for a minute. Americans spend so much money on stuff and things that we have no real need of that an entire industry has sprung up within the last fifty years that allows people to rent an empty space just to put the things we own into, so that we can make more room in our homes and in our offices for even more stuff. We buy until we feel the need to buy a place for the things we have bought.

This is arguably one of the reasons why self storage lockers have made their way into one out of every eleven American family households. More than ten percent of us have reached a need for such a place, in part because we are just overloaded with the stuff that we have bought. American companies now possess over 1.8 billion square feet of rented lockers and spaces owned by over 40 thousand companies nationwide. Those huge numbers prove without a doubt that empty space is big business, and the trend just keeps on growing. But it is not just our lust for new things that makes the use of self storage lockers so appealing and so very functional. People from all demographics and walks of life use self storage lockers as temporary and sometimes permanent solutions for storing and securing their articles and belongings.

So who rents self storage lockers ? It has been said that we move to a new residence an average of eleven times in our lives. Each time we change residences, we tend to weed out the things that we use least often and separate what we really do not feel is necessary to look at every day. Our old stuff stays packed away in boxes simply because we have no real need to unpack a bunch of items from our past that we do not regularly use, though we may not be quite ready to haul it to the curb on trash day, sell it or even give it away. We mentally downsize, and then we physically separate those items from our most used possessions and they end up in a garage or an attic awaiting the next move.

Throughout the years we may end up with enough boxes of packed up goods to fill a garage or more. Many houses, however, have limited closet space and no attic or garage to put all of these accumulated items so that they will be out of sight. People who have had to downsize to an apartment or a mobile home, for a variety of reasons, really lack the space to house all of the belongings that they had before. It is possible that you could throw a tablecloth or two over some boxes and make nice little end tables for your living room if you want to get creative with it, but what would you do when you actually found an end table that you liked? Self storage lockers generally come in many different sizes to fit your specific needs, so whether you need a space as big as a walk in closet or a two car garage, if you can fill it, you can rent it.

The most common reason that people give as to why they are choosing to rent self storage lockers seems to be that they are in some kind of lifestyle transition. This can vary from person to person, but the general consensus is that big changes equal the need for extra space on some level. Take the example of a couple who is getting married. Each person comes into the marriage with all kinds of baggage, so to speak, and it is not all of an emotional nature. When two individual households merge into one, there is quite a bit of adjustment involved, as well as some serious consideration that will be taken as to how each person will take the best of what they have got and bring it into their shared space.

Perhaps she will not want a Foosball table in the dining room, but you love the Foosball table because you received it as a gift from a good friend when you were in college. You have all kinds of crazy memories attached to that Foosball table and there is no way you are parting with it. Period. On the flip side, why should her Great Grandmothers curio cabinet filled with statues of angels and dolphins be a part of the decor of your new home if you can not have your Foosball table? So you compromise and you promise each other that once you buy a larger home, there will be enough room for all of the things that you have amassed, and you rent self storage lockers to hold your precious items until that time arrives. Perfect.

Another situation in which self storage lockers could come in handy is in the lifestyle transition of empty nesters. These couples have spent the last 18 to 20 years of their lives raising their families, and now suddenly they find themselves alone again. Their children are grown and have moved on, perhaps having babies of their own. Why hang on to a large four bedroom house anymore if it is just the two of them? So they downsize, rent a condo in Florida and begin to travel more and renew their relationship with each other and with themselves. Self storage lockers do not seem romantic at all, but the ways in which they serve families and individuals can make a huge difference in the quality of their lives.

Another transition that may require the rental of self storage lockers is the life transitions of the elderly. What happens when the elderly can no longer take care of themselves? It is a pretty sure bet that one day we will all need to find arrangements for our own aging parents and our children will have to do the same for us. It is something that we do not like to think too much about or to look at very closely, for fear that we will bring it into our lives sooner. But the fact is that as we age we become just as dependent on others as we were when we were children. Whether we make the decision to care for our aging parents in our own home, or they necessitate medical care on a full time basis that we just cannot provide, we need a place to put all of the things that they have collected and used over the years. We cannot be expected to bring every belonging that our parents have accumulated into our own home. For this reason, many people choose the safety and security of self storage lockers to house their family members possessions until other arrangements can be made.

A death in the family is a very sad transition that we will all eventually find ourselves obligated to deal with. Selling or distributing our loved ones belongings is a very difficult thing for most of us to have to do, especially if our loved one has recently passed on. Grief is a painful emotion, and it takes some time before we are able to process through all of that. Our loved ones possessions tend to keep their memories alive within us. The smell of the freshly laundered bedsheets that they slept on, the pictures that hung on their walls and the collections that they worked so hard to obtain throughout their lives are all a part of our personal histories, as well. It is good to know that we do not have to forsake those memories, but that we can keep their belongings safe and unharmed in self storage lockers for as long as it takes until we are ready to move on.

