Boris Johnson, Mayor of London, posted an article on his personal blog this week linking the Pharaohs of ancient Egypt to our modern culture of hoarding and storing excess possessions.

Thanks to the economic prosperity of many countries, citizens collect possessions like never before.  Our “stuff” is sentimental, practical, mandated by law (i.e. archived tax files) and also necessary.

But what do we do with it all?  In older cities like London, we may live in a 200-year old building whose original architect never foresaw sub-dividing it into tiny flats…  or our need to store bulky suitcases to support 21st Century low-cost travel!

Born in the United States over 50 years ago, the self-storage (or “mini-storage”) industry gives us a solution: millions of square feet of secure, well-ventilated, clean, and fit-for-purpose space exist to help keep our extra possessions.

Is it sustainable?

The danger of course, is that as our society becomes wealthier, we put extra pressure on finite space by accumulating more goods.  Self-storage operators will grow to meet demand, but may need to do so further away from dense city centres.

But surely not every square foot in the city is being used?  In fact, Michael Holmes (a major UK TV property expert) recently indicated that collectively British homes could be realising over £38 billion worth of annual income by renting out spare rooms to living tenants.  Additionally there could be attractive tax advantages – and intangibly, a growth in sense of “community” – by doing so as well.

Why not access this cash by renting storage space?  Whether it’s in London, New York, Vancouver, Tokyo, Sydney there is always a spare room, vacant office, corner of an attic or garden shed that can be hired out to store a neighbour’s ski equipment, small business product samples, old photo albums and more.  The advantages are far reaching:

• helping build a sense of local community
• taking a “green option” by using existing protected space
• helping boost cash flow – often just enough that’s needed to keep things going during tough economic times
• realising taxable benefits for homeowners

Converting Space Made Easy with Lets-Do-DIY.com

Our friends at Lets-Do-DIY.com – who provide free do-it-yourself advice to enhance and improve your living environment – have some good suggestions to help you on your way to providing self-storage.

Thinking about the extra space you might have available to rent out, what needs to be done to make it ready for someone else to move in?  Consider your cheapest options first – if your garden shed is damp, perhaps it’s best suited to store a boat.  If your attic is quite dry, then it’s ideal for photos and non-seasonal clothing.

A spare room might require a simple paint job.  Where do you start first?  Ceiling or doors?  How much paint should you buy?  What other supplies do you need?  Should you paint in a zig-zag or parallel lines?  All of these topics (and more) are covered on the site.

It’s possible you may have a loft or attic that could be suitable space, but there’s a strange breeze through there and occasionally you see some wildlife.  Again, Lets-Do-DIY provides terrific articles and an active forum where you can discuss specific issues like how to remove plasterboard from the ceiling to ready the space for insulation.

No obvious space to use?  Your teenage son has come back home to reclaim his bedroom?  A new employee has just started and needs that back office?  Perhaps you might have a few square feet in a flat area that can be creatively turned into storage anyhow – why not build a new garden shed?

A wide array of other subjects like providing security for your home, discussion of legislation that you need to incorporate into your building plans a thorough review of the best products on the market or simply descriptions of the best tools to use are all included on the site.

Large or small, Lets-do-DIY.com offers some fantastic advice for free about the best way to handle your job.  You may find a new hobby, a shared interest with your spouse or other family member, or simply a way to help increase the enjoyment and value of your home or office.

So, do something green.  Do it for extra cash.  Do it for the space.

And Happy Podding!