Stashing stuff

When is enough—enough?

News commentary by SANDY LONG

sandylong@riverreporter.com

ELDRED, NY — Americans love stuff. We like shopping for it; we like owning it; and we dislike getting rid of it. In order to accommodate our abundant accumulations, we are sometimes faced with a problem: Where do we put what we can’t part with?

Once the closets are filled, once the sheds are stuffed, once there’s no longer any room in the garage for the family car—it’s either time to build a barn, or head to the nearest storage facility. There are many from which to choose and more arriving all the time.

Residents of Eldred and the surrounding area might soon have a new opportunity to store their stuff. Just outside of town, slightly south of where Route 55 intersects with Proctor Road, on property owned by Jim Nieke of James Nieke Excavating, of Yulan, is slated for construction of a storage facility and equipment repair shop.

If the number of self-storage facilities is any indication of their popularity, then it’s likely Nieke’s facility will fill up fairly fast. A quick search on www.selfstorage.com shows at least 15 self-storage facilities within 25 miles of Eldred, though none are close enough to be considered convenient by today’s standards.

Nieke’s facility would place one practically within walking distance of the town hall in Eldred, where the Highland Planning Board will hold a routine public hearing for Nieke’s proposed facility on Wednesday, July 12, at 7:30 p.m.

Self-storage is typically a temporary solution to a passing problem, like moving to a new house or business, or storing items while a home is being renovated. Other uses are more long-term, such as document or records storage. And some facilities permit storage of our extra cars, motorcycles, recreational vehicles and boats.

Another popular storage innovation is a type of movable container called PODS (Portable On Demand Storage). Now stashers can stow their stuff and move it around, too. Containers come in varying sizes and the storage container itself can be stowed at a self-storage facility.

Those who choose to lock up their stuff can end up paying for it twice, with monthly storage bills. A rental fee of $50 multiplied over the course of a year, amounts to $600 for things we can’t fit into our homes and yet, can’t seem to say goodbye to.