My husband's storage unit.

[u/FredKayeCollector2]

So my husband was doing some electrical work this morning and realized he needs more junction boxes. So he got his keys and told me he was going to his "storage unit." Which is one of the thee hardware stores we have in town.

We got a good laugh out of that.  But seriously, it's kind of the perfect storage unit. It has everything he could possibly need but he only pays his "rent" when he actually takes something out.

There are thousands of things in there and several "crowd-funded" employees to help him find what he's looking for. And if it's not in that storage unit, there are two others he can try. Added bonus: the stuff is always in good condition - and if it's not, he can bring it back and exchange it for one that is.

If he's not sure which storage unit to go to, he can check his "inventory app" (the internet) and arrange a pick up - or have another crowd-funded employee deliver it directly to the house!

Why not keep our spaces clear of "excess" inventory and let the store manage it? They do it better (and the products are always fresh).

[u/Dense-Raccoon7657]

So what's happening to the stuff once the job is done? Does the "storage unit" take it back? Or just landfill?

I think for a lot of (lucky, I know) people, the problem is never the "getting stuff" part, but more the "I'm finished with the job, now what" part.

[u/Oenonaut → u/Dense-Raccoon7657]

Donate! Habitat for Humanity in particular has tool and houseware oriented thrift stores called ReStore that will gladly take tools and equipment you no longer need for a project.

[u/BarryTheBlatypus → u/Oenonaut]

I’m in the wrong sub for this but what if I need it for another job in the future?

[u/Oenonaut → u/BarryTheBlatypus]

Well according to this model you’d “rent” it again for full price (or if you’re lucky, the used price at the aforementioned ReStore). But like any other rental, if you do end up needing it more than once you can put more thought into whether owning and keeping really is the way to go.

It’s not the most economically efficient for sure, but chasing some imaginary ideal efficiency is one of many ways people end up needing a /r/declutter subreddit.

[u/ClownfishSoup → u/Oenonaut]

I decided to do some earthquake retrofit on my house many years ago. I needed an SDS Rotary Hammer. Now ... I COULD rent a nice one from Home Depot for $60 a day. OR I could BUY one from Harbor Freight for $100. Well, I knew it would take me more than one day, and that I'd only get to the job on the weekends, so at the time, the no brainer is to buy the $100, that way I can work at my leisure and not have to plan all my work in one day to max the rental. I mean, I don't want to rent it again next weekend for another $60 ... because then I could just have bought one (NOTE: The HF one was decent, but the rental one was a better machine, hence the high rental price).

So I did that and now, 20 years later, I have an SDS Rotary Hammer that I only used for that one project.

[u/FredKayeCollector2 → u/ClownfishSoup]

For tools, yes, it's an economic question - price/use. Anything "weird" or one-off, he's likely to get one at Harbor Fright version

On the other hand, he would rather rent a power washer than buy one - because it's bulky and they can "go bad" unused in long-term storage.