Most Of Us Have Too Much ‘Stuff’
SEATTLE, WA — Travel around the country by train as I have done, and after a while you will become aware of seeing something over and over again in almost every town and city through which you’re passing: self-storage facilities.
Some are in converted warehouses or other old buildings, others are brand-new looking. But you see them everywhere.
If ever there was symbol of the excess to which we have all become accustomed, this is it. We have so many possessions there’s no room for all that junk in our houses and apartments. Solution? We shell out good money every month so some stranger will look after it for us.
That’s crazy!
There was a news story last night on one of the Seattle TV stations about a second-hand clothing store that takes donations of old clothes which are then sold to people at very, very low prices. The clientele of this store – sorry, I didn’t catch the name – is single parents, folks who have lost their jobs, and others who are just having a tough time.
The manager of the store told the reporter that there has been a huge increase in demand over the past month or so. Why are we not surprised? Times are tough. The problem is, they are close to running out of donated clothing with which to restock their shelves and racks.
And yet we have self-storage facilities all over the country warehousing millions of tons of stuff we’re not using including, no doubt, a lot of useable clothing.
I mean, that’s crazy!
Jim, it’s the same way here in Virginia. Self storage is a growth industry. The Wall Street Journal online has a story today headlined, “Boomer Bust: How Will the Economy Rebound Without Post-War Babies Financing Their Harleys?” That would seem to be related. If the current recession proves to be as pernicious as some people believe, it will be interesting to see what becomes of self storage units.