When it comes to comparing storage options, it’s helpful to consider all associated costs, from renting a van to buying packing supplies to spending hours of your time hauling and schlepping stuff to a facility. What’s more valuable to you? An affordable price? Your time? The security of the facility? Thankfully, with a full-service solution like MakeSpace, you don’t have to choose. MakeSpace will pick up, haul, and store your belongings—then deliver them back when you need them. And it’s affordable, too.
But along with the actual price and value your storage solution affords you, there’s the value of your belongings to consider, too. A good place to start is by asking yourself: What do I want to store? Then, once you have an idea of *what* exactly you want to store, ask yourself: Will I want these items in my home in a year? In five years?
- If you answer no to the second question, then you should consider donating or selling the items. (If this gives you separation anxiety, just remember that letting go of something means making space for something new to come in!)
- If you answer yes, it can be helpful to consider the value of the item(s) in question, both monetary and sentimental. For example, the tea set you inherited from your grandma might be worth more in memories than in actual dollars, making it just as valuable as a more expensive belonging.
Now you might be wondering: What’s the best overall value when it comes to storage? So we compared three common scenarios in Manhattan, looking at the annual costs of storing via an extra bedroom, with MakeSpace on-demand storage, or with a traditional self-storage option. The results were surprising.
Are a futon, desk chair, and 10 boxes worth nearly $4.7k? Yikes! Probably not.
With traditional self-storage you’d pay around $3k for a year of storage—which might match the items’ value. But there’s a whole lot of work involved in that: schlepping, sweating, navigating a vast warehouse, and probably losing a friend or two along the way (we’ve all been there).
What’s amazing is that MakeSpace is the least expensive option, even though it’s a fully-loaded storage service. We’d provide free bins, wrap and pack the chair, put the mattress in a bag for you, and place it all into secure storage for you. No sweating or schlepping, just more space. And when you need something back, you’d just tap the app and the MakeSpace team would bring it back to you on-demand.
Let’s be honest—one of the perks of moving in together is sharing the rent *and* the belongings that you don’t need two of (like a bedframe, for one). So we’re going to venture a guess that an extra bedroom worth of stuff probably isn’t worth nearly 10k.
Not sure whose lamp you want in the living room? Store his for now, then get it out of storage when you want a change of scenery. Oh, and as for getting two people’s entire wardrobes into one closet—storage is *the* solution (especially if you’re not in a Marie Kondo kind of mood). Because when it comes down to it, 2k is a small price to pay to keep all of your belongings while still making space for your relationship.
We love the holidays as much as the next person, but paying nearly 2.5k to store decorations you use for just a few months out of the year? Well, that’s enough to send even Santa spiraling. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t indulge in seasonal fun and festivities. You can store your warm-weather gear, then swap it for your holiday knick knacks for just over $400/year with MakeSpace. Because the holiday spirit might be priceless, but we’re guessing your decorations aren’t worth ~$2.5k.
AUTHOR: ERIKA JORDAN
Erika Jordan is the Copy Lead at MakeSpace. When she’s not working her magic with words, she’s doing yoga and/or eating peanut butter (she’s still trying to figure out how to do both at once).
