Archive: News

My email account has a really neat feature. It will warn me when storage capacity is nearing 100%. The screen takes on a look of dread and danger. A bright red line appears across the entire width of the screen, just like an old fashioned thermometer, with a warning in bold letters: STORAGE NEARLY FULL. HURRY AND BUY MORE STORAGE.

The first time this appeared on my computer, I panicked. Thoughts of lost files, lost photos, lost stories; my entire life would be lost at any moment if I did not act quickly and buy more storage. After all, there was important archival information stored on my email account.

Take for example, the twenty or so photos of my niece and nephew feeding Wonder Bread to a flock of geese at the park. True, after the second photo, all the geese looked the same and were doing the same thing in each frame, but they were memorable. Older emails contained jokes that were sent by family and friends for every occasion-blond jokes, light bulb jokes, guy walks into a bar jokes. In some cases, it had been months and even a few years that these precious gems had been in storage, but I just could not part with these either. You can always use a good knock-knock joke.

Just as I was going to click the icon "BUY MORE STORAGE", I paused and thought about my virtual storage unit. I asked some simple questions about what was in there, and its real value. Within a few minutes, I had saved a few items onto a disc and sent the rest to the virtual dump.
It felt good. The blood red line across the screen was gone as was the warning in bold letters. Storage was at 8%. So I shut off my computer and went out for a drive.

 

The car was heading north on Route 34 toward Linda's Diner when I noticed a new structure on the west side of the road. It was a self storage complex called, Four Seasons Storage. Images of my own storage crisis immediately came to mind, and I chuckled when I thought about this new place to keep our accumulated wealth.

 

There are three or four self storage centers in Lansing. Initially, they were conceived of as temporary storage units, a place where individuals with limited attic, basement, or garage space, could safely store items until they could be used, sold, given to charity, or thrown out. Although I am not sure what treasures lie in wait, I can guess that the contents of most storage units consist of unwanted items such as furniture, kitchen utensils, knick-knacks, and other decorative pieces.

I would also venture that these items have been sitting in storage for quite some time, and that, over the years, the monthly rental fees have surpassed the actual value of the contents in most storage sheds. Like many out there, I find it difficult to part with items that define me, my tastes, and are reminders of my past. After all, bean bag chairs will make a comeback some day. Sure, there may be three or four rips in the fabric, but duct tape has solved those minor problems.

 

For those of you who are looking for ways to cut back on expenses, I recommend that you go out to your storage unit and take stock of what you have. With an open mind and unbiased heart, sort through your accumulated wealth and determine how much, if not most of what you have in storage, truly needs to be there. With the Lansing United Methodist Church Rummage Sale just a month off, you might be able to donate much of what you have in storage to a worthy cause, and eliminate the need for your storage unit. You will be saving yourself time, money, and no longer be lying await at night wondering what you are going to do with your ‘velvet art' entitled, Dogs Playing Poker. And that is to the point.

 

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