This is a subject near and dear to my heart…or should I say wallet. The wife and I pay about $400/month in self storage. We have a 10x20ft space and a 10×10 space. I’ve spent alot of time organizing this space (when honestly I should just get rid of some stuff). I’ve often wondered why storage places don’t rent units with shelving. I’d pay more for shelving. It makes having “useful” access to our stuff (my $H!T is stuff). And if stuff is organized in some form (or if you at least know what is where), then if you want to get rid of stuff it become easier. In the earlier part of our storage journey in our current town (Aiken, SC), we had boxes stack on top of boxes. You know what that looks like. Boxes start to get squashed. Also, getting to stuff in the boxes at the bottom requires alot of effort. Shelves make a world of difference. The problem is that shelving is ridiculously expensive.
I recommend the heavy duty shelves — Husky — at the HomeDepot. They’re a bit pricy but very sturdy. You can take advantage of the vertical space in the storage unit. Boxes do not stack this high (at least if you care about the contents). I bought two sets of these for my storage area and it makes moving around inside much easier.
The shelves in this picture are 90″x90″x24″. Assuming you would stack boxes 3 high without shelves, that’s like getting another 32 square feet (or a 3×10 addition). I have two of these in a 10x20ft storage space so that’s like getting an additional 5×10 for free. And more importantly, I can get to things. If I take the extra step and label boxes where I can see the labels, it really becomes handy.
The shelves are $389 currently. If you plan on keeping your storage space for awhile they’ll pay for themselves in a few months. Just don’t fall in the trap of putting more stuff in without shelves and making the place a mess again (as I’m trying to do in this picture)!
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