So you’re renting a storage unit.

Maybe you’re moving, or downsizing, or your mom finally made you clean out her basement. And you’re thinking, “It’s fine—I’ll just need this for a little while. Maybe three months. Six, tops.”

I’ve been there. Literally. A few years back, my wife and I sold our house before our new one was ready. We stuffed everything we owned into a 10×15 unit thinking, “We’ll be out in 60 days.”

We were in that unit for eleven months.

Eleven.

I’m not proud of it, but I learned why it happens. And now that I work with 3D Self Storage, I hear the same story every single week. People come in so sure of their timeline. And then… life happens.

Here’s the thing nobody tells you: when you imagine needing storage, you’re picturing the event. The move. The renovation. The clean-out. But storage isn’t for the event. It’s for the aftermath. And the aftermath is a sneaky, slow, unpredictable beast.

Let me break down where the math goes wrong.

First, you forget about “settling in” time

You think: Weekend one, move the big stuff. Weekend two, unpack the storage unit. Done.
Reality? Weekend one, you’re exhausted. Weekend two, your kid has a soccer tournament. Weekend three, you realize you need to paint the bedroom before the furniture goes in. By month two, you’ve accepted that the boxes in the living room are just part of the décor now. The storage unit? Out of sight, out of mind. It becomes a tomorrow problem.

Then there’s the sorting lie

You tell yourself, “I’ll put it all in storage and sort through it later—make some real decisions.”
Friend, I have looked into my own soul on this. “Later” is a fantasy land. Opening a unit full of memories, junk, and “maybe someday” items is emotionally exhausting. It’s not a Saturday task. It’s a “when I have a therapist and a six-pack of courage” task. So you keep paying, because facing that stuff feels harder than writing the monthly check.

And contractors? Oh, contractors

Their timelines are works of fiction. Lovely, optimistic fiction. If they say six weeks, book the unit for six months. I’m only half kidding. There’s always a delay—the floors need to acclimate, the tile is on a boat from Italy, the inspector went on vacation. Your stuff sits. You sit. The calendar marches on.

But the biggest reason?

Life doesn’t stop when you rent the unit.
You start a new job. Your daughter studies abroad. The housing market dips and you wait to sell. The reason you got the unit is still there, but it’s now wrapped in three other life events. That “temporary” solution becomes a fixed point in your ever-changing world.

So what do you do?

Don’t just guess. Sit down and really think—what’s the realistic worst-case scenario? Add 50% to that. If you think you’ll need it for two months, rent with the mindset of four. It’s not pessimism; it’s self-care. It saves you the panic of calling to extend while you’re already overwhelmed.

That’s why at 3D Self Storage, we don’t do hard sells on long leases. We do month-to-month, period. Because we’ve been you. We know plans change. Maybe you need the unit longer. Maybe you get done early. Our job is to be the flexible part of your plan, not the rigid one.

Next time you’re estimating, remember my eleven-month unit. Smile, shake your head, and give yourself some grace. And when you’re ready, come see us. We’ll find you a clean, safe spot for your stuff, for exactly as long as your life takes to catch up to your plans.

No judgment. Just a lock, a light, and all the time you need.