There’s a saying about storage that resonates with us.
A place for everything, and everything in its place.
While it can seem like a minor aspect of a home, having enough storage is actually key to enjoying the space you live in, and not having enough is often cited as a reason to move.
In our work with clients, we talk a lot about space and storage. It may not be as sexy as a shiny new kitchen or spa like bathroom, but when you’re adding in free-standing storage to that kitchen or bathroom so that you can actually use the space properly, you realize it’s crucial.
When stagers talking about decluttering a space, it often includes removing not just visible items in rooms, but the additional pieces of furniture that have been added to store possessions. We want to present a home for sale that is organized, clean and not crowded. In short, a home where storage is in abundance. We’ve seen many renovated homes that have IKEA cabinets in bedrooms beside the built in closets, because it’s just not enough storage.
Add in a change of family composition – such as marriage, a new baby, an older child returning back home, or a parent joining the household – and what barely worked can suddenly not work at all.
Let’s talk storage.
Why do we have so much stuff?
While it can be easy to blame materialism on the need for more storage, another option is that we have always had lots of stuff, we just have less space now to store it.
Back in 2022, the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC) released data that showed that Ontario condominiums are 35% smaller on average than they were 25 years ago. This means that someone living in a condo now has about a third less space to store possessions than someone who lived in a condo in 1999.
Add in the fact that many people are blending their home with the place of work and it makes sense that we have more stuff, which we need to fit into smaller spaces. When storage solutions just aren’t enough to keep the items in the home, people turn to off site storage options.
I’ll just rent this storage unit for a little bit.
The vast majority of people who decide to rent a storage locker do so with the intention of it being a short-term solution to solve an immediate crisis. Whether it is moving from one rental to another, where some of your possessions no longer fit, or combining households and having two of lots of things, people choose to rent a storage locker while they sort out what to do next.
A report from MPAC in 2023 showed that Ontario has 37.3 million square feet of commercial self-storage space – or the equivalent of the total ice surface of approximately 2,200 NHL rinks. More than 4.2 million square feet—an increase of 11%—have been added to the storage footprint, with additional growth on the horizon.
In Toronto, Ottawa and Mississauga—Ontario’s most densely populated cities with the largest concentration of condos—the growth in self-storage has been especially pronounced. Toronto now has more than eight million sq. ft. of commercial self-storage space, followed by Ottawa with three million sq. ft. and Mississauga with two million sq. ft.
How much does it cost?
If you’re looking at self-storage options, the most popular storage unit size in Ontario is a 10 ft x 10 ft unit. Depending on where in the GTA you are looking to rent, the price of a 10 x 10 could range from $200 to $400 dollars a month.
Not only is that significant money, it is money that could be used towards a home that works for you, rather than living in a home where you need to rent out space off-site.
As of September, 2024, you can get a fixed mortgage for 4.74%, which means that every $100,000 of mortgage costs you about $567 per month. That same $200 to $400 per month being spent on a self-storage locker rental could buy you between $35,000 to $70,000 more home!
How much storage is enough?
We’re often asked how much storage is actually needed in a home and for that answer, we turn to Christopher Alexander and his book, A Pattern Language. Here’s what he has to say:
Include a volume for bulk storage in the building – its floor area at least 15 to 20 percent of the whole building area – not less. Place this storage somewhere in the building where it costs less than other rooms – because of course, it doesn’t need a finish.
This puts a number (15 to 20% of total area) on how much storage a place needs. As households change composition, storage is often removed for living space. For example, it is quite common to see basements in houses that used to serve as storage converted to living space. While this is great for that purpose it means there is no longer enough storage space. In our experience, one of the most common reason our clients need to move is because they need more space, and when you look into it, it is often that they need storage for stuff – kids toys, bikes, and so on.
What to do, what to do?
Given how important storage is to daily living, it makes sense to focus on it as a way to add value to your home. Taking nooks and otherwise not usable spaces in your home and building in storage solutions both makes your home easier to live in and adds value when it comes time to sell.
Given the cost of off-site storage options, investing money into additional storage in your home can be cheaper in the short-run and much more advantageous in the long-term. Using a home line of credit to build out a mezzanine in your garage for storage, adding a concrete pad and storage shed in the backyard or any other projects that increase storage can save you real money and add value to your home!
If you’re thinking of renting a storage locker we’d encourage you to consider other options that might solve the problem of not enough space in a more effective fashion. We often work with your clients to sort out what they need and the best options. Sometimes it means moving, other times it just means rethinking where you can find the space. If that sounds appealing, get in touch with us to discuss what works for you!
