If you find yourself wondering about the strangest things people put in self storage, then fasten your seatbelt. A third of Americans are currently using self storage — that’s a lot, and odds are that quite a few interesting stories have cropped up in our national cabinet of curiosities.
To learn about the oddities, we turned to those who operate storage, those who rent it and those who hunt for hidden treasures at self storage blind auctions. These are their stories. If Pandora had a self storage unit instead of a box, this is what you might find in it.
Some items will make you laugh. Others may make you emotional. A few will leave you completely perplexed. For a bit of added drama, we asked our staff to vote on the weirdest objects people have ever put in self storage — and we’ve ranked them accordingly. That’s what makes this the official list of the strangest things found in storage!
Check out the top 10 — and don’t forget to scroll through the full list of 21 bizarre finds below!
1. Taxidermy giraffe head
A story as old as time. Someone saw a taxidermy giraffe head. Someone bought a taxidermy giraffe head. “Someone stored a taxidermy giraffe head,” says Ryan McDonald, COO at Resell Calendar. “You can’t make this stuff up. Every time we see a unit like that, the big question is always, Why this? And honestly, sometimes there’s no logical answer.”
Our guess? Maybe an interior decorator wanted to spice up an apartment with particularly high ceilings. Maybe someone got tired of their coat rack and wanted something different. But you know, that just steals the fun out of the whole thing. We’ll let your imagination do the bidding.
2. Urn with parents’ ashes
Surprisingly, many survey respondents said that they stored their parents’ ashes in their storage unit. This may be a sensitive topic for many of us, but the truth is that we all grieve differently. And at one point, some of us end up with objects that are too painful to keep at home but also too painful to part with.
3. Creepy dolls… and a creepy unicorn
Here’s an eerie sight that would have frightened Alfred Hitchcock: “When we leave storage, our daughter puts her dolls sitting up all over in the unit. I open the door next time, and it’s dolls all staring at me… and a scary unicorn.” It’s interesting how objects that seem slightly uncanny can unnerve us. Just goes to prove that objects have more power than we give them credit for.
Sometimes, creepy dolls seem to circle back to us like boomerangs. Take, for example, this other set of dolls (no, seriously take it, you’d be doing someone a favor): “My grandma gave me a set of — well — valuable but extremely ugly dolls” confesses one storage user. “When I left for college, my parents moved them to our storage unit along with other stuff, including my sister’s and brother’s belongings. On my 30th birthday, guess what my sister gave me as a present? That same set of ugly dolls. So, I ended up with them again—this time in my home. Well, guess where they ended up next? Back in my storage unit.” We can’t deny it — that’s quite poetic.
4. Scarecrow
For this one, we’ll just assume that the scarecrow was so good at scaring away crows that it was disrupting the natural habitat and had to be put away for good — or at least until the next harvest season. Although, we do wonder — wouldn’t crows probably learn those are not humans by now? We know they’re smart animals, and it would make sense, evolutionary speaking. Still, we 100% believe that self storage is a great place for a scarecrow, thank you.
5. Animatronics
The best place for an animatronic is safely tucked away in storage, where it can rest quietly until it’s needed again. That’s because there are two ways to look at animatronics: with fascination and with, let’s face it, a bit of fear. And if you don’t know how animatronics can be scary, congrats on not having seen Five Nights at Freddy’s.
6. Apple 1 computer
Should you ever fret about forgetting some expensive thing on the subway, take solace in the fact that you never forgot something that could go for six figures. “Probably the most valuable item I’ve personally tracked through the resale community was an original Apple 1 computer that surfaced in a forgotten unit,” says McDonald. “Only 200 of them were ever made, and the last one I saw sold for over $300,000. Just imagine opening a rusted locker and finding tech history inside.”
7. Mannequin heads
Some units leave you scratching your head, others leave you with several plastic heads to… auction off? “We’ve come across items that made us wonder why someone stored them in the first place,” Keith Hebert, founder of Safe Storage 365, admits. “From decades-old newspapers and broken furniture to an entire collection of mannequin heads, people store things that don’t always make sense to others.” We’ll assume that mannequin-head owner worked in the hat or wig industry… hopefully.
8. Full-sized medieval knight’s armor set
Chivalry is not dead — not in the world of self storage. “One reseller I know came across a full-sized medieval knight’s armor set,” says McDonald. That’s one trick that dating apps don’t want you to know: vying for a maiden’s hand is much easier when you are protected from your competitors by sheer metal.
9. Empty candy wrappers
If you don’t believe us, then check Ebay for all the listings of candy wrappers with factory defects, some going for as much as $700. And for your information, the Smithsonian has a Candy Wrapper Museum. Who’s laughing now?
10. Dozens of makeup sets
Picture this: you need to do your makeup ASAP to impress someone. It’s at times like these that you wish you had your own secret makeup booth … or, well, storage unit. “We opened a unit to find probably dozens of the exact same makeup sets, all partially used,” says Peter Corry, founder and CEO of Moore Storage. “It was like someone had been collecting these products over and over for a long time. The weird part was how they were all arranged in perfect rows, almost like a wacky museum display.”
