Aging Parents With Lots of Stuff, and Children Who Don’t Want It
“I am very interested in family history, and I would like a lot of my parents’ things on some level,” Mr. Miscia said,
“but I have had to limit myself to taking what I would call primary-source documents, like books and some pictures.”
Another option for older people and their heirs is self-storage.
Like the industry that manages moves for older adults, the $32.7 billion storage business is experiencing rapid growth, projected at 3.5
percent annually over the next five years, according to statistics reported this month by SpareFoot Storage Beat, an industry tracker.
“We went from a 3,000-square-foot colonial with three floors to a single-story, 1,400-square-foot living space,” said Tena Bluhm, 76, formerly of Fairfax, Va. She
and her 77-year-old husband, Ray Bluhm, moved this month to a retirement community in Lake Ridge, Va.
Before the move, their two adult children took a handful of items, including a new bed and a dining table and chairs.