Where do you put all YOUR Stuff? George Carlin and I know...

For the past several years when teaching GDP I frame it in terms of "stuff" or material goods.  I first ask students if they have a garage and if at least one of the bays cannot be used to park a car because of all the stuff (maybe two, or ALL the bays). I then ask if their parents have space at a storage facility.  Most hands still stay up.  Our High School is located near a road with MANY large storage facilities within a 5 mile radius.  This explosion in material goods really took off in the mid-eighties.  Hmmm...why was that?  Anyone my age (50) and older can testify to this.  I am pretty sure almost no one would trade the quality and quantity of stuff we have today with what we had in the 60's and 70's.  If you have any doubt, browse this catalog and see for yourself. Only good ol' day syndrome would cloud the thinking on this, I believe. Below are some interesting data on the Self-storage industry.  I highlighted some of the more prominent numbers and information...Also, a video of George Carlin talking about "Stuff" (caution, some language you may  find objectionable)...

Self Storage Data
The self storage industry has been one of the fastest-growing sectors of the United States commercial real estate industry over the period of the last 35 years

There are now approximately 46,000 “primary” self storage facilities in the United States as of year end 2009; another 4,000 are “secondary” facilities (“primary” means that self storage is the “primary” source of business revenue – US Census Bureau)

The distribution of U.S. self storage facilities (Q4-09) is as follows: 32% urban, 52% suburban and 16% rural

Nearly 1 in 10 US households (HH), or 10% (10.8 million of the 113.3 million US HH in 2007) currently rent a self storage unit; that has increased from 1 in 17 US HHs (6%) in 1995 – or an increase of approximately 65 percent in the last 15 years


It took the self storage industry more than 25 years to build its first billion square feet of space; it added the second billion square feet in just 8 years (1998-2005)


During the peak development years (2004-2005) 8,694 new self storage facilities (approximately 480 million square feet of space were added)

There are approximately 58,000 self storage facilities worldwide as of Q4 – 2009; there are more than 3,000 in Canada and more than 1,000 in Australia.

Fewer than 250 new self storage facilities came on line in the U.S. during 2009; the trend in new construction is down significantly the last four years