11. Vintage Rolexes
Sometimes, people cling to objects that have become dated, hoping and praying that they one day might be worth something again. For instance, their vintage Rolex collection. Let’s just hope that one day Rolexes will be popular again and those watches may see the light of day.
12. Old love letters
Love letters usually end up in one of two places: 1. A special place at home; 2. The garbage bin, in tatters or ashes. Love letters in self storage, though … that’s a different story. But whatever the story may be, here’s a nice thought: the love letter you write today will be interesting in the future. Just, you know, once it becomes “old.”
13. Pokémon cards
The storage world has long been a pillar of nerdom. This has worked particularly well for storage auction afficionados, as operators will attest. “There were also collections of sealed Pokémon cards. One guy even found a first edition Charizard in mint condition and flipped it for thousands,” says McDonald.
14. Pizza oven
Some valuables are just waiting to be taken out of storage so they can bring joy to the world again. “A few years back, we found what turned out to be a pro pizza oven in an abandoned unit. It was in a perfect state and worth thousands,” recounts Corry. “Turns out to be from a restaurant that had gone out of business, and the owner just stopped paying for the unit.”
15. Old, broken televisions
We humans have a funny relationship with objects. We value the new and the antique, but what about that awkward space where antiques are just… “not old enough”? For example: “We’ve also come across items that were just baffling — like a storage unit filled wall to wall with old televisions, none of which worked,” says Frank Pressel, operator at Red River Storage.
Well, it’s possible that this collector was just a DIY enthusiast who wanted to turn those TVs into cool storage units — and then realized they just couldn’t compete with self storage.
16. Rare coins
Debit cards are great, but can you jump in a pool of them like Scrooge McDuck? No. That’s why people still love coins — the rarer the better. “One of the most valuable discoveries was a collection of rare coins and vintage collectibles that had been tucked away for years,” says Hebert. “While not life-changing in value, it was a significant find for the buyer who bid on the unit.”
17. Old magazines
All storage units are sort of time capsules; some more than others, as in the case of this storage-cum-archive. “When I was helping someone clean out a storage unit, I came across a fully intact, still-wrapped newspaper from every day for 20 years,” says Adrian Iorga, founder and president of Stairhopper Movers. “The entire space looked like an archive of the world’s news, with each paper neatly stacked in chronological order.”
Of course, this impulse for preservation can get too much. “Old magazines and broken electronics that no longer work are a waste of space,” says Lee Preston of EZstorit.com. “Sometimes, people hold onto sentimental items or things they think they might need later, even if they never do.”
18. Childhood schoolwork
To be fair, your dog certainly can’t eat your homework if you deposit it in self storage. If you’re planning on keeping that schoolwork for nostalgic reasons, that’s just as well. Pay no mind to naysayers who might accuse you of hoarding — those fifth-grade essays might just intrigue anthropologists a century from now!
19. Vintage motorcycle engine
Storage auctions can even be thrilling for motorcyclists — and you know they have a high bar in terms of thrills. “One of the most valuable items ever discovered in a storage box we retrieved — but was never claimed — was a vintage motorcycle engine in near-mint condition,” says Chris Welch, owner of Badger Box Mobile Storage. “It had been stored carefully, wrapped, and secured, and based on follow-up research, it was worth several thousand dollars to collectors.”
20. Vintage guitar collection
To make the most of your storage unit, it’s good to learn some life hacks — like, for instance, how to conspicuously pack a collection of vintage guitars worth several thousands of dollars. “The unit was filled with cases, and at first glance, it looked like typical storage clutter — until someone opened them and found well-preserved instruments from the 60s and 70s,” says Sciarrotta, manager at Carson City Storage. “It’s always incredible how easily something of value can get tucked away and forgotten.”
21. Vintage photography equipment
You know your job is cool when your equipment becomes an exciting discovery. “One of the most memorable finds was an extensive collection of vintage photography equipment, including film cameras, lenses, and even undeveloped rolls of film,” says Pressel. “What made it unique wasn’t just the potential value, but the sense of history behind it. It was clear the person who stored it had a deep passion for the craft, and it left us wondering about the stories captured in that film.”
Our belongings don’t always … belong. Not in our homes, at least. We may want extra security for pricey items that we think are worth holding onto for future gains, or we’d prefer our guests not to gawk at our cool hobby paraphernalia. Then there are the objects that bring up the trickiest feelings — the happy memories that leave us longing for better days.
Well, these are the stories we tell ourselves as we move our stuff into self storage. And what a great listener that storage is. It doesn’t judge, it doesn’t ask any questions, it just receives and preserves.
But then, life happens. We may have to abandon our stuff in storage, into the hands of operators and auctioneers. All of a sudden, our objects become… strange. And that just makes them, and the world of storage, all the more human.
