Are those who rent self-storage de facto hoarders?
In this area there are so many sell-storage places and most are usually always filled up. In conversation people talk about those people on the show ”Hoarders” and how they should get rid of all that junk, and how they would never have all that stuff in their houses. That make me wonder, if they have a lot of stuff in storage, most of which has not been seen for years, aren’t they de facto hoarders? They are hoarding stuff, they are just hoarding it off-site and paying royally to do so. The reason it is in storage because they felt they needed it when they put it in there, for future use, sentimental reason, etc. If they are not going to use it, and haven’t used it, it was buried in storage so how could they, isn’t it de facto hoarding? That fact makes them de facto hoarders, just not in their homes.
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Well, it depends on what is stored. It’s quite possible that people could be hoarders behind the scenes without realizing it by holding onto junk in another location. You do however, have to move your possessions to the location, so it takes a bit more effort than standard hoarding. Some things may have justification for being stored away for years, such as fishing equipment, a jet-ski, or maybe baby furniture/stuff for that other kid you want, but can’t afford or have space for at the moment.
You may also just have moved to another location with less storage space.
It’s not just what is in storage, but also their relationship to what is in storage.
Is it a whole bunch of crap that they’ve forgotten about? Would they be okay with letting it go? Is there some significance to them beyond monetary value or even nostalgia? Are they trying to assert some control in their lives through these possessions?
This question cracked me up. I think it depends how you define hoarder. Also, some people just don’t have the room or garage space for extra things like wave runners, boats, trailers, extra tires (we are into car racing remember?). And, of course sometimes there is a temporary living situation where a person is in a smaller place. I guess it depends on what is in storage and how often the stuff is used. My inlaws had furniture in storage for something like 7 years. Over time they would have been better off never having the storage and buying everything new when they finally needed furniture again. But, they did not know how long it would be in storage when they first put it there. They had spent a lot of money on it originally. It is difficult to get rid of thousands of dollars of furniture when you are paying $120 a month, and have already beenpaying that monthly bill for a while.
Are those who rent self-storage de facto hoarders?
Not necessarily. I’m living in a teeny apartment for the next 5 years or so while I’m in school. I have a ton of books and some furniture that I couldn’t bring with me, because of space issues. Included in that is an antique bedroom set (four-poster bed and two dressers) that belonged to my grandmother. My things aren’t stored in a rental place, but at my parents’ and my inlaws’ houses, because they (luckily) had the space. However, if they hadn’t had the space, I’d have to pay to store at least some of those things. In my hometown, I can afford to rent a two-bedroom apartment which has the space. In Toronto, especially downtown, apartments are much more expensive to rent – there’s no way I could even afford this little place I have if it weren’t in a campus residence.
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