Anca Lenta
Anca is a real estate researcher and writer at StorageCafe, focusing on housing and self-storage trends across the U.S. She specializes in data-driven analysis that sheds light on how development, migration, and market shifts shape cities and communities across the U.S. When she’s not analyzing numbers, she’s leveling up in the latest game or getting lost in a good novel. You can contact Anca via email.
Gen Z girl standing in bedroom packing suitcase and cardboard boxes.

I’m Gen Z: What’s in My Storage Unit?

Trading Facebook posts for TikTok dances and Beanie Babies for Labubus, Gen Z has given growing up online a whole new meaning. Defined by everything concerning reusing, recycling and cycling through trends that previous generations would rather forget (looking at you, Millennials and capri jeans), it’s no wonder this is also a generation that can spot an authentic vintage find from a fast-fashion knockoff in under three seconds. And when your wardrobe can go from Depop find to next season’s comeback without warning, a little extra space starts making sense.

Millennial man kneeling in storage unit sorting belongings.

I’m a Millennial: What’s in My Storage Unit?

So, you’re a Millennial. You probably know all the lyrics to Phoebe Buffay’s Smelly Cat. Hannah Montana’s The Best of Both Worlds has become more like a life philosophy rather than a fun tune. And if you rent a self storage unit, you’re in good company. You’ve officially joined the 31% of Millennials who rent storage space, most often because there simply isn’t enough room at home, according to StorageCafe’s 2026 Self Storage Demand and Trends survey(opens in new tab).

Couple unpacking boxes in attic.

Attic Storage Done Right: What’s Worth Keeping Up Top?

The attic is one of those places where holiday decorations end up next to a forgotten suitcase, a broken lamp and boxes nobody’s opened since moving day. Out of sight, out of mind works well enough until you need something from the back or realize you’ve been adding weight to a floor you know little about.

Family in holiday decorated house.

Holiday Decoration Storage: A Guide for Every Season

Taking down the holiday decorations is never as exciting as putting them up. One minute, your home is looking wonderfully festive, and the next, you’re trying to remember which box the Christmas ornaments came in while wrestling with a string of lights that managed to tie itself into a dozen knots. With every holiday bringing its own collection of decorations, a good holiday decoration storage system helps you keep a growing collection under control.

Room with easel and art supplies.

Art Supply Storage from A to Easel

Paint tubes, brushes, sketchbooks, scraps of paper, beads, half-used rolls of tape and that one very specific pen you swear you just had in your hand. Building up an art supply collection is rarely a neat process, and each new material brings its own storage needs.

Woman making fabric Halloween decorations.

Scary Good DIY Halloween Decorations That Won’t Haunt Your Wallet

A few floating candles in the hallway, a family of ghosts by the front door and a suspicious number of bats climbing up the bedroom wall can make October feel a whole lot spookier. While Halloween stores are full of tempting finds, some of the best DIY Halloween decorations can come from things you already have tucked away in drawers, closets or the recycling bin.

Rack with sweatshirts brick wall.

Sweatshirt Storage Ideas Worth Keeping Up Your Sleeve

Sweatshirts are great until you realize how much room they take up. A few thick hoodies can fill a drawer fast, with lighter crewnecks getting squashed underneath or pushed somewhere you forget about. Good sweatshirt storage can make that pile much easier to manage without requiring a bigger closet.

Biker wearing jacket suit holding helmet with motorcycle.

Motorcycle Storage Guide: How to Store Your Bike Safely

Motorcycles may be born to be wild, but eventually even the wild ones need somewhere to park. Whether riding season is winding down or your current living situation comes with plenty of square footage for you and less for your bike, motorcycle storage is one of those parts of ownership that doesn’t get as much airtime as the open road.

Top-down view of a tabletop RPG setup with dice, miniatures, character sheets, a dice tower, and a fantasy map.

Board Game Storage Ideas That Keep Your Collection in Fighting Shape

Nobody warns you that getting into board games usually unlocks a second hobby, the much dreaded one that includes figuring out where on earth to put them. One game becomes a few, expansions start spawning beside their base boxes and before long, board game storage requires as much strategy as whatever is waiting on the other side of those lids.

Woman and man standing in front of storage facility with storage lockers.

Storage Locker vs. Storage Unit: What’s the Difference?

A locker and a unit may sound like two names for the same four walls and a lock, and depending on the storage facility, you may even see the terms used that way. However, once you start comparing available spaces, storage lockers tend to occupy the smaller end of the spectrum, while storage units(opens in new tab) give you considerably more room to work with.

Middle aged woman surrounded by moving boxes.

Where to Find Moving Boxes in Los Angeles

Moving in Los Angeles is its own thing, and figuring out where to get moving boxes sorted is just the start of everything you’ll need to organize before moving day.

Storage unit with boxes on shelves.

1 in 4 Americans Rent Self Storage — and the Next Wave Is Already Coming

About one in four Americans is already using self storage and just as many are actively searching for a unit online right now. Across the 150 largest U.S. cities, self storage searches rose 23% year-over-year in 2025 — nearly triple the growth recorded the previous year, up from around 8% in 2024.