Storage Unit Auctions: A Green Solution

By and large, we are a culture that’s becoming increasingly aware of our impact on the natural world. Green initiatives across the country seek to reduce carbon emissions, boost recycling and eliminate toxins that might leech out into the oceans. This is good news for the environment as it helps create a more sustainable world for us all to live in. It’s also good news for storage auction buyers and resale companies, because it generates a real demand for the service we offer.

At its heart, the resale business is very “green.” When you buy a storage unit’s contents, you’re walking away with items that might otherwise have ended up in a landfill. Many of these abandoned items are in perfectly usable condition, either as-is or with some mild renovations, and they can be given a good life.

Whether you’re reselling the items you buy at a storage auction or using them in your own home, here are a few ways storage auctions fit into a green lifestyle:

— Abandoned storage units go into default when their rent isn’t paid. The facility manager has no need for the contents. Running an auction matches the items inside with interested buyers instead of sending usable, potentially valuable items to the landfill.

— You can find numerous valuable and usable items inside for furnishing your home, dorm room, apartment, vacation home or anywhere else. Local storage auctions are a good place to find things like furniture, electronics and even wall art, and you can get it cheaper even than a thrift store or yard sale if you’re careful with your bids.

— Used items can be refurbished and resold. With environmentally conscious people looking for alternatives to mass-produced products, used and refurbished goods are more popular than ever. With a little paint or varnish, you can give new life to outdated furniture and fetch a great price while giving buyers a product they can feel good about.

— Things that can’t be resold or used are recycled, sometimes for a profit. Most storage auction hunters are also scrappers and pickers, and they know exactly how to squeeze value from metal, broken electronics and other recyclable materials. Recycling centers will pay for these trash components if you know where to look, and recycling them puts a little extra money in your pocket while keeping useful materials out of landfills (and reducing the need to mine more new metals from the earth).

If you want to reduce your carbon footprint even more, cut down your fuel costs by bidding on auctions virtually. Online storage auctions are becoming increasingly popular, and they’re an easy way to view available units and make a bid without having to drive around town to participate in live auctions.

So, what green practices do you or your business use? Leave your interesting and creative responses in the comments section below.