Storage vs. Repurchasing

I am not a hoarder. I really hate clutter, yet somehow we have so much stuff! We don't like to shop, we aren't people who have to have every new toy... but here we swim. There is no way I would consider shipping our belongings abroad for a couple of years, we'd spend 25% of the time waiting and it's just too expensive for us.

I got a bit gung ho on cleaning out, having a moving sale, craigslis-ing and then donating. I really didn't want to consider an additional fixed cost at home. A few quick online quotes showed me a storage unit would cost between $150-$200 a month for 10' storage units (said to fit about a 2 bedroom's apartment worth of stuff.)

We technically rent a two bedroom apartment now, but it has a basement and an attic. It's actually half of a sizable Victorian home. In fairness, we previously owned a small home and came with a decent amount of stuff. That being said, I could happily part ways with most of it, but when my parents sold their home a year ago, I inherited a lot of sentimental items that I would have a hard time parting with. My grandmother's kitchen table where I have some of my earliest memories, the bench my grandfather for my mother as he recovered from a stroke, and my other grandmother's China - none of these have much monetary value today, but mean a lot to me.We live far from family and friends, so we can't bug anyone to "borrow" half of their basement for a few years.

My husband is the one I have to thank for crunching some numbers. To just buy mattresses, a couch, table, and a few other necessities when we return, we will pretty much clear the cost of the rental unit the first year. Whew, so I'm off the hook for now. It pays to get the unit, store our big ticket necessities, plus I can pack in my sentimental and maybe some indulgences like framed artwork, albums, and maybe some of my favorite kitchen appliances. Yes, I do have a Belgium waffle cooker that takes up way too much space and is only used a couple of weekend a month, but it is so worth the space! Mmmm...

Luckier yet, I got quotes from companies who deliver storage units to you, like PODS, and found that they are quite comparable to the public storage options. Whoohoo! Now we don't even have to rent a uhaul, we can load it up at our leisure right outside our door!