Car owners, beware. Owning a car is about to become much more expensive. A new legislation called the HR 2454 Cap and Trade Bill that has just been run through by congress will tax all forms of energy consumption including coal and natural gas, raising all of our living expenses substantially. This bill is expected to cause an increase in the per gallon cost of gasoline to upwards of seven dollars a gallon across the board.

Though it is difficult to imagine paying over a hundred dollars for two thirds of a tank of gas, it looks as if things may be heading in that direction if this bill goes into effect and has the suspected ramifications that those opposed to the bill are anticipating. This attempt to discourage people from using energy wastefully by taxing us on it is supposed to entice us to use more alternative forms of energy that are more environmentally safe, thereby decreasing our carbon footprint on the planet and the atmosphere.

Perhaps our best bet is to just put our car into the local car storage and start riding public transportation, although the cost of taking public transportation will also rise in accordance with the rising costs of fuel. Local car storage facilities will be among those to see an increase in business as people begin walking, biking and carpooling more than ever. It is not difficult to imagine just how much such a large tax will affect the cost of just about everything in our daily lives. We rely on energy for everything from using the microwave to heat up our lunch to checking our email. Perhaps there are other ways to entice Americans to begin conserving our resources so as to avoid further damage to our atmosphere. It remains to be seen how far things will go before we are forced to consider these new options.

The last thing Todd wanted to do was to go to the local furniture storage to retrieve the Christmas ornaments. It was freezing outside, snowing and as far as he was concerned, too cold to get out and about. Janie, his wife, had insisted. She had a way of convincing him to do things that he didnt want to do, like buy floral print curtains for the dining room and paint the house light green. And now, he was driving in the snow to get the Christmas ornaments even though Christmas was still three weeks away.

He knew that the unit was going to be freezing cold, and he only hoped that the boxes he would be looking for were close to the front. He liked being a self storage customer, mind you, because he sure wouldnt want to have to trip over all of this stuff for the rest of the year, but why did she have to have it done today? Shaking his head at the ridiculousness of it all, he trudged inside, found the door to his unit and fiddled with the lock. Once he had gotten it off, he braced himself to be frozen to the bone yet again as he pushed it open.

Wow. He was shocked by just how pleasant it was inside. He had assumed that since it felt like ten below outside, that it would feel just as cold inside, but without the snow. Then he had remembered yet another thing that his wife had talked him into that he thought was ridiculous, temperature regulated storage. He had thought it would be a waste of money, but her insistence had paid off yet again. He had to admit, at least as far as the local furniture storage went, that it had been a good decision.

Hours later, watching the snow settle on the windowsill outside, beyond the twinkling lights of the Christmas tree, they sipped egg nog while listening to Christmas carols. Todd sighed. Did she always have to be right? he thought. He smiled and gave her a kiss under the mistletoe.

At last it was spring. The winter had been cold and icy, drawing Stacy inside without hesitation. She was not a lover of the cold, nor was she all that excited about snow, although she did enjoy the softness and silence that followed a snowfall. Now that spring had sprung, she was going to be able to get back outside and ride, walk, run, garden and play. One trip to the local furniture storage revealed her ten speed and air pump along with her bike tools. She was an avid biker, but she just disliked biking in the cold because it really messed with her breathing.

She had tried to ride in the cold, but she finally had to resign herself to the fact that at least for three months of the year, her bike was going to sit, dormant and unused, in the local furniture storage unit that she rented for extra space. The unit held her bike in the winter along with her camping equipment and some seasonal clothing. She had found all kinds of great uses for the space. Having such a tiny one bedroom apartment was advantageous because she could save her money to spend on other things that she really wanted, but she had no place to put things. Now, her bike came out and all of the blankets, sweaters and winter items went in. She was ready for spring, ready to ride, and ready to make the most of her local furniture storage unit once again.

A self storage customer should consider these important factors before finalizing any rental plans.

Location. You should know if you would like a location that is very close to your home or office, or if you would be willing to store in a location out of your neighborhood or across town. Typically, location and convenience are the top priority of a self storage customer because the tenant does not want to drive far or out of their daily routine to reach the self storage unit.

Security. Are you looking for a storage company that offers all the latest and greatest safety features, or would features like fencing and video surveillance be lower on the list of must-haves for your storage facility rental?

Amenities. If you will access your storage unit very often, then having a few perks like shipping services, hand carts, etc will make your visits to the storage facility that much easier for you.

Price. If you have a very certain budget for what you can afford for self storage, then shop storage rates in your area. If you cannot find the size and price you need, be sure to ask the store manager if there are any discounts available.

Size. No matter which of the above areas are highest on your list, you must have the right storage unit size for your items. Renting a size too small will only leave you frustrated and leave your items homeless. Renting a size too large will be a waste of your space and money.

If you have any questions or concerns about what works best, call your local storage facility and talk to the store manager.

So many people are utilizing storage facilities these days. It is about the only space a lot of people can afford.  Some unfortunate situations have people half jokingly asking if they can move into the storage unit with their belongings. The days of super sizing are over for the most part, unless you are over indulging in cheap fast food and distilled in formaldehyde wine. We are now cresting the wave on the down sizing trend. Not only are the automobiles getting smaller, packaging at the grocery stores is getting smaller, and the space in which people can afford to live is also getting smaller. Give us a generation or two, and caskets will be getting smaller also to accommodate the down sizing of the American people as a whole.