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Friday, May 17, 2013

Bed, Bath, and Beyond (the $1 unit)

It's been awhile, and we have lots to write about, but it's just been super busy.

Yesterday we went to a caravan auction and there were a couple of units that were decent for $200-300, but that was too much for a unit that wasn't "Great"  that we didn't have good feelings about.   There were a few $35-45 units that were okay, but they needed a lot of work, and it's not that we're lazy, just that we currently have about 3-4 units that we haven't even opened/dug yet, not to mention lots of friends that are moving that need us to sell all of their stuff.  So, there's no need for more small, non-exciting inventory.

Which is exactly why when this door rolled open, we decided we were not interested.  2 SUPER FUNKY mattresses (you can see the mold and mildew in the pictures),  and a couple of little things.  I saw some purses that seemed in good shape, so that was a good sign, but everything was just thrown all around.  Had it not been for the mattresses I would have maybe considered it but did we mention the mildew?   So we moved away from this, the very last unit of the day.   Only everyone else did too.   The auctioneer was having us sign a no bid (witnesses are required to sign that no one bid on the unit),  and it was then that we remembered that we have a friend with a dumpster very nearby.... SO, we went ahead and bid $1 on the unit and that was that.

It's been forever since we've gotten a $1 unit, I can't even remember how long, and I was kind of surprised because there was this bottom feeder guy there (he buys EVERYTHING under $20 and has a particular affliction for old mattresses) and a couple of newbies and none of them were interested.  Their loss, our gain.  At $1 I figure even if we sell the 2-3 purses we have tripled our money, so we're in good shape.

Here's what the unit looked like when the doors rolled open:

Notice all of the stuff thrown on the floor behind the mattresses:

This is a new one!  A peanut butter jar filled with....  pieces of mold and mildew?   Not sure if this was sheetrock, or paper...    remnants of a peanut butter sandwich?  Or maybe it's proof for an insurance company of Katrina damage?    Whatever the case, it was pretty gross.  There was lots of trash and old food in this unit.


A bag of Mardi Gras beads is a staple in New Orleans.  It's either a sign of someone who rides in parades themselves, or someone who is not a lifelong resident of NOLA (ie, they are new to the city and want a souvenir) :)

Lots of duffle bags filled with clothing.  The men's pants are all pretty nice.

Boxes and bags filled with clothes.

A few suitcases filled with clothes too!  There were also a lot of bath mats, towels, curtains, that sort of thing.

Laundry baskets and laundry hampers filled with more clothes,

And in one of the little boy's lunchboxes I found a camo swamp boat!  Yes!   #louisianalove.   Plus, we LOVE Duck Dynasty so this was a cool little find.

There are the purses we saw!   Some of them are really nice... so at least that triples our money just right there.

I almost impaled myself while bending over picking up clothes on this long metal rod.   Took forever to figure out what it was.... the BOTTOM of a salon style barber chair.  A shame we didn't have the whole chair- they are expensive and a very easy sell here,  so sadly we had to throw the bottom away.

While I was moving around one of the duffle bags filled with clothes there was a loud thud at the bottom when the bag hit the ground.  That's always a sure sign that you have something besides clothes in the bag, and we sure did.  I took all of the clothes out (Brian was getting rid of the mattresses during all of this, btw, credit where credit is due!)  --  and I found a glasses case, and a few toys, including this Ken-ish-GI-Joe-ish kind of man doll.      I swear he was looking creepily at me.   So,  I threw everything back in the bag to try to consolidate (we were in the car and not the van),  and I SWEAR TO YOU ,  this is how the doll NATURALLY landed in the bag.  I noticed it when I was moving.  Couldn't have done it any better if I had tried to do it that way!

Look at that little creeper checking out his surroundings!

He's still trying to stare at me!

Okay Ken-Joe, you win, you can have a kiss.


There was also an AWFUL lot of bedding.  Probably over 20 blankets, 10-15 pillows, and some stuffed animals.  Took us awhile to figure out why (maybe that was just the easiest thing to leave or the cheapest thing in the locker, or because they were so dirty they need to be abandoned, whatever).   We did find a card for Children's Hospital and evidence that the family had lived hours away in Mobile, Alabama.  I know hundreds of children travel from very far away to go to Children's Hospital, and this storage facility is very near the hospital, so I'm guessing that's what happened here.

 Our thoughts and prayers with this family- we hope everything is okay for them!

On a lighter note, this fuzzy headband wobbled as I was walking through the pitch dark unit and "ran" across my leg and it scared the bejeezus out of me!

It didn't take more than a half an hour to pack up the unit and everything was going great until we realized that we had filled up the car.  Oops.  We didn't have very far to go, so Brian piled the clothes on the hood, the pillows and blankets on the roof, and the bottom of the chair on the trunk!   




You should have seen the looks we got driving out of the storage facility!



And of course, when I opened the trunk, there was that doll, staring right at me!  





Until next time,

We bring the fun to auction--

Storage Heroes


56 comments:

  1. I was waiting to hear that you found the original Ken doll to match Johnnys Barbie!!!

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  2. That might be St. Joseph's Day bread in the peanut butter jar.

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  3. This is so funny. I just barely found your blog and browsed through it for a little bit. I think that what you do is so awesome. And I absolutely love that you take a bunch of pictures and then post about it on this blog. You can really find some gems in these storage units. Have you found any storage units in St George Utah? Thanks!

