Did you know that 8.96% of American households currently rents a self-storage unit? And that 67% of those who do live in single-family homes with most having a garage and 33% having a basement in their homes?
Other statistics show that the majority of these self-storage users rent for the long term—more than 52% rented it for a year or more, reports the Self Storage Association.
If you have a self-storage unit, or have friends who do, think about how often you or they access it? Probably not too often, if ever. That means you’re not only paying to purchase items you do not need or use, you are paying a hefty fee each month just to hold on to them. So what does this mean? We have too much stuff!
That’s where 123JUNK comes in.
What to do before you rent a self-storage unit
Before you start thinking about renting a self-storage unit, take a hard assessment of the items you want to store there. Are you storing family antiques that you will be passing along to the next generation? Do you have equipment or files relating to a business you own or run that you need to store off premises? These are great reasons to rent a self-storage unit.
On the other hand, have your piles of boxes outgrown the basement and attic storage areas? Can you even get your car into the garage anymore? Many people keep accumulating items because they think, “I will use it someday.” And then those piles become overwhelming and difficult to deal with. So they just pile up, higher and higher, leaving you saying to yourself, “I ought to do something about that” but then never having the time or energy to do so.
The rule of thumb is: If you haven’t used it in a year, you probably won’t need to. Cull through your stuff and see what you can really let go of before it gets to the point where you need a self-storage unit. Then call 123JUNK to come haul it away. We will not just drive to the landfill and dump it off. We carefully go through each pickup to pull out anything that can be repurposed or recycled, and provide you with a donation receipt you can use against your taxes.
What to do after you’ve rented a self-storage unit
If you have already rented a self-storage unit and want to clean it out, we can do that too. With our guide to decluttering and organizing your storage unit, you can sort through items or just have us take the whole kit and caboodle, doing the same culling process to pull out perfectly re-usable or re-purposely items.
It’s good to know that you can just pick up the telephone and arrange for someone else to do the heavy lifting. We’ll send over a professional 123JUNK team and one of our big red dump trucks, and clear that storage unit out in a jiffy. No more monthly charges for items that are only collecting dust.
Plus, you’ll feel good about donating items to someone that can really use them. 123JUNK works with a number of charitable organizations who would be thrilled to get your donations.
If this isn’t enough to get you motivated to clear out that excess stuff, let us leave you with this last statistic. According to the Self Storage Association, the contents of more than 155,000 self-storage units are auctioned off annually for an average price of $425 from people who simply abandon them and quit paying the self-storage fees. That amounts to more than $65 million going into the pockets of the self-storage owners from people who couldn’t deal with their stuff any longer.
Have too much stuff? Contact 123JUNK.
This doesn’t have to be you, with 123JUNK as an option. To avoid the hassle of self-storage and high self-storage fees, call 123JUNK today. We serve families and businesses throughout Northern Virginia, Maryland and Washington, D.C.
