LITTLE ROCK, Ark — Whether you're making your daily commute to and from work or just driving down the street to the grocery store—even if you don't realize it, you probably passed a storage unit.
If you haven't noticed it now, you are about to become highly aware of the extreme amount of storage units we have right here in Little Rock.
We asked experts why they believe this trend of renting a box to keep away their extra knick-knacks is growing in popularity.
Think about this: 1 in 11 Americans pay about $92 per month for a glorified locker to store all their extra stuff in.
The storage unit business is constantly growing right before our eyes.
Sue Fehlberg is Arkansas' only KonMari Consultant, which means she specializes in helping people get rid of the clutter in their lives.
She said the increase in popularity all comes down to one main reason.
"People just have too much stuff," Fehlberg said.
It's a real-estate trend that is taking over the streets. Past the metal buildings, slide-up doors and combination locks, lies a $38 billion industry.
It's an industry Greg Davis wanted to try out.
"They're good investments," he said.
A stake that Davis said he was ready to commit to when he decided to break ground on Maxx Storage after years of research.
"Nowadays, everybody seems to have more and they get rid of less, so they need somewhere to store it," he said.
For Davis, he said this investment was business per usual.
He owns several office buildings and retail strips across Little Rock, but with storage units, he said flipping it over for the next person to use is easier and cheaper.
"So it was just kind of attractive to do something like this," Davis said.
Maxx Storage opened its doors at the beginning of the new year bringing 377 units onto an already busy Stagecoach Road with four other storage units lining the street.
Davis said the competition on the block won't be a problem.
"In our research, we found that a lot of newer places went in right next to places that have already been established and it didn't seem to bother the one that was already there," he said.
Davis was exactly right in his research. After calling around, we found out that even though the four other storage units are all within walking distance from the other, they are all about 93% occupied.
These numbers don't come surprising to Fehlberg.
"It's crazy. For every Starbucks, Subway and McDonalds that you see, there's a storage unit," she said.
Fehlberg said the increase in popularity with storage units doesn't surprise her because of the accessibility the world has now with the click of a button.
"Americans are consumers, we have been for a long time, but now it's so easy if you want something you can get it delivered to your door tomorrow," she said.
Fehlberg said if you take into account the Amazon frenzy, more Americans relocating and a big wave of baby boomers downsizing and keeping all of their china and crystal—the demand will keep on growing.
"So we are downsizing, we need someplace to put our stuff, we think our kids are going to want our stuff, but they aren't," she said.
Fehlberg said the things Americans hold onto and can't seem to let go of doesn't have any limits, ranging from books to clothes to random novelties, among many other possibilities.
"Sometimes it's sentimental, it's connected with a person. Sometimes they think it's more valuable than it is," she said.
This sentimental value is one of the main reasons Karen Puckett's storage unit is filled from top to bottom.
Puckett is currently in a transition phase; a move that was first temporary, is now permanent.
So, she is holding two-thirds of her life in this climate-controlled box until she gets a bigger place of her own.
There are pieces of her life in the unit that she said she hasn't come back to get since October.
"I mean you can see, I really can't get to much. What I need is in the apartment," Puckett said.
So, what is taking up her 10-by-10 plot of storage?
"Old family furniture, family heirlooms, I've got a mantle clock that was my great-grandparents," Puckett said.
Around half of everything in her storage unit has been passed down from generation to generation. These aren't just random knick-knacks taking up space though, Puckett said these are things she will keep forever.
"To know that the rocking chair my grandfather rocked my mother in until her feet drug the floor. I have that rocking chair," she said.
Puckett said it's items like a simple kitchen utensil that keep the memories alive of the ones she holds closest to her heart.
"I can't tell you how many chocolate pies she made and she always made her own crust and that rolling pin, if I were to use that rolling pin, that would be a problem," she said.
Whether they are irreplaceable items or odds and ends people can't find a place for in their homes, Fehlberg said America hasn't seen the end of the storage unit trend.
"So it's work, it takes time. It's easier to box everything up and put it in a place like this," she said.
If you think you have too much clutter in your life, here is a list of places Fehlberg said you can donate the things you want to let go of.