Self storage lockers are a popular business to own for one reason: People like using them to store their goods and apparently have no problem paying a recurring monthly fee to do so.
While the business model for owning a self storage facility might be a good and profitable one, renting a self storage locker to store your stuff isn’t as lucrative.
The best reason to rent a storage unit is temporarily for an extraordinary event such as a renovation or move or to store inventory that you plan to sell. Goods stored in a self storage locker generally depreciate in value and you may easily spend more in storage fees than what the goods are worth.
A storage locker typically costs around $1,080 – $2,280 per year and quickly becomes an expensive exercise in procrastination rather than decluttering.
Having said that, there may be instances where paying the monthly fee for self storage is worth it given the alternatives you have available and the value of the items to be stored.
Let’s take a closer look at the pros and cons of self storage, costs and alternatives to give you some options to consider.
What are the best reasons for renting a self storage unit?
The best reason for renting a self storage unit is due to a temporary situation that can be rectified within a defined period of time:
- You’re moving and need temporary storage.
- You’re renovating your home and need to move things out of your house for a spell.
- Your living situation has changed and you require temporary storage.
- You need to store seasonal items.
- You’re storing sentimental items that don’t necessarily have a dollar value attached.
- You’re storing goods that you can make money from i.e. inventory that you will sell.
Renting a self storage unit simply because you have too much stuff and not enough room to store it is typically the worst reason you can have. Once you have your stuff in the locker, the motivation to cancel the contract is only as big as your dislike of the monthly bill you get.
Human nature says that you will put off coming up with a solution each and every month while your locker bills add up and your items collect dust in the storage unit.
You may just accept the monthly rental charge as a necessary cost and leave your goods in the locker. The question is, how valuable is the stuff you’re storing compared to the monthly cost to store it?
Self storage is a popular option
If you wonder why you can’t drive a few miles without going past a self storage facility, remember that people only build them if they’re required. In other words, there is a huge demand for them.
It is estimated that the self storage market is worth over $39 billion in the US each year with over 49,000 self storage facilities encompassing 1.9 billion square feet of rentable space (Source: Sparefoot
).
Since the average self storage company won’t make you sign a long term contract and instead allows you to go month to month, they are obviously relying on human nature to run their business. They know that once the average person fills their locker and puts the padlock on, it’ll be at least several months – and maybe longer – before the customer decides to move their items out for good if at all.
Motivation – or lack thereof – can be a powerful force in business.
Self storage isn’t cheap and is an ongoing cost
Renting a self storage unit is typically charged on a monthly and in some cases, on a weekly basis. There are other fees that often get added to your bill however, depending on the company and your location.
While you will see the advertised monthly cost of the unit clearly stated, you may also have to factor in other costs that get added to your final rental bill:
- Administrative or sign up fee
- Mandatory insurance fee
- Paid security
- Premium for a climate controlled unit
- Premium for an indoor unit (as opposed to an outdoor accessible unit)
- Sales tax or other tax on the entire billed amount.
You will pay more in cities where storage is at a premium either due to popularity or lack of overall supply. You will of course also pay more as the size of your unit increases.
You will also pay a premium for a heated (climate controlled) unit which are often in high demand as they are suitable for storing things that can’t get damp such as paperwork.
Some facilities require you to pay an administrative fee upon signing and also charge extra for mandatory insurance to cover you in case of damage or theft.
Saving money on your self storage unit
How can you save money on your total self storage rental fee? The biggest fee will of course be the cost of the unit itself and you will pay more as the size and popularity of the unit increases. Ensure that you only rent the unit size that you need and aren’t paying for empty unused space.
You can typically rent storage units in sizes such as:
- 5′ x 5′
- 5″ x 10′
- 10′ x 10′
- 10′ x 15′
- 10′ x 20′
- 10 x 30′
To save money on your self storage unit, keep an eye out for special offers such as:
- Online specials i.e. sign up online and save
- Seasonal specials or sales
- First month free offers
- Discounts for paying in advance
If you know you will need your unit for a certain period of time, ask if you can get a discount for a longer term commitment rather than a month to month “pay-as-you-go” option. The worst they can say is no.
Also look for self storage businesses actively advertising empty units for rent as they may have space that they could be willing to rent for a discount. Every month a unit sits empty is lost revenue for them that they can’t ever recoup.
Demand for self storage options is steady but growing
As the graphic below shows, interest in “self storage” has slightly increased over the past 10 years in the United States indicating the popularity of this service:
As people get older and accumulate more things, they need a place to store it especially if they have downsized their home.
Often, people use self storage as a quick fix. As in “I’ll store my things here for a few months until I figure out what to do with it.” This is when “a few months” may turn into a much longer period of time.
What items do people generally store in self storage units?
While the sizes of storage units offered is of course a big determining factor, customers who rent storage lockers may do so in order to store the following things:
- Vehicle – A large enough unit can store a classic car, motorbike, boat or ATV.
- Furniture – Old furniture perhaps with sentimental value is a popular item to store.
- Clothing – Children’s clothing that you want to keep, a wedding dress or other sentimental articles of clothing might be stored in a unit.
- Home appliances – An old washer, dryer, fridge or stove could be stored for future use.
- Seasonal items – Christmas decorations, a snow blower or lawn equipment come to mind.
- Paperwork – This would require a climate controlled unit so that the paper doesn’t get moldy.
- Books – Would also require a climate controlled unit.
- Antiques and collectibles – A commonly stored item in a storage locker is an antique or collectible that could have value in years to come.
- Inventory for a business – If you run a business that requires holding stock and don’t have the room to maintain it, a storage unit could make sense. Legally you might also want a separation from your home and prefer a different location for your business activities.
The pros and cons of renting a self storage locker
While your personal situation may require the use of a locker, the reality of renting one is the ongoing cost involved plus other considerations that we’ll refer to below.
| Self storage locker pros | Self storage locker cons |
| Clears up space in your home and helps you declutter. | It’s a recurring charge that gets billed monthly. |
| Offers you the ability to keep items rather than feeling the need to get rid of them and having regret. | Over time it becomes a sunk cost that you will probably never recoup. |
| Gives you some time to figure out what to do with certain items if you’d like some time to decide. | The value of your stored goods tend to depreciate as you spend more money storing them. |
| Might be used to store seasonal items i.e. store winter items during the summer and vice versa. | You might deal with theft or damage of your stored goods. |
| You can store bulky or rarely used items that you still want. | It’s easier to keep paying for storage each month than simply getting rid of the things that you are storing. |
Summary
The best use for a self storage locker is one of a temporary nature that will enable you to only need the unit for a set period of time.
Alternatively, storing goods that you can earn money from such as inventory for a business is another good reason since you can at least profit from – and possibly expense – the cost of storage.
Certainly you can’t always put a price on things. If you have sentimental items that you need to keep but have no room for, renting a self storage locker might not necessarily be strictly about dollars and cents.
Human nature being what it is dictates that the average person will rent a storage locker with big plans to only need the service for a short period of time. Once you have moved your items in however, it’s often easier just to pay the bill each month and put off coming up with a long term solution for another time.