Storage Room Shuffle

January 11, 2025

We’ve had a lot of our stuff in storage for a while. And I’m not exaggerating when I say this – it’s been a while.

We hauled a lot of stuff away in 2017, and it’s mostly been sitting there this whole time, in wait. We’ve since done a lot of work (but not enough to be able to bring all that stuff back home, yet).

We opened up the fireplace mantel and found all sorts of hidden treasures. We did some serious ceiling demo. And we also got a lot of structural changes made to the ceiling.

Lately, the price of our storage unit got to be too high. And it became untenable to remain there. After a lot of complaining and calling around, it turns out the only and best option: rent a different unit in the building, and move our stuff from our current unit over to this newer unit.

You would think that there might be some clerical update that could happen, that would just allow us to change things on paper. But you would be WRONG. To get a better monthly rate, we had to sign a new contract, and physically move our stuff, from one unit to another.

I cannot emphasize how dumb this is/was. I get it, to some degree. But the storage unit company seemed determined that I exercise, and haul each and every box to a new unit. And so that’s what we did today.

Note: if anyone comes across this, and wants some tips/advice on how to lower storage unit costs – contact me. I’d be more than happy to share what I know. I’m annoyed, but full of potentially helpful information. Now there’s an epitaph if I ever saw one.

Some night stands, and a portable picnic table. Inside and outside items, together.

New unit, and slowly starting to stack things up. All that Tetris was just training for this day.

More boxes, and a taller wall is forming. Some questionable decisions have been made.

The questionable decisions have been hidden behind a newer row of boxes. This is a bit like the crimes you committed as a juvenile. No one can see them now, but a small number of people remember.

Some old VHS tapes. And some CD-ROMs. And an old copy of Final Cut Express.

Why would we ever throw these things away? Of course we need to keep this all.

It’s a bit faded. But the writing on the box says: “XMAS FRAGILE Yes it’s Italian!”

More boxes and some furniture now.

Nearly full.

One of the last things to go in: our Halloween Plinko Board from 2022.

The old storage unit, with a few remaining items we’re looking to give away. It looks like the coziest black site interrogation room ever.

We got done in a decent amount of time. Arriving around 10:30 AM, we finished up in the mid-afternoon, closer to 3PM.

Instead of heading home, Liz found a nearby spot for lunch and some well-deserved beers: Alulu Brewery.

The entrance was tucked at the end of the alley. I was reminded of Lower Broadway as well as the Malt Room in Inverness.

On walking in, it struck me how small and intimate the space was. Immediately cozy feels.

Our beers.

We were so tired and happy with our beers, we forgot how hungry we were.

Liz got the Chicken Tinola (Chicken braised in ginger, garlic, onion, and spinach served with a side of rice and kale salad. I got the the Alulu House Burger (Ground in-house beef, double patty, fried egg, pork belly, aged cheddar, garlic aioli, spicy ketchup, lettuce, pickled onions, brioche, frites, onion dip).

This was an impossibly messy burger to eat. And it was glorious.

I’m not going to life – the prices were… a bit steep. But the food was absolutely delicious, the beers were great, and the atmosphere was fairly quiet and intimate. There wa a loud table next to us, but honestly… they were telling such good stories, we were fine eavesdropping.

A view from the bar. If the lighting gives you any sense of the vibe, you’ll like this place. Definitely swing by Alulu – a great spot for some beer and lunch, regardless of whether or not you have a storage unit to move.