Whether we walk, run, dance or trudge through the days of our lives, we cannot help but acquire things as we go along. Be it patio furniture, a flat panel television the size of a love seat, a half dozen tire irons or box after box of shoes, it is all stuff that we either stumble across, purchase for ourselves or are given by others. This stuff takes on a life of its own after a while. Before we realize it, we have a house filled to capacity with enough furniture to fill a three bedroom home, yet we live in a small two bedroom apartment. How do our lives and our homes get to be so cluttered? Why do we have so much stuff?

Perhaps it is because in this country, the American dream follows a well trodden path of consumerism the likes of which no other country can compare, though some are coming awfully close. Every day, on television screens and on radios everywhere, in magazine ads and on well lit billboards all over this great and beautiful land of ours, we are bombarded by teasers, advertisements that compel us to become whole and complete. And the only way that we can do so is to buy, and buy into, what ever it is that they happen to be selling, be it a luxury sedan that goes for fifty thousand bucks, a membership at an elite golf course or a certain type of bug repellent. We are constantly prodded, sung to, begged and even indirectly insulted by the media, all in the name of commerce and consumerism.

As a nation of avid TV watchers, we take the bait, and we buy. We buy a lot. We buy because it seems to fill a void within us. That void represents an emptiness, whether spiritual or emotional. This emptiness may be caused, in part, by the media that we feed ourselves with each and every day, whether it is the latest crime drama, block buster action film or the devastation reported on the local evening news.

We have become so preoccupied by the vast array of eye popping entertainment that we find flickering and waving up on the television screen that we have lost touch with our true nature, our core, where we are complete already, wanting for nothing. Instead, we consume, and we stockpile happiness all around us in the form of furniture, new wardrobes, boats, cars, toys and gadgets. This is life for so many wonderfully gifted individuals, and many times we do not even realize that it is happening. Until we stop and take a closer look at all of the things that we have acquired and decided that we need to simplify our lives a bit.

This is just one of the reasons why, in America and across the world, the need to store some of the things that we no longer want to look at but still want to own, is growing. This relaxed detachment about our possessions, along with a desire to organize and declutter our lives, keeps an entire industry alive and prospering. There are over fifty thousand facilities that rent out self storage rooms in the United States alone. The UK is rapidly catching up, with new self storage rooms being built at an exponential rate every year.

Of course, people who are overloaded with their own purchases and acquisitions are not the only ones who rent self storage rooms . There are many, many instances where renting one of these spaces is the best solution for the particular life change or transition that one happens to be experiencing at the time.

Self storage rooms are an excellent temporary facility for soldiers who need to house their personal belongings while they go on extended overseas tours. This keeps them from having to pay rent on an apartment or home that no one will be living in, as well as monthly electric and water bills. Putting their things in self storage rooms just makes sense if they are planning on being gone for a year or more.

Every year in May, thousands of college students across the country vacate their dorm rooms for the summer. Rather than taking all of their things back home to Mom and Dads house, many of these adventurous young people put their things in self storage rooms . This leaves them unencumbered for the entire summer, free to travel, hang out with friends and relax, without having to drag all of their things around with them. Come fall, their things are right out side of campus, ready to be used again in their next dorm.

Self storage rooms serve newlywed couples just as well. It is tough to attempt to consolidate two households worth of furniture into one small, new place. Inevitably, bits and pieces of each individuals past single life will be left out of their combined home. Perhaps it a futon or a china hutch. Or maybe it is a pool table or a chimera. What better way to hang on to their furniture than packing it away and putting it safely into self storage rooms ? When their finances and their family grow, they can retrieve what they did not have room for and use it once again.

As retirees continue to age and find it difficult to care for and maintain the houses that they have lived in for so many years, many are opting to downsize and move into assisted living communities. Many of these communities offer social activities, as well as transportation around the town, and they eliminate the responsibilities of overseeing yard work and general house repair and maintenance. These individuals are putting their belongings into self storage rooms and spending their golden years letting other people take care of the grounds and the maintenance rather than cleaning out their rain gutters and repainting shutters.

Classic car collectors like to rent these self storage rooms to house their automobile collections. Recreational vehicle enthusiasts often rent these spaces to store their RVs when they are not traveling in them. Not everyone that owns an RV has a place to park it when it is not on the road to its next destination. Many neighborhoods will not allow its residents to park an RV in their driveway. With restrictions such as this, it is easy to see why owners of recreational vehicles would use self storage rooms as their RV parking solution. These facilities are also good for housing boats on trailers, motorcycles, tractors and other large equipment.

No matter what you are planning on storing, or what life situation necessitates such a decision, there are self storage rooms of various shapes and sizes to accommodate that need. Self storage rooms are clean and dry. They keep your belongings secure and free from Mother Natures harsh and tempestuous moods. With various levels of security features available at select facilities, it is not difficult to find the level of security that you will feel comfortable with.

If you have high ticket, more expensive items in your self storage rooms , you may want to opt for a facility that has twenty four hour surveillance cameras in use, closed circuit television or even individual unit alarms. If you feel just as comfortable at a facility that has a key-less gated entryway and a security guard on patrol, but not all of the bells and whistles of some of the other facilities, you can still feel assured that your belongings will be fine. After all, you have the only key to your unit.