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  4. Buying storage units has become big business these days with the shows on television I think that the storage companies have benefited from all the publicity. This is not an easy job to do and I find the pictures you have posted very interesting.

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  5. I didn't expect such pictures from storage units. This is really funny. Before renting, one must check the condition of that storage. There are many Toronto storage that provide good features.

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  6. These pictures of storing units are very interesting.

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  7. That is alot of stuff to find in storage for $1. I want to go buy some storage lockers in Toronto, sounds fun!

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  8. These pictures remind me of my storage in Milton, WA . I should probably go back and get my stuff now that I am done with school.

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  9. I just moved to Edmonton. storage units are selling for cheap and I was thinking about getting in on it after looking at your pictures.

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  10. It might sound cheep of me but for Christmas I usually go buy two or three storage units that are relative to my childrens wants and desires then I sell the other stuff and buy them more toys with money left over! I like the self storage in Nashville TN. They ususally have kids toys but great memorabilia too! That is where the money is made.

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  11. This is really cool. I want to do one of those tv shoes where they buy the storage units. I think there are some really good storage units in Mesa AZ.

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  12. This is really cool. I want to do one of those tv shoes where they buy the storage units. I think there are some really good storage units in Mesa AZ.

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  13. I would love to find some storage in London, Ontario where I can have experiences like these. That would be awesome! I just wouldn't know where to look.

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  14. Have you ever done this withstorage in London, Ontario? I wonder what kind of stuff you would find out here.

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  15. I just need to find a place for storage in London, Ontario. I have so much stuff that I don't want at my house anymore. What can I do?

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  16. It is crazy with the things that you can find in abandon storage units. I am wondering if you have gone to any storage facilities in Victoria bc. I have been wondering if it would be a good idea to go there.

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    Replies
    1. These storage units always have something odd when the owners leave them. Odd owners = odd stuff.

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  17. I am looking for a convenient and safe Storage Facility in Victoria BC. Any recommendations?

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  18. I've been renting a unit here for some months and I love this place (never thought I'd say that about a storage place, but there it is!). I've rented other spaces in years past, but the service and location here just can not be beat!

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  19. You should always empty your self storage locker when you are done using it. It makes it so you can actually keep your stuff.

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  20. The things you can find in self storage in Victoria, BC. I think there would be a lot of crazy stuff.

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  21. I am looking for more storage in Brampton. My house isn't big enough for all of the junk my wife keeps bringing in it.

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  22. I want to rent a storage unit in Chilliwack for some extra items we don't need here in the house that don't even fit. Where is a great place to start in my quest for a storage space to rent?
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  24. Hello, anyone want to rent a storage units - have here in Draper and West valley Utah - clean, safe and affordable...

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  25. I will forever recommend this storage place and if you know what's good for you, you will too! I shopped around a lot before choosing this storage place, and they had the best rates I found.

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  26. This totally reminds me of Storage Wars! I love watching that show. I don't know how much of it I believe to be actual belongings left behind, but it's fun to watch nevertheless. A few years back I was looking for a strong storage facility myself, which can be stressful. For me, it really comes down to price. If the price is good, I wouldn't stress about the other stuff.

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  27. I love watching storage wars. Sometimes you can find some really nice things inside of a storage unit. If someone got mine, all they would get would be a bunch of my kids old clothes and a lot of holiday decorations.

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  28. Some sweet stuff you found there! If you're ever looking for storage units in Calgary then I know just the place. Reply if you're interested! Happy hunting :)

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  29. I didn't know people kept such strange things in storage unites. I have been looking for a unit in Des Moines to store my things for a move. We need somewhere to put items while we attempt to sell the house. Does anyone have any suggestions for a good place?
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  31. I bet it is amazing some of the stuff you find in these storage facilities. If other people are like me they probably don't put a lot of valuable stuff in there. I think most people put in stuff they aren't using and then tend to forget about it. http://www.islandmovers.com/other-services/portable-on-site-storage

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  32. There are some super nasty things in there, especially that jar of moldy peanut butter. Could you imagine how that would have looked if you hadn't bought the unit, and let that mold for another 5 years? I'm glad that you were able to find at least a couple of cool things to sell in this unit. https://www.stowawaytn.com/self-storage-kingsport-tn-145006

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  33. Wow, that GI Joe head is hilarious! I can't believe the treasures you're finding in these. Best of luck!
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  34. That is so disgusting. I can't believe that the owner of this storage unit let it get that bad. Usually you can find some pretty cool things in old storage units, but that old peanut butter is so gross. http://www.aaawindsorstorage.com/index.htm

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  35. You came away from that storage unit auction with some great treasures. Storage units are great for storing your stuff that you really don't want in your house. I've heard of tons of people doing these storage unit auctions too. It's kind of a neat thing if you like finding the sorts of things you would find at a flea market. Really cool post. Thanks! http://www.sentryministorage.com

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  38. I always make sure that I clean out my storage unit every couple of months. It would be so disgusting if mine ever looked like some of these in these pictures. That is really awesome that they were able to find so many cool things though. http://www.abcmovingnc.com

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  39. Owning a storage unit is something that has always kept me from having too much stuff. I just move the old things into storage and I can buy new things. I hate throwing anything away. A storage unit was the answer for me.
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  40. That is so amazing that they were able to find so many treasures in that storage unit. Some of the stuff was really disgusting in those pictures, but they were able to find a couple of things of value. I really need to go through and clean out my storage unit. http://www.storageniagara.com

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