Accumulating stuff takes time. After reading this unusal portrait of America, I had one question: How much time do people actually spend shopping? Until the end of my teenage years, I used to enjoy bargain hunting immensely and spent endless hours in pursuit of gadget that fell within my budget. I hate shopping now and my favorite shopping experience is Amazon.com’s “One- Click.” Takes less then a minute to get the item I want delivered to my place.<\/i> <\/p>\n
In Modern Era, Self-Storage Has Right Stuff <\/b> By DAVID WESSEL (WSJ)\t<\/p>\n
Whatever the strains and shortcomings of the U.S. economy, we Americans have a whole lot more stuff than we used to. How much? So much that there is enough space in rentable self-storage lockers in the U.S. for each man, woman and child to stand on a spot 2<\/p>\n
The U.S. has 1.875 billion square feet of self-storage space, according to the Self Storage Association. That is three times the area of the island of Manhattan or the square footage of 426 copies of the 110-story Sears Tower in Chicago.<\/p>\n
Painting a meaningful portrait of changes in Americans’ material standard of living is always a challenge. Those inflation-adjusted statistics don’t quite do it. The U.S. is marked by increasingly sharp contrasts between the lives of the rich and the lives of the poor, and it isn’t any easier to rise from a poor childhood to the middle class than it was 30 years ago. Jobs are often less secure and the penalty for having yesterday’s skills in today’s economy is larger.<\/p>\n
But American families at the middle of the middle class own more things, enjoy better health, have more choices than their grandparents—and (for most) their parents—did. The average home now has 3.1 televisions, on average, according to a survey done for the Consumer Electronics Association; in 1980, it was 1.7 per household. About 92% of households own a car, the most recent Department of Transportation survey found; even among households with incomes below $25,000, 80% own a car. Around 85% of households have air conditioning.<\/p>\n
Many families spend more than they earn; hence the big increase in consumer debt. They also seem to buy more than their houses can store.<\/p>\n
“Forget about two- or three-car garages and finished basements—today that’s just not enough space for U.S. households overflowing with excess furniture, camping gear, sporting equipment,” Joseph Quinlan, chief stock-market strategist for Bank of America Corp., said in a note to clients the other day. He even suggested that the ability to put all that stuff in storage units is a “critical prop to global growth” because consumers will keep spending only as long as they have a place to put their purchases. “If U.S. consumers run out of storage space,” he quipped, “the global economy is doomed.”<\/p>\n
About 40% of the total self-storage space is rented by businesses—eBay merchants with inventory to stockpile or offices with old files that must be preserved. A lot of people rent storage space temporarily because they’re moving, going into the military or leaving college for the summer.<\/p>\n
Still, one in every 11 American households now has a self-storage unit, according to a survey that National Analysts Inc., a Philadelphia research firm, conducted for the Self Storage Association. That is up from one in 17 in 1995.<\/p>\n
Is there a better way to capture the amazing amount of stuff that Americans own? The self-storage industry’s revenue now is $15 billion, more than the receipts of the nation’s movie theaters. There are five shareholder-owned companies in the business. The largest, Public Storage Inc., says more than 90% of its units are rented. And self-storage isn’t any longer only barren gravel lots with those garage-door lockers. Self-storage facilities increasingly are high-rises, many with elevators and climate control. One deliciously ironic trend: Abandoned big-box retail stores are being converted into storage facilities.<\/p>\n
There are occasional heart-breaking stories about people living in self-storage facilities because they haven’t anywhere else to go. The Oregonian newspaper recently reported that two rock bands not only stored gear, but practiced in their storage unit—until a fire swept the facility. And an Indianapolis TV news report says a worker cleaning out an abandoned unit recently suffered chemical burns that suggested the unit had been a methamphetamine lab.<\/p>\n
But most folks who rent storage space use it to store furniture, kitchenware, clothing, photos and paintings, holiday and seasonal items, books and magazines, towels and linens, the trade association’s survey found. About 9% said they store food in them. (Maybe that’s what happens when you buy too much at Costco or Sam’s Club.) And it isn’t just rich folks who have an abundance of belongings: A third of the units are rented by people with incomes under $30,000 a year.<\/p>\n
The survey turned up one other fact: Most people who rent self-storage space say they have storage space in garages, attics or basements—just not enough.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"