‘Out of sight, out of mind’ – The place of self-storage in securing pasts, ordering the present and enabling futures Presented for the degree of PhD 2018 Jennifer Owen In memory of Clare, Norma and Peter i | P a g e Acknowledgements This thesis would not have been possible without the people who gifted their time, energy and insight to this research despite already dealing with transformational events in their lives. Thanks are also extended to the self-storage professionals who shared my enthusiasm for what this study could reveal. The content of this work has been shaped by numerous stimulating conversations with Jon Anderson and Mark Jayne, to whom I am very thankful for their guidance and encouragement. Furthermore, I would like to thank Rachel Hurdley and Stephen Burgess for their support as part of the research team. Beyond these direct influences, I have many more individuals to thank for their supporting roles in the completion of this thesis. First, to my parents Tim and Elaine Owen, who, along with my brother George, I feel immensely indebted to for all the support that they have given over these four years. Thank you for your encouragement as my horizons kept expanding. Secondly, to Nick Heard for being my companion along this long and bumpy road to completion. Thank you for every evening, weekend and holiday, and all the times in-between. Thirdly, to my basement family – Diana Beljaars, Charlotte Eales, Tara Hipwood, Jack Pickering and Amy Walker. I was so lucky to have you as office-mates and I cannot begin to thank you for your support, insight and friendship. Fourthly, I’d like to thank both the stalwart ‘basement dwellers’ and intrepid explorers from the floors above for their friendship and collegiality. In particular, thank you to Federico Bellantani, Julian Brigstocke, Kate Boyer, Agustin Cócola Gant, Rich Gale, Rich Gorman, Ant Ince, Kieran O’Mahony, Ruth Potts, Claire Vanstaveren and Andy Williams. Fifth, I extend my utmost gratitude to Rosemary Bailey for proofreading my thesis, not a small undertaking. And finally, I’d like to acknowledge the lasