storage units

is there anything more american than the storage unit? honestly, i mean it! we americans, the people with the ever expanding wastelines and mcmansions overlooking everything; we are notoriously a "more is better, more is more" society. we like accumulating things, even if they have no use... even if someone else could use it better or more than we could.

near my house there is a new 4 row storage unit facility being constructed. yep, that will make about 5 storage facilities within 10 miles that i can think of off the top of my head. i know i know, this area is home to many college towns; and to that i say.... ok. i understand that many college students need places to store belongings, etc when they are home for the summer or away for a semester, etc. but come on, how many people actually need to store things for extended periods of time and in these types of quantities. i've always been lucky enough to be able to store my golf clubs or mini-fridge or seasonal belongings at a family members basement, spare room, or attic. i realize that not everyone is that lucky, and because of this i can at times understand the need for storage. yes, i can understand storage for short term necessity like when moving into a new house or if you have no home in terms of flood damage/ fire damage or those sorts of things. but the average scenario... come on.

however (because with me there is always a caveat) i can not understand why the average ordinary american has so much stuff they are not using that they need to place it in a storage room. to make matters worse, they are paying out more of their hard earned cash in order to leave their belongings in these facilities.
i guess i'm of the belief that if i'm not using something- get rid of it. i don't like clutter, i don't like hanging on to things "just in case two years from now i may need it", and i don't like paying some schmuck to watch/ store my personal property that i'm not using.
do we as americans need all this stuff? do we need to hold onto it if we're not utilizing it? can't we barter and trade more? can't we be more generous and offer our unused things to people that could use them? why not have a tag sale, garage sale or "yahd sale" (not to leave out all our fellow southeastern mass residents, haha)?

i don't know, i'm just ornery i guess... i see the whole storage explosion as a waste. i see it as people making money off our gluttonous ways. i see it as a needless expense and a needless "pack-ratness". less is more in my book.

again, as usual, i don't mean to sound preachy. my tone may sound as if i'm standing behind the facade of a pulpit... and i apologize for that if it comes off that way. i just think that there is so much waste and useless expenditure of time and energy in this world in our everyday lives- that if we were to "cut out the fat" just a little bit here and there, that we'd have more time to spend being happy and coming together as a society. just a thought...

so, "as american as apple pie..." hmmm, sounds so old-fashioned to me... i propose "as american as storage units..." haha