So my wife put her foot down last fall. Actually, she pointed at the garage. You couldn’t see the lawnmower anymore. Just…stuff. Boxes from the last move. My old band’s PA system. A kayak I used twice.
“You need to deal with this,” she said. “Or I’m listing it all on Facebook Marketplace while you’re at work.”
That’s how I ended up needing a storage unit.
My Own Personal Civil War
And that’s how I ended up in the dumbest argument…with myself. Should I get one close to the house, or one by my office?
When you look it up online, you get these clean lists. “Pros and Cons!” It’s all so logical. It’s bull. Because this decision isn’t about logic. It’s about how you actually live. And how you lie to yourself about how you live.
I told myself, “I’ll get one near home. I’ll be over there all the time. It’ll be like another room.” I rented a 10×10 at a place called “A-1 Secure Storage” on Derby Street. 8 minutes door-to-door.
The First Month was a Dream. I cleared out the garage. I could park my car in it for the first time in two years. My wife smiled at me. It was a whole thing. I felt like a competent adult. The unit was close. If I needed my Halloween decorations, boom, I could get them. Then Reality set in. I didn’t go “all the time.” I went…never. For six months. I paid $120 a month to forget what I owned. The convenience was a total lie. Because it was so easy to go, there was never any urgency. “I can go anytime,” I’d think on Saturday. Then I’d watch the game instead.
When I finally did go, it was depressing. My stuff looked small and lonely under that fluorescent light. I found a box labeled “Important.” It was just old phone chargers.
Switching Sides: My Life on “Team Work”
A Forced Hand
My office moved. Suddenly, the Derby Street unit was a 30-minute detour. A project. So I let the lease run out. I found another place. It was in this no-man’s-land behind my new job’s industrial park. “Budget Stor-All.” It looked like it was built in 1978.
This changed everything.
The Unexpected Efficiency of Distance
I didn’t go on weekends. The place felt closed on weekends even though it wasn’t. I went on my way home from work. Tired. In my dress shoes. And you know what? It was better.
I was efficient. I was in and out. No sentimental journeys through my old college textbooks. I needed the camping gear, I grabbed it, I left. It was a utility. The distance made me use it smarter.
The Inevitable Flaw in the Plan
My niece’s birthday party. My sister says, “You have that pink princess canopy tent thing, right?” I did. It was in storage. The party was Sunday at 1. My storage unit was locked in its Sunday silence next to my empty office. I had to stop at Target and buy a new one. The “Budget Stor-All” had just cost me $65.
The Honest Truth: Which One Is Actually Right?
There isn’t one. And anyone who tells you there is, is selling you something.
- The Weekend Warrior: If you need to access your stuff on weekends—like, really need it—get it near home. Period. You are a Weekend Access Person. Own it.
- The Routine Robot: If you are a monster of routine, a Monday-to-Friday robot whose life runs on a commuter rail schedule, get it near work. You will use it like a drive-thru.
- The Beautiful Mess: If you are a normal, messy human whose needs change every week, you will sometimes be wrong. And that’s fine. Just don’t get locked into a year-long lease right away.
Why This Headache Inspired Us to Do It Differently
This is the whole reason we run County Line Storage the way we do. We saw this stupid dance everyone does. The overthinking. We built our places to be in between. On the routes you actually take. Not in the middle of nowhere to save a buck, not in a fancy mall for storage “experience.”
We keep the lights on late. We have actual people you can call, not a robot menu. Because at the end of the day, you’re not storing inventory. You’re storing your kid’s first bike. Your grandma’s table. Your “maybe someday” hobbies.
Your Simple Next Step
Don’t let the home-vs-work debate paralyze you. Make the best guess you can. Then go clear out your garage. The feeling of space? That’s real. The rest is just details you’ll figure out as you go.
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