Little storage compartments hidden beneath rolling metal doors dotting industrial parks and residential areas are modest places. Most people envisage them loaded with crates of vintage books, some furniture, perhaps two bicycles or more. As it happens, though, some of the most unusual and intriguing objects available can be concealed by these bland packaging. As erratic as they are interesting, the stories behind what people keep are also unique. Click here!
Imagine the enthusiastic hobbyist who set up a model train village across a whole unit. This was not only a single track with a few motors. The area was turned into a small universe with well created mountains, hand-painted landscapes, and even a little reproduction of the conductor’s house. The motivation is Their burgeoning pastime overflowed their flat, hence they had to move the entire village, maybe losing their own living room.
Although collectors are known for employing storage spaces, others go above and beyond. Movie props life-sized have ended up behind lock and key. Stories of Star Wars Stormtrooper outfits next to a replica DeLorean from “Back to the Future,” and even security officer sightings of a Darth Vader helmet laying on top of cartons marked “Indiana Jones,” abound. Comic comics, on the other hand, typically find a position halfway between.
Not left out either is the music scene. Vintage electric organs, drum equipment, and trays of old vinyl albums abound in storage facilities among musicians. Through dusty amplifiers and the faint scent of old records, the units can carry you back in time and evoke the vitality of Woodstock or your preferred dive bar from decades past.
Some people save space for emotional purposes. One couple built a cold time capsule of their marriage by gathering wedding cake slices preserved from every anniversary. Though it’s not known whether they ever ate the cakes once more, the collection definitely reveals a different side of loyalty and memories.
Even athletic wear can have a quirky spin. Forget baseball bats and soccer cleats; rather a medieval jousting costume with a full set of armor and real lances? You might enter a building looking for fitness gear and discover instead one step from a renaissance fair.
Not surprisingly, some of the most amazing finds center on animals. Not live ones, fortunately; rather, highly polished taxidermy. One very crammed storage container was filled with toy animals including a clown-painted bear and squirrels wearing cowboy hats. Consider the response of the moving crew upon opening that door.
Then there are the genuinely strange. In one amazing instance, a storage unit owner maintained real beehives inside. Head-to–toe in a beekeeping outfit, they would tend to their buzzing colonies by moonlight, collecting honey without anybody nearby being the wiser—unless, of course, they questioned the abrupt rise in local bee activity.
Pinball machines and vintage arcade games also found their way into these venues, occasionally acting as covert locations for late-night players driven in for a nostalgic dose. Complete rooms have been filled with forgotten bowling balls; one fan claimed that every single ball had a unique “personality,” arranging them like a set of multicoloured rocks.
Family treasures also turn up, but not always in the form you might have anticipated. Certain units have been discovered to hold Civil War-era love letters, eerie porcelain dolls, and even a Victorian prosthetic limb with a tiny artist’s signature etched on the heel.
Mini storage cabinets are ultimately like contemporary treasure chests. Beyond the next padlocked door, you never know what amazing anomalies, hidden histories, or particular eccentricities hide. The next time you look at a row of storage spaces, keep in mind—from honeycombs to ghostly heirlooms—there may be anything inside, just waiting to tell their story.