The Cost of Storage

Southernbuild · Feb 17, 2014

I'm in the middle of a garage makeover, and have been adding a lot of much needed storage, mostly the 6' pallet rack style shelves Home Depot sells for $200 each, and large plastic totes. All told, just for the shelf space, and the box, I'm spending about $25 to store whatever is in in each box.

So, the question is; how much is storage costing us? And, if I dare ask, is keeping this stuff on hand worth it? :headscrat

If storage costs more that whats inside the box, it makes me question things.... Balanced against the value of having random stuff on hand..... Some which isn't available locally..... The cost of gas to make a special trip if I needed something mid-project.... :eyecrazy:

So, what thoughts / advise does the Journal have??

volvo · Feb 17, 2014

..
2x4 construction and standard paper box can yield you more storage for 1/4-1/3 of your est.

luv2diy · Feb 17, 2014

For me it's about space, which I don't have at my new place. If you have the room... store it!!!!!! :rocker:

rburke65 · Feb 17, 2014

That's why we keep putting up buildings!

MillerMav · Feb 17, 2014

As someone with a Masters Degree in Lean Manufacturing its my livelihood to work on space constraints, excess inventory, etc.

That being said I sometimes find it hard to let things go in my garage and I only have a 20'x20' 2 car. I basically look at it like this.....

Start with a base. What do you have now? Put up everything you have in cardboard boxes or something else cheap (2x4 shelfs, etc.) label everything and tape it up. Resist the urge to buy anything else you don't immediately need and open the boxes as needed if something comes up. Keep that going for as long as possible (6 months - 1 year if you can).

Next set aside a Saturday (or whole weekend). Then take a look at the stuff that is covered in dust, its still taped shut and you kind of don't remember whats in there. Unless you know for certain that there is something valuable in that box, don't even open it just throw it out. Throw out the whole box of ****; because that what is in there. Useless ****. If you didn't need it for a whole year it will probably be years before you will need it, if ever. When that time comes it is value added to go buy a new one.

I am constantly doing this in my garage. I do a sort every summer at some point in time. I usually get rid of 1-2 boxes of stuff except I will open it and try to sell anything that I can on CL, the rest goes to the curb. Doing this has got me to the point where I am almost empty enough to let my car hobby run rampant and start a restoration project!

laser3kw · Feb 17, 2014

" you build it to fill it"
truer word never spoken

if it cost $25 then you have to amortize that amount over the number of days there is something stored there. $25 / 365 =.0685 per day.

balance your equation with: if you don't have (said object), how much will you spend, time and money to chase it down - to continue where you were at. $.0685 in gas won't get you far

Southernbuild · Feb 17, 2014

I guess I shoulda mentioned that I plan to move within the year, which pushed me towards the steel collapsible shelving. Which I love btw, and I should be able to use it for many years. Plus, I recently disassembled a wood shelving unit I built a year ago, so that also encouraged a temporary solution.

Unfortunately, cardboard boxes aren't designed for the humidity which I have to deal with

Plus, in the cardboard boxes I'm replacing, I've found some mice signs :sad:

So, I thought I'd give plastic a try.

The "if you haven't used it for a year" philosophy kinda scares me I must admit, but I have been throwing out lots of stuff, that I wish I hadn't been keeping all these years....

It's a challenge for sure.

evildky · Feb 17, 2014

Lets not forget how many among us are or have paid to rent a storage unit. this got me to scale back, I simply could not justify the expense of warehousing stuff.

GarageWarrior · Feb 17, 2014

The cost of plastic bins and metal shelving is a one time thing and is rather trivial.

Where it can adds up QUICK is when you start PAYING for storage space and moving stuff. Figure $0.75-$2 a month per sq. ft. for a decent space and moving/shipping anywhere from $.50/lb to several $/lb.

I looked in to paying $5K a pop to move a shipping container and $10K/year to store a bunch of junk and that put value of owning things in to a very different perspective.

Sneeze357 · Feb 17, 2014

I keep everything I can. I moved into a much larger shop so I can keep more, and now I'm upset thinking about a lot of things I threw out that I "didn't need". It's so much more convenient to have extra stuff around, as long as it doesn't turn into some kind of hoarder condition. There are things I throw away...that I think, I will NEVER need that, and a week later, I gotta go buy one.

I have a scrap wood pile now that takes up about as much room as a car, and last night I was able to build a little stairway in the shop with **** I had laying around. I was very proud of myself...not one trip to home depot!