Regardless of where you choose to store, make sure that you have properly insured your belongings. It is your responsibility to do this, though some facilities do offer comprehensive insurance coverage when you sign on with them. If they do not, be wise and seek out coverage yourself. It is inexpensive, and it can save you a tremendous amount of grief, should the unexpected occur.

Once you have decided on the size and number of self storage rooms that you will require, there are some helpful tips that you should remember when packing your belongings for their extended stay. For instance, if you are storing large appliances, such as refrigerators, washers and dryers, and dishwashers, always be sure to drain out any water that may be in the appliance, such as the ice maker. Thoroughly clean out the inside of the appliance and remove any food particles or any other substance that may mold or attract insects. Once the appliance has been loaded into the unit itself, open any doors or lids on the appliances, and keep them ajar throughout their time in the unit. This prevents the build up of moisture and mildew. If you like, you can open a box or baking soda and set the box inside or near the appliances being stored, to further absorb moisture.

Large pieces of furniture should always be packed into self storage rooms and covered with heavy padding or industrial blankets, to prevent damaging scratches from occurring. This is especially important if the unit is tightly packed and if you are planning on maximizing your space by packing boxes on top of the furniture.

Mattresses and box springs should always go into self storage rooms already sealed up inside of large mattress bags. You can purchase these bags in your local packing shop. In fact, some facilities that rent rooms may sell these bags in their lobby, along with other packing and moving accessories. Mattresses and box springs, as well as head and foot boards, should always be stored up against the wall, standing up. Never store these items flat. Not only can the items be damaged by moisture or other factors, but it is just poor use of space. Store the wooden slats and the metal rails nearby, for easy locating. This way, if all you need to retrieve is the bed, you will not have to dig all through the unit in order to find the rails. By planning ahead before you store, you can save yourself a headache, and a potential backache, in the future.

Bubble wrap is one of the best inventions ever created for moving and packing. Even if you do not see how something can be broken or damaged, when it is tightly packed and pressed up against something else, chances are that it could get scratched, bent, warped or crunched. Buy some bubble wrap before you pack. Lots of it. Be on the safe side and wrap anything and everything that you think even has a remote chance of warping, cracking, scratching, chipping or denting. Self storage rooms themselves are not a danger to your belongings, as they are usually very safe. It is the jostling and movement caused by the act of packing and storing that is the danger.

When packing boxes to go into self storage rooms , do not over do it. Pack heavier items on the bottom, and lighter items on the top. Use bubble wrap inside the box! Label the contents of the box as they go in, and then tape the list of contents to the outside of the box. Use a felt tipped marker or ink pen, not a pencil, as the lead will fade over time. What good is a list if you can not red it when you need to?

Clothing that is going to be stored away in self storage rooms for an extended period of time should be packed away neatly folded, into sealed plastic bins, if possible, or at the very least into boxes that contain several moth balls placed in various locations within the box. Yes, they are stinky. Moths do not like the smell of them either. That is the point. It is better to have stinky clothes that you can wash and wear than holey clothes that you have to throw away.

It is important to note that there are several items that you may not want to store in self storage rooms. It might be a good idea to avoid storing documents that contain a lot of personal information, such as address books, personal files, video tapes, financial statements, deeds, stocks and bonds, tax records, check books, school records and the like. It is easy to imagine, in this age of identity theft, why storing these items in self storage rooms might not be such a good idea. Better to be cautious with your personal information and that of your family than regret it later on.

In addition, it might be in your best interests to keep your precious family mementos and photo albums, scrap books and things of that nature safe at home, rather than in dark and cold self storage rooms . Even in climate controlled situations, one can never be exactly sure what is going on behind those doors. Do not risk the loss of generations of family memories. Besides, how can you reminisce if the books are not at your home when you feel like looking at them or showing them off to others?

Other things of value, such as sterling silver, stamp collections, expensive jewelry, furs and coin collections, should not be stored in self storage rooms unless the facility has specific means to store them. For example, some facilities have specialized units for storing furs, wine collections and other specialized items.

It is difficult to tell when medicines have gone bad. Do not take chances with your health. Avoid storing medicines for long periods. Also, computer hard drives, jump drives and discs hold so much information that it would be potentially devastating to lose it all as a result of moisture or some other type of damage. If you must store these, make sure that it is in a climate controlled unit, and properly packed in an appropriate container.

Common sense will guide you to the right conclusions when choosing what to put inside of self storage rooms . If it is something that you could not bear to part with, then keep it at home. Otherwise, insure your belongings, pack well, store gently and feel secure in your choice of storing your belongings outside of the home. Most of these facilities are highly responsible and committed to the safety of your belongings. Do your homework when choosing a reputable company and never store with anyone until you have taken a tour of their facility.

Cleaning out the clutter of our lives, moving to a new home, letting go of the responsibilities of owning a home, storing our extra vehicles or clearing out for the summer are all valid reasons why people trust these companies to continually provide prompt, affordable and secure service. Some times we just need to separate ourselves from some of our stuff. That way we can breathe a little easier, see a little more clearly and enjoy all that we already possess, without tripping over the excess every day of our lives. Simplicity is a beautiful concept. It opens us up for discovery. Simplify. Rediscover yourself today.