Even though the average size of an American house has doubled since the 1970s, these homes still don’t seem to have enough storage space. Part of the reason for this is due to the average household possessing about 300,000 items. While some of these items may include furniture, lamps, and rugs that are placed throughout the home, a large percentage of these are tools, supplies, and other types of personal belongings that just don’t quite fit.
While many homes have attics, garages, and basements, there may still not be sufficient space to store everything a family owns and wants to hold onto. The results of a Self Storage Association study showed that by 2007, half of the self-storage users were expected to use a storage facility for things that they couldn’t fit into their homes. Camping gear, recreational vehicles, and other types of sports equipment may be included within this list of items.
As a result of having insufficient space, approximately 8.96% of households in the United States are keeping their belongings at a storage facility. Recent information shows that every household in the United States has about 21 square feet of self-storage space that they’re using for this purpose.
Many households may have more than a single self-storage unit. This is particularly the case when they have a large, multi-generational family and are decluttering their homes or saving heirlooms to pass down to children or grandchildren. Temporary storage units are also convenient to have when relocating or otherwise preparing to move to a new home.
It’s interesting to note that the percentage of Americans renting self-storage units also have these traditional storage areas in their homes:
- Garage: 65%
- Attic: 47%
- Basement: 33%
Just 25% of the households with 2-car garages, for example, are able to use these spaces for parking their cars. This is because they’re using their garages for storage. Around 32% of homeowners do, however, have enough space to park a single car while the rest is being used for storage.
Given the number of self-storage units available throughout the United States, the Self Storage Association reports that every man, woman, and child has 7.3 square feet of storage available to them. To free up space within their house, attic, basement, and garage, individuals and families can both benefit from using a storage facility. After everything that isn’t used on a regular basis is moved to a storage unit, it can free up space so that day-to-day items are easier to access.