U Need Space featured in Winnipeg Sun June 21, 2008

What to Do With All That Stuff (Published in the Winnipeg Sun June 21, 2008)

Bill Cole and Michael Schmidt know what most homeowners need more of- space. Their business, U Need Space mobile self-storage, is here to help. "Typically, our customers fall into several categories," says Cole. “We have people who are looking for long-term self-storage, because they’ve just got too much stuff and don’t have enough room to put it. People doing home renovations – say they’re putting new cupboards in their kitchen – and only need storage for a couple of months. “Also, people who are selling houses and are in between houses and need somewhere to put their stuff.” The other situation, he says, involves people who are downsizing their homes – for example, baby boomers whose kids have grown up and moved out, but they still have a lot of stuff in the home and want to downsize. Schmidt and Cole launched the business in May of last year and say as word-of-mouth has increased, business is booming. Their portable containers – which hold approximately one to one-and-a-half average-size rooms of household furniture, are made of secure, weatherproof steel. The security of the containers, as well as U Need Space’s Sargent Avenue storage facility, is part of the containers’ appeal. “Mobile self-storage is not a brand-new concept, but it’s a new concept to Winnipeg," says Schmidt. "We did some research on the U.S. mobile self-storage market, and it seemed like a good fit to try it in Winnipeg.” Cole agrees, although he thinks the need for convenient, affordable storage is not only an issue for Winnipeggers. “It’s not necessarily specific to Winnipeg," says Cole. "We are a culture that continues to collect and keep things until we end up with too much stuff. I have all of my winter stuff – snow blowers, winter sleighs, boots, jackets in storage and I have all my summer stuff in the house. ‘When winter comes around, I put all the summer stuff in storage.” The biggest issue people have with traditional self-storage," he says, “is that it’s an inconvenience… you have to rent a truck, load the truck, drive the truck back… it’s very inconvenient. With our mobile self-storage, you don’t have to leave your own driveway.” More information is available by calling 1-877-SPACE11 or, of course, visit our website at uneedspace.com.