Urban life is a fast paced one. You may even blink and miss an entirely new structure taking to the air or an old watering hole being converted to a coffee shop. Amid this big-city jostling, a muffled savior is arising– the mini storage, or 迷你倉. It is no fad; it is non-obviously changing the way people who live in cities can organize their space and make things sane.
So, imagine the scene. Consider the fact that you had to live within a 400 square feet apartment where every square inch counts. You cherish your interests, but your surfboard, winter clothes and spare bedding turn your house into the mess of an old junk store. Sound familiar? It is not only you. In 2030, more than 60 percent of the total number of people in the world will be urban dwellers. That makes billions of individuals sort out where to put their stuff where they do not stumble over it every day.
This dilemma is answered by mini storage. Benefiting are compact, inexpensive and convenient storage facilities that are sprouting in places like Hong Kong to New York. They do not provide empty boxes only. They bring relaxation, cleaner houses, and even a small luxury out of them, a place to keep your old Star Wars stuff without getting your partner having a nervous breakdown over it.
Take an example of Hong Kong the city, which is equivalent to the lottery. The average per person area of living? Just about 160 square feet. That is less than some car parks. It is not startling to learn that mini storage ventures have escalated in the city in the last ten years by a factor of doubling. The baby stroller, Christmas decorations, and the camping gear just do not have other places to stay until your next expedition comes along. And it is not only Hong-Kong. The Asia and most Western urban centres are also registering record demand in people who need personal storage.
Convenience is however not the sole force. The fire is also ignited by the sharing economy. City dwellers tend to switch places more regularly than before, either because of new employment opportunities or new location. Who needs to have to haul furniture back and forth across the city every six months? People will be able to move at their own time, and their boxes are kept secure until the next lease has been signed.
Another is cost. Leasing of a larger apartment as a storage space is costly. Mini storage provides a compromise. You just pay for what you need whenever you need it whether a closet-sized unit to store school books or a larger space to store a seasonal inventory of a business. Industry statistics show the costs of renting a mini storage unit to be 60 percent less than the cost of moving up in size to a bigger apartment in Singapore or London.
Safety also counts. Most of the facilities have become 24/7 with surveillance and climate control, and some are even biometrically secured. Your comic books, vintage wine, or business-related documents are safe both against robbers and against weather. Admit it, we all do not wish to have our old vinyl collection distorted due to heat over the summer season or our family pictures spoiled due to moisture.
There is just one amusing thing: when people get house cleansing, too. They can breathe, think, sleep even better. What our grandmas have been always reminding us about, keeping area clean, keeping mind clean, has been supported by psychologists. Reduced clutter means reduced stress, enhanced focus and improvement of productivity. It is the benefits that do not remain in the storage locker but goes back home.
The equation was also changed by Covid-19. Home-offices implied that the dining table turned into the office and the sofa into a conference room. One minute the whole square foot was golden. Storage rentals hit the ceiling because people required space to work and also to play. Remote work is here to stay even when normalcy is resumed. Flexible, off-site storage is something we are not going to lose any time soon.
It is not consumers alone who are exercising their storage muscles. It is flexibility that small businesses operate on. Online stores and pop-up stores, as well as the designers, cannot do without mini storage. Stock can be stored where it can be shipped in a short notice or display. Florists keep their Valentines stash out of the view of shoppers and artists stash paintings until their next exhibit.
Does that imply that one day the lives in the city will be identified as spending one in a locker? Hardly! But it is very quick in its turn to become the safety-value of the city-dweller. It is cheap and flexible means of reclaiming your living space and sanity.
