Friday, May 15, 2009

You Put What Into Storage?

By Rob Shorten

The majority of self storage customers use storage for their furniture. Sports equipment, boats and RV's are also common. For many it's when they move home that the need for self storage arises. And more and more businesses realise the benefits of using storage for archives and stock. These are the things you expect to see in storage.

Every now and then, more unusual items are put into storage. It might be a little secret that just can't be stored at home. Here are some examples of the weirder things that end up in storage.

1. Randy was a treasured family pet, who had been at the centre of his family all his life. Sadly when Randy departed to run after dogs, cats and the odd mail man in the sky he left a grieving family who missed him terribly. But after a visit to the taxidermist Randy returned to his owners. Here the less mobile Randy continued to reassure the family with his presence. Some years later when a new lady replaced the wife of Randy's owner she failed to appreciate Randy's charms. He soon found his way into a storage room, made more homely with some photos and a few of his best toys. His owner visits him regularly and the storage operator ignores the "no pets" rule.

2. Few storage facilities can boast the presence of aliens bent on World domination. A lone Dalek, the enemy of Dr Who uses a London storage centre to contrive his evil plans. Is he working alone or is he a scout for a future raid by an army of Daleks? His human owner bought him, but soon realised his had no room for him at home. So he now visits his Dalek and whizzes around the long corridors of the storage building. Other customers appear to be reassured by this impressive display of security.

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. We all know someone who just loves shoes. As each new pair is bought more room is required because throwing out an old pair that might be needed one day would be silly. What's less common is a gentleman renting a storage room to store his collection of brightly coloured high heeled shoes, all still boxed and in pristine condition. I'm sure someone would love to liberate these shoes from storage and actually wear them.

5. Colourful magazines depicting the natural forms of people exhibiting a complete lack of shyness in front of the camera often find their way into storage.

6. What do you do when an ancestral family home has to be sold? For one storage tenant the answer was to save as many artefacts as possible. But the most treasured possession was a box of dust that perfectly reminded him of the musty smell of his old home. He regularly visited for a sniff and a walk down memory lane.

7. Just occasionally someone will try to store themselves. The cool steel storage room proves to be an attractive affordable home. Who cares if there's no lighting, power, toilets or windows? The only problem is it's illegal.

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