The American Way: "Public Storage"
There are a few things that really amuse me in this country.
One of them is the concept of "public storage" establishments, warehouses of sorts where one can rent a unit to store stuff. Their popularity so nicely illustrates another aspect of The American Way, the lifestyle of nice little consumers and constant movers. Who shop and shop and shop ( Read more... )
One of them is the concept of "public storage" establishments, warehouses of sorts where one can rent a unit to store stuff. Their popularity so nicely illustrates another aspect of The American Way, the lifestyle of nice little consumers and constant movers. Who shop and shop and shop ( Read more... )
For example, I prefer a minimalist living style but there are certain things I've kept from the times I lived overseas that I am not willing to part with- however they would not be practical to move across continents and I don't intend on 'settling' in one place any time soon.
My parents also store some of their good furniture in the US for when/if they move back... rather than repeatedly dragging it around the world with them.
Additionally, for those of us who don't always have a home base (I'll be traveling for a few weeks in August and will be between leases)- there needs to be a place for me to keep my books/furniture/dishes/whatever until my new lease starts and I move it.
Not everyone has a temporary storage unit because of temporary consumption... open your mind to the many reasons people may keep these.
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I've only used a storage place once, and that was the reason why. I don't mind selling or giving away about 80% of the stuff I own, but the other 20% has real sentimental value (family heirlooms, things acquired abroad) and they are impossible to replace. I also learned the hard way that selling everything secondhand and then trying to replace it later usually ends up costing you more than if you'd just held on to what you originally had. Whoops.
Nevertheless, there are an awful lot of people who don't have an excuse. My parents are a prime example. My dad probably hasn't donated an item of clothing to charity in his entire life. He has shirts that people gave him in the '60s, tags still attached, that are just shoved into some corner of their house -- they have four rooms, plus a basement, solely devoted to storage (plus a storage locker, of course). More rooms for storage than rooms for living. Why, why, why?
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Wow, that's amazing. I guess I have a rather radical approach to this by default, just based on how my life played out thus far. But yes, I have trouble understanding why people who DON'T "have an excuse"/never move etc would spend thousands of dollars a year to store stuff they don't need. If your parents have it in their house, it's at least free I guess, haha. But public storage seems like such a waste and in the big picture, it's just so indicative of how money and having "stuff" is regarded in this country. Imagine what this would look like to people from places where no one has anything, not even basics... :\ It's pretty gross, or not?
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Ummm, excuse me that I criticized anything about this country. ;oP As you know, I come from the same background of travel and constantly moving countries. I'm talking about Americans who live here, HAVE lived and and always WILL live here who use these units to store 5 million things they will never look at again in these public storage places. My observation is one I made in real life, with people I know. And it simply doesn't make sense to me at all that a person would spend thousands of dollars a year just to store stuff they do not need.
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I'm all for criticizing this country- it needs more of it. Too many people are complacent with some pretty messed up 'norms'.
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