Southernbuild · Feb 17, 2014

GarageWarrior said:
The cost of plastic bins and metal shelving is a one time thing and is rather trivial.

Where it can adds up QUICK is when you start PAYING for storage space and moving stuff. Figure $0.75-$2 a month per sq. ft. for a decent space and moving/shipping anywhere from $.50/lb to several $/lb.

I looked in to paying $5K a pop to move a shipping container and $10K/year to store a bunch of junk and that put value of owning things in to a very different perspective.

That reminds me... I'm also looking into buying a shipping container

Spare random stuff is always great to have around, regardless of space issues.

classicharleyj · Feb 18, 2014

Only in America will people keep a garage full of **** that costs less than $1000 average and park $20,000 outside...
Jim

H.G. Wells · Feb 18, 2014

I am struggling with this right now. Moved from a house with a 30x40 shop full of treasures?. Hated to throw away too much as I was not sure where I would land and what space I would have. Spent some time in an apartment paying $220 a month to store some shop stuff and a ton of household goods. Left most of the big stuff at my brothers place and am slowly moving it home as I get organized. I thought I was doing good with the plastic bins and organizing my garage, but I emptied out my storage locker and now my garage is full. building a 10x14 storage shed and trying to figure how to store things and still access them.

Good news is that while I am unboxing I am setting aside donate/garage sale/long term storage/attic. This is forcing me to be better organized and I am building my own shelving.

mikefromme · Feb 18, 2014

I try not to keep **** but I keep a lot of spare stuff around. The other night my oil boiler quit working. It was below zero.... No problem I have a spare beckett burner in the basement and was able to swap the ignition transformer. Had it back running in an hour and saved having to call someone for an emergency repair.

Money saved could buy a lot of storage totes. And keeping the wife warm - priceless.

MonoxieChild · Feb 18, 2014

Im a poor kid, so know all about storage at a price. Have a cat? I have two, so get a giant very sturdy plastic container every month for free when i use up the kitty litter. There stackable, can handle a solid 75 pound of weight, have a sturdy handle. And you can make some easy storage spots for them.

Trey T · Feb 18, 2014

I like cabinets and dislike open shelves. It takes so much work to keep the shelves organized.

mrodgers · Feb 19, 2014

classicharleyj said:
Only in America will people keep a garage full of **** that costs less than $1000 average and park $20,000 outside...
Jim

Not me. Mine is outside because I'm poor and don't have the extra cash for a new garage door opener. 7 years ago my brand new small SUV hooked the weather stripping on the bottom of the garage door and yanked it down while I was looking backwards backing out of the garage. I turned around to see the door coming down. Slammed the throttle down and the garage door missed the car by a fraction of an inch.

Still to this day, I need a new opener. I have more important things to spend the extra cash on.

Bill Ramsey · Feb 19, 2014

classicharleyj said:
Only in America will people keep a garage full of **** that costs less than $1000 average and park $20,000 outside...
Jim

I chuckled a couple years ago at the cops' response in a TV news piece about a rash of expensive wheel thefts happening in a well-to-do neighborhood. Thieves were using a simple 2-minute technique to make off with $6K in wheels/tires. The police spokesperson being interviewed said, "It never ceases to amaze us that people will fill a garage full of junk and leave a $30K car on the driveway for the thieves." I turned to my wife and said, "Did she just take a jab at the victim??" :lol:

I think most of us garage types make that storage-balance decision on some level. My truck is usually out, but SWMBO's usually has an overnight spot in the garage.

nolimits76 · Feb 19, 2014

mrodgers said:
Not me. Mine is outside because I'm poor and don't have the extra cash for a new garage door opener. 7 years ago my brand new small SUV hooked the weather stripping on the bottom of the garage door and yanked it down while I was looking backwards backing out of the garage. I turned around to see the door coming down. Slammed the throttle down and the garage door missed the car by a fraction of an inch.

Still to this day, I need a new opener. I have more important things to spend the extra cash on.

Please tell me there is a video.... :evil:

jd_1138 · Feb 19, 2014

I used to manage a large self storage facility in California that had opened in '77. In 1999, a family came to clean out a 10x20 that their parents had rented in 1979 right before they retired and moved back to their native Michigan. All that was in it were a few boxes of old curtains and an old particle board desk. They had paid like $180/month for 20 years -- or about $35,000 -- not including lost interest on that money. Wow.

sberry · Feb 19, 2014

I got a bud wants to build a 5K shack to store a 500 scrap machine in. My empty shop spacve is valuable. We do use some of the stuff we hoard but I created very low cost place out of the way to put it, sorted fairly well so I can find some things.

