5 TV Series Characters That Used Self Storage: What You Can Learn From Them

Self storage has made multiple appearances in movies and TV series throughout the years, sometimes even playing an important role in the plot. We looked at some of the most popular TV series that include nods to the self storage industry to see how TV characters used this service and what we can learn from them. Should you follow your favorite character’s example in dealing with self storage or should you do the complete opposite?

1. Keep your storage unit for yourself – unlike Jerry Seinfeld

One of the most successful sitcoms of all times, Seinfeld, teaches us in its Season 8 episode “The Andrea Doria” that, sometimes, renting a storage unit with a friend is not the best of ideas. Jerry Seinfeld rents a storage unit in New York City with his friend Kramer, one of the show’s other main characters. One day, when visiting the unit to drop off some stuff, Seinfeld and Kramer are surprised to find the unit completely filled up with mail bags.

As it turns out, Kramer lent the unit’s key to his other friend, mailman Newman, and, unfortunately, Newman is not a good employee. Quite the contrary, instead of distributing the mail, he decided to just hide it away in a storage unit.

The lesson we should take from that? Well, it’s safer to keep your storage space for yourself, and never lend your key to someone else.

2. Pay your self storage rent on time, or you’ll end up in quite a mess – as happened to a Married With Children character

Marcy Darcy, Al and Peggy Bundy’s neighbor from the beloved “Married With Children” TV series, rents a self storage unit in Chicago, their home town, as shown in the 5th episode of Season 6. Marcy keeps her childhood toys and furniture in there, which she plans to one day give to her future daughter. However, the person tasked with paying the monthly bill for the storage unit is her husband, Jefferson. He does not pay the bill, so all of Marcy’s stuff is auctioned off by the storage facility. A crazy journey to recover the items ensues.

If there’s a lesson to learn here, it’s obviously that you have to make sure the storage unit bill is paid every month – otherwise, you risk losing things that are truly meaningful to you. The best way to avoid such an issue is to set up automatic payments.

3. Hold on to important stuff, but also learn to let go, like Sheldon in Big Bang Theory

During the 19th episode of season 9 of the “Big Bang Theory” TV series, titled “The Solder Excursion Diversion,” Sheldon Cooper, one of the main characters, takes his girlfriend Amy to his secret storage unit. Sheldon has issues letting things go, so he rents a storage unit in Pasadena, California, where he keeps every little thing he no longer uses, including books, clothes, broken electronics, and so on. He even has in there a golf ball his brother threw at him when they were kids.

Sheldon calls his storage unit the “Fortress of Shame” because he knows it’s not healthy to keep all that stuff. However, with Amy’s help, he’s determined to learn how to let things go and to save only what’s truly worth preserving.

The lesson of the episode is that some things are definitely worth keeping. However, it’s important to sort through your stuff before putting it into storage, and to ditch everything that’s no longer useful.

4. Your documents and papers will be safe in a storage unit – take that from True Detective!

During the penultimate episode of the first season of the TV drama True Detective, ex-police detective Rust Cohle meets his former partner Marty Hart to talk about the unresolved murders and disappearances they’ve been investigating on and off for decades. It’s revealed that Rust Cohle kept working on those cases, even though he’s no longer a police officer, and that he’s keeping his papers and documents in a storage unit. Rust Cohle has a revelation in the same unit, one that helps him finally crack the case.

Fortunately, most of us don’t have crime-related paperwork to deal with, like the characters in True Detective. However, businesses and people can keep their important papers in self storage – it’s a safe and affordable way of saving space at the office or at home.

5. Don’t sleep in your self storage unit – unlike Hannah in TV series Girls

During season four of the TV drama series “Girls,” the central character, Hannah, leaves New York and returns home to Iowa, leaving her boyfriend Adam behind. When she returns to NYC, in the fifth episode of the season, she discovers that Adam has moved on – without talking to her about breaking up. Adam is now living with another woman, and he has put all of Hannah’s stuff in a Brooklyn self storage unit. Hannah ends up spending the night in the unit.

Although we can’t help but feel sorry for Hannah’s predicament, sleeping in a storage unit is not allowed by storage facilities. Furthermore, sleeping in such a space is a violation of health and sanitation laws. The consequences include facing trespassing and breach of contract charges. So, don’t be like Hannah, don’t spend your night in a storage unit!

Are there any other self storage lessons you learned from movies or TV series? Let us know in the comments!