More people leaving their items in storage for longer

With the self storage craze continuing, some have been found to use the space for practical reasons, while others might use it to fuel their shopping habits, BBC Magazine reports.

According to the news outlet, a recent trend among people in the U.K. is to rent portable storage containers and proceed to keep their items there for months on end.

In the U.S. the self storage industry started to boom in the 1960s and in 2011, the nation has over 50,000 storage facilities. Similar companies started to pop up in England in the 90s but didn't gain popularity until 2000. Now, not only has the number of people who use such spaces grown, but also how long they keep their items in storage. The magazine reports that in 2007 the the average length people kept their stuff in storage was 22 weeks, while in 2010 the number rose to 38 weeks.

"More and more stuff comes in and it's not going out," Cory Cooke, a professional organizer based in London, told the publication. "I want to say it's a throw-out society, but it's not the case because people are keeping their things around."

People might want to start doing some spring cleaning in their storage units to see what should stay and what might be able to go. This applies to people in the U.K., U.S. or Canada.

According to WebMD.com, getting rid of unnecessary junk can actually help people lower their stress levels.