The Latest In "Stuff" Control

Eventually, years of accumulated possessions catch up with everyone. Stuff fills basements, attics and spare rooms, and squeezes cars out of garages. Now it's time to sell, and the stuff has to go somewhere, so prospective buyers don't trip over it.

Or lots of stuff has to be moved out of one part of the house for a remodeling project or home addition.

The hottest answer for homeowners and renters is "portable storage," one of those ideas that obviously is so useful that people ask, "Why didn't someone think of that sooner?" Portable, or mobile, storage is just starting to catch on in scattered sections of the nation, including the DC Metro area, where the service is provided by a year-old, local company called BoxCart.

Instead of the customer having to lug all that stuff to a self-storage facility, portable storage brings the warehouse to the customer, in the form of clean, stuffable containers which are left in the driveway or other convenient spot, to be - well - stuffed at the customer's convenience. When full, the company returns the container back to the warehouse, to be safely and securely stored until the customer wants it back.

Some of the customers are:

• Young families and first-time movers who may have to be out of their homes before a new one is finished or available.
• Empty-nesters who are moving to smaller homes and need a place to store a lifetime of furniture, keepsakes and collectibles in a secure and clean place until they decide what to do with them.
• College students to store personal belongings over the summer recess.
• Military families that frequently move and often need a temporary or long-term storage solution.

This service is also available for businesses, for the storage of such things as seasonal inventory and records.

Portable or mobile storage isn't to be confused with self-storage, which requires the customer to tote his possessions, in several car trips or a rented truck, to a warehouse, off-load them, reload them back into the caro or onto the truck, and then unload them again.

Industry observers call portable or mobile storage the "up-and-coming" and "explosive" segment of the storage and moving business.

BoxCart is operated by Aubrey Stowell, a retired investment banker, and his daughter, Amy Stowell, a CPA formerly with PricewaterhouseCoopers. Unlike portable or mobile storage companies that have entered the new market, BoxCart is locally owned and controlled, enabling them to provide a higher level of personal customer service.

Among BoxCart's competitive advantages:

• The company uses secure, steel, weatherproof storage containers designed for extended indoor/outdoor use, unlike bulky wooden containers unsuitable for outdoor use.
• DC Metro's only 100% air-conditioned, heated, and humidity-controlled storage facility, as opposed to other companies' vaguely defined "climate-controlled" warehouses.
• Free monthly re-delivery and pick-up at customer's location.
• The customers can move belongings directly to new home or other site without any minimum storage requirement.
• Online quote calculator, so customers can get exact prices for the services requested.

Try BoxCart for your storage needs today, and see what their customers have been raving about!