Agree with this. I put all my stuff in storage several times. One time I put it all in a smaller rural town because a because cost was 1/5th of what it was in a big city ($70 a month vs $350 a month). But even then, the stuff was in there for 4 years so ($3360) + the van to move it and most of it could have been replaced for far less.

I eventually emptied it but I made the mistake is discarding books and trinkets that were actually memorabilia. I didn't interact with the trinkets or pull the books off the shelves. I didn't realize that just seeing them would trigger memories of where I bought them, who I was with, what I was into then, what songs were popular then, etc... so I regret getting rid of that stuff. But that was probably no more than 10 "book boxes" of stuff

It’s not only about current value. As anyone who has had their house wiped out and an insurance payout, acquiring everything again when you settle back is a massive time sink (let alone cost, if you were insured at fair market value rather than replacement value)

So yeah, the rent on the unit might be more than your crap is worth, but having it all back in a blink (essentially) when moving back someplace has some intangible value too.

They also tend to increase prices on a regular basis, and that more or less doubles your cost very quickly

But almost everyone has some possessions with sentimental value. Where should those be kept?