Posts tagged arts and entertainment

Most self storage customers store furniture and sports equipment. Others store their RV’s or boats. Many use storage when they move home and a lot of businesses now use self storage for stock and archives. That’s what you expect to see in storage.

But as with any business stranger things happen. People choose to store “unusual items” away from their home. Here are some that have been reported by self storage operators:

1. Randy, a beloved Golden Retriever had along and happy life playing with his owners children and enjoying long walks along the beach. And once his mortal days had ended, Randy continued to live in the family home following a visit to a taxidermist. Whilst not as energetic as in the past his presence still brought happiness to the family. Soon the children left home and so did the lady of the house. Wife number 2 never appreciated Randy’s charms and her cat soon began to ruffle his fur. So Randy moved into a storage room along with his best toys. Here he stays, visited regularly by his loving owner. The staff at the storage centre agreed to ignore the “no pets” rule in Randy’s case.

2. Dr Who’s most feared enemy; the Daleks, tyrants of the galaxy, remorseless predators upon unsuspecting alien civilisations, planned many conquests from a self storage unit, or at least one of them did. This lone Dalek could often be seen patrolling the corridors of a London storage centre. An obsessive Dr Who fan snapped up his Dalek, but had no room for the destroyer of planets at home. So this evil entity found its way into storage. The fan visited often and crept inside the Dalek’s armour before surprising innocent users of the facility. Never has there been a more secure storage building. Will Davros ever visit?

3. The family of a recently deceased man got something of a shock when they opened his storage unit. Apparently this dear old man had spent his life collecting vinyl records and amassed a collection that required a storage room. Imagine the family’s surprise when they opened the room and not one record was stored inside. Instead they were confronted with a large collection of interesting black leather wear. Much of it had zips in strange places and shared the room with an extensive whip collection and other items for playful experiences. No wonder a storage unit was needed to house this collection!

4. Many women can’t resist shoes and before you know it there’s a collection to rival Imelda Marcos’s. Storage space at home soon fills and extra space is needed. All completely understandable, but when a man stores box after box of pristine high-heeled shoes you begin to suspect that they were not bought for regular wear. Still I’m sure he paid his storage bills on time.

5. Adult glossy magazines may be the feature of some bachelor homes. But when the bachelor loses his freedom and a partner moves in, there’s often an urgent need for storage. Many people would just say goodbye to their collection, but some just can’t bear to be parted. So boxes of colourful and provocative magazines are swiftly put into storage and I’m sure often forgotten about.

6. A Swiss gentleman was so sad when he sold his ancestral home that he put as much of the contents as he could afford into storage. But the most treasured item to be stored was a box of dust. This dust perfectly reminded him of the slightly musty smell that belonged to the house. Just sniffing it brought back floods of memories.

7. There are many stories of people trying to use a storage room as a home. It’s understandable because modern storage facilities are exceptionally well appointed. They’re usually spotlessly clean, safe and secure and offer great privacy. Perhaps a lack of kitchen, windows and plumbing would be a barrier, but not for some. What’s surprising is that people don’t realise just how sophisticated the security is and attempts to live in a storage room are quickly stopped.