67carl · Feb 19, 2014

Check Craigslist. Daily. Search for "shelving", "shelves", "storage", "cabinets" etc... It's amazing what you can find cheap. Also look to see if you have a salvage/recycle business in your area. I just found one here and it's like a treasure trove. My problem is I've found so much cool stuff I don't have room for it all, and I can't stop!

As far as the comment about "only in American" parking the car outside - not sure where that came from but I, along with everyone I know, parks in the garage. I only have a 1 car and if I need the space to work the car gets pulled out, work gets done and cleaned up, car goes back in.

Strouty · Feb 19, 2014

I look at any purchase for storage as an investment. Yes there is upfront cost, maybe more than some of the items being stored. After years of usage, the bins, shelves, cabinets, or totes have helped keep things contained and still have value. Some of the treated cardboard bins work ok, but they can be almost as much as plastic. I use metal shelves whenever possible, but I have all plastic in my basement due to the occasional sump pump mishap. The mantras like "if you haven't used it in a year, toss it" do not apply to all things. I have a 20 pound box of drywall screws that have been sitting on a shelf for two years, but when I need to drywall my ceiling, they are there and all ready paid for. I agree that if you rent a "storage unit" then it would probably be cost effective to only store truly valuable things, notice I said valuable and not expensive, the two do not equate in most instances.

Strouty · Feb 19, 2014

67carl said:
Check Craigslist. Daily. Search for "shelving", "shelves", "storage", "cabinets" etc... It's amazing what you can find cheap. Also look to see if you have a salvage/recycle business in your area. I just found one here and it's like a treasure trove. My problem is I've found so much cool stuff I don't have room for it all, and I can't stop!

As far as the comment about "only in American" parking the car outside - not sure where that came from but I, along with everyone I know, parks in the garage. I only have a 1 car and if I need the space to work the car gets pulled out, work gets done and cleaned up, car goes back in.

Also search misspellings too:

draw, draws, shelfs, shelfing, you would be amazed. I have won many an item on ebay when the seller misspelled something major and no one else was bidding.

bczygan · Feb 19, 2014

Trust me.......you CAN have too much stuff!

And as far as the cost of storage...think of the cost of the home and property that you use to store this stuff in, and the cost of the insurance, financing, heating, cooling etc.

Also add what all the costs could give you in extra income if invested.

A few bins and shelves is insignificant.

67carl · Feb 19, 2014

Strouty said:
Also search misspellings too:

draw, draws, shelfs, shelfing, you would be amazed. I have won many an item on ebay when the seller misspelled something major and no one else was bidding.

Good point. I've been searching for a nice old USA made vise, typed in vice once by accident and found a few. Vises, not actual vices. I have enough of those already!

JMartel · Feb 19, 2014

classicharleyj said:
Only in America will people keep a garage full of **** that costs less than $1000 average and park $20,000 outside...
Jim

Except a vehicle is designed to be resistant to the elements outside.

classicharleyj · Feb 20, 2014

I have a buddy that just bought a $45,000 Ford truck and parks it outside, so he can keep a $400 pop-up camper inside.. says he's planning on fixing it up to sell.. Wait till we have a good hail storm and his deductible is $1000 to fix his truck ..
Jim

RalphInCA · Feb 20, 2014

Hmmmm. This thread had been good. I have a $50 / mo storage unit. $600 / year. Have had it for almost 4 years. So far I have spent $2400. Value of the stuff in there us much less.

Might be time to get rid of the unit

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

sberry · Feb 20, 2014

Yup, a fortune to be made in the future selling an old used trailer, especially one you spend money and effort on.

I got some specific area at no/low cost dedicated to this kind of thing and we use it. Some of it we use. Some could be tossed yet. Most of it has been sorted and these pics are older.

Southernbuild · Feb 20, 2014

Since I know we love pics.... Here's what I'm going with.

Tex Arcana · Feb 21, 2014

MillerMav said:
As someone with a Masters Degree in Lean Manufacturing its my livelihood to work on space constraints, excess inventory, etc.

That being said I sometimes find it hard to let things go in my garage and I only have a 20'x20' 2 car. I basically look at it like this.....

Start with a base. What do you have now? Put up everything you have in cardboard boxes or something else cheap (2x4 shelfs, etc.) label everything and tape it up. Resist the urge to buy anything else you don't immediately need and open the boxes as needed if something comes up. Keep that going for as long as possible (6 months - 1 year if you can).

