That would have to be the one downside I see to the new-to-me home I have grown to absolutely love over the past year through all of the painting, carpeting, changing fixtures, and furniture shopping for just the right pieces. The lack of hiding spots makes a convincing argument for buying new, as most new developments on the market, whether geared at downsizers or on-the-go urban professionals with hobby equipment to stow, provide in-suite or in-house storage.

While I look upon the challenge as a way to pare down and live without an abundance of extra stuff, I also have a husband who has a bit of a problem parting with his childhood belongings and other mementoes. And, truth be told, I, too, have accumulated more than I would have liked over the past decade living in Calgary and sometimes find it tough to choose what stays and what gets turfed.

So, after spending the last year shuffling our extra belongings around from friends’ to family members’ basements, we bit the bullet and opted to investigate getting one of those storage compartments housed in a facility I have often driven by and wondered what’s tucked away. After some calling around and weighing the options we settled on a five-foot by ten-foot home for our prized possessions, at the cost of about $140 a month. They come as small as five-feet by five-feet, which is roughly the size of a small linen closet for about $100, but that will not be nearly large enough for the boxes of comics, clippings and textbooks, and the Christmas tree we haven’t been able to use since getting a dog. A slightly larger space, at five-feet by eight-feet, will run just above $100, we were told, while compartments grand enough to pack up an entire small condo at ten-feet- by ten-feet ring in around $200. I was amazed to learn that we could store the entire contents of our home, plus our neighbours’ for less than $400 a month. Turns out the folks who work for companies who rent out storage have an excellent ability to estimate space. Go figure!

The best part was visiting the storage facility for the first time, and I would be lying if I said I hadn’t ever been curious about the chain-link-surrounded complexes with garage door after garage door in a row that reminded me of a prison escape flick I saw once late at night. Appropriately, as we drove up that Sunday afternoon it was pouring rain, and I half expected to see Wentworth Miller sneak by, but instead there was not a sole, save our boxes and us. I was disappointed not to get a heavy garage-style door for our area, but instead be relegated to the “warehouse.” Marching down the sterile hallway past metal-lined compartments everywhere you look, belongings in hand, it was hard not to feel a little guilty. Not sure why. (Again, perhaps I have too many episodes of CSI and Prison Break are to blame).

After dropping off our boxes and nosing around some of the other rooms for just long enough that I was envious of the ten-by-tens (OK, I don’t have enough to fill one, but the concept appealed to me if only for an excuse to come back to sneak a glimpse of my “neighbours”), that marked my first visit to a storage facility. The only thing that pleases me more than knowing my stuff is safe behind lock-and-key (they provide locks, or you can use your own, and most also have security cameras and alarms), is that they keep better hours than a convenience store—seven days a week and something uber-accommodating like 6 a.m. to midnight. So I can visit anytime—thanks to an alarm code and a little key to my compartment, I never have to feel separation anxiety from my stuff.

I know where I’ll be heading this weekend. Perhaps while I am there I will even meet some of my neighbours.

Now I just have to come up with some more things to store. CL