Self storage lockers are also excellent temporary solutions if you are involved in extensive home renovations projects. For instance, if you are adding a new room onto your home and there is quite literally no wall there right now you may want to put your things into a nearby facility so that you will not have to disperse them throughout other areas of your home. Renovations are stressful for homeowners, whether it is your entire home or just a room or two. It is important to try and maintain a sense of normalcy throughout the rest of the home if you can, and not be tripping all over the contents of the room you are renovating. Self storage lockers help make your home more livable during these chaotic transitions.

Yet another lifestyle transition that seems to be a common reason that self storage lockers are used is that of college students. Living in the dorms is a necessity for many students. They take just as much stuff as they need, and through out the course of the year they usually end up accumulating more. Come what may, at the end of the school year, they must be out of the dorm, without exception. What do they do with all of their things during the three month break from June to September while they await their new dorm assignment? Why lug all of that stuff back home to Mom and Dads house and then bring it all back in a few short months, when self storage lockers are available in every size imaginable? It is easy to see why this is a perfect solution for college kids. With their belongings safely stored away, they can spend their summer doing exactly what they want to do, traveling, partying and being young and foolish, and not worrying about their things over the summer break.

These are just a few of the very real scenarios that we may at one time or another find ourselves involved in, and it shows just how important having the extra space that self storage lockers provide can be to us. But life transitions and personal solutions are not the only reasons why self storage lockers are so valuable to consumers. According to statistics, 35 percent of self storage lockers are used for business purposes. Surprising? Not really, when you consider that over the last ten years, small, home based businesses have practically exploded on the scene of Americas working world.

There are many situations in which a business owner could benefit from the use of self storage lockers in order to increase efficiency in their own business. For instance, when you think of rise of home based entrepreneurs within the last decade, what is one of the most common scenarios that pops into your mind? If you have ever been online, it is probable that online auction services would be your first thought. It is true that online auctions have changed the way that people all over the world find the things that they want and get it for less money. If you have ever been to one of these auction sites, you have probably asked yourself, Where do they keep all of the stuff that they advertise and auction off? In a rather quirky twist of fate, some of these online auction power sellers actually buy the contents of another persons locker whose accounts have lapsed for non payment, and then they turn around and auction off the items and make money. It sounds crazy, but there are a million ways to make money in America.

Business owners who have small retail shops or who run their business from home may not have much room to store their inventory, whether they are selling cosmetics, toys, clothing or candles. Many stay at home Moms have small side businesses that they feel keeps them connected with other grown ups, which in turn keeps them from going crazy, while at the same time giving them a little spending money on the side. Small self storage lockers are perfect for holding this inventory, and since there is undoubtedly several facilities within a 3 mile radius of most peoples homes, locating self storage lockers within close proximity should not be difficult at all.

In addition to small home based businesses, many established retail companies simply do not have the space to house all of their equipment and records. Documentation of past clients and paperwork can take up a lot of room in an office. Most companies hold on to clients records for at least five years, just in case the client comes back. Even though computers have simplified the information that companies choose to keep, many businesses still rely a great deal on paper documents, receipts and invoices. For these companies, self storage lockers can be much needed space to store the boxes and boxes and boxes of documents that can accumulate throughout the years but that are still too important to shred or to discard. In the case of legal documentation, the law may even require that these be stored for a number of years.

It is not just documents that a business may need to have stored off property. Businesses use furniture, desks, chairs, lamps and tables. Businesses need space to store these items as well as space to store last years inventory until they can try and resell it, especially if it is seasonal. There are so many instances that self storage lockers can benefit a business, whether it is a small home based sales representative biz or a large retail chain.

Maybe we do spend a lot of money in America. Perhaps we do sometimes buy things that may not be absolutely necessary. Yes, it is even fair to say that we Americans can be impulsive, impetuous and even narcissistic at times. However, we are also always experiencing life from the only perspective that we know how, at any given time. Life throws us curve balls. Somehow, with great courage and strength, we dig in our heels and deal with it. Whether it is meeting our soul mate, losing our life partner to disease, building a business to pass on to our children, or packing up and beginning a new life in a new town with absolutely nothing but intuition to go on, Americans are strong, expressive and spirited people. We will not give up our memories. We will not relinquish our spirit even though our life situation will inevitably change. It was that very spirit that sent us flying on the wings of a democracy in the first place, and it is our right to live, spend and store our lifes treasures as we see fit. Self storage lockers , to that end, give us the freedom and flexibility to go where life asks that we go, while at the same time respecting our need to consciously process how we have gotten to where we are.