Next set aside a Saturday (or whole weekend). Then take a look at the stuff that is covered in dust, its still taped shut and you kind of don't remember whats in there. Unless you know for certain that there is something valuable in that box, don't even open it just throw it out. Throw out the whole box of ****; because that what is in there. Useless ****. If you didn't need it for a whole year it will probably be years before you will need it, if ever. When that time comes it is value added to go buy a new one.

I am constantly doing this in my garage. I do a sort every summer at some point in time. I usually get rid of 1-2 boxes of stuff except I will open it and try to sell anything that I can on CL, the rest goes to the curb. Doing this has got me to the point where I am almost empty enough to let my car hobby run rampant and start a restoration project!

The only problem with this is, when I toss something like that, I will almost IMMEDIATELY need it shortly after tossing. This is a perfect example of Murphy's Law; and that motherfvkker lives on my shoulder!! :shocking:

Strouty · Feb 21, 2014

Southernbuild said:
Since I know we love pics.... Here's what I'm going with.

I had those tubs, but I found they were so big that I easily could put too much weight in them. I went with smaller ones, and have had better luck. I have similar shelving and like it very much.

rustedgoat · Feb 23, 2014

I know you posted about cardboard boxes not working for you. I found bankers boxes to be good for a few reasons.
-cheap $1 or $2 for the heavy duty (extra thick)
-can't over fill them and make boxes too heavy
-easy to open and close (no tape involved)
-easy to stack on each other (within reason)
-cardboard won't scratch up tables or floors

depending on the size of things being stored I use
plastic shoe boxes
milk crates
magazine holders
and may be picking up some commercial flip top bins which may be the best

4x4_G30_Sportvan · Feb 23, 2014

Go to lowes and buy their mistint paint for $5-10 a gal. Thin it down , and paint your better cardboard boxes. Makes them sturdier and resistant to humidity and dew and such. Also easier to clean off the dust & mouse droppings.

shooting4life · Feb 24, 2014

Make your own shelves out of plywood and 2x4's. 2 sheets of plywood and maybe 10 2x4's will cost maybe $60 and will hold anything, giving you 4 8 foot by 2 foot shelves. I also picked up some super cheap horizontal file cabinets and built them into the shelves, which is another good, cheap, storage option.

Southernbuild · Feb 24, 2014

4x4_G30_Sportvan said:
Go to lowes and buy their mistint paint for $5-10 a gal. Thin it down , and paint your better cardboard boxes. Makes them sturdier and resistant to humidity and dew and such. Also easier to clean off the dust & mouse droppings.

As part of my organization, I realized that I have lots of random paint as well.... That's an interesting idea, sorta gives you the best of both worlds; cheap and more moisture resistant :thumbup:

Strouty · May 31, 2014

I have been working on my shop organization and I think the largest cost of storage is the toll it takes on you. I get overwhelmed with the shear amount of things. I am constantly trying to find something that I know I own, only to have to buy another one because finding it will take more effort than buying a new one. A lot of the trouble is just flat out being honest with yourself about what is really important and what is just sitting there wasting space.

Milehighxr · May 31, 2014

I have a similar, though worse issue. I have a 20x30 garage shop space, that for a long time was both wood shop, and auto repair/machine shop. My inlaws moved in town real close, and have a 16x24 shop/garage in backyard. All my wood stuff is there now. However, my dad has 6 storage units that he needs to empty, at least 3 are filled floor to ceiling fornt to back with book boxes full of old papers, books, and other items. He has had them for more then 3 yrs, at a total cost of $500 per month. I have been riding his *** like zorro to get rid of it all, and every time I use something in my shop that I "inherited" he "reminds" me that I wanted to get rid of it. What he seems to forget is that I am asking him to unload books he helped to author 30 yrs ago that he has no current or future use for. It is infuriating trying to "help" him at storage(or his apt, it is full of stuff, and a major fire/safety hazard but he still won't do anything about it) and he says he "needs" to keep half of what we are trying to throw out/sell.

This is the biggest reason why I flatly refuse to hang onto anything I haven't touched in more than 2 years, unless I know for absolute fact I will use it again like my wheel balancer...

I'm gladly taking any advice on how to deal with hoarders...

Wuaname · May 31, 2014

Umm, some are puzzled why while some of us don't park our car in the garage? Umm, that's why I pay insurance for, lol. So you guys garage the cars at work to or cover them? If not what's a few hour overnight out, unless you live in the snow or something, I guess.

The Cost of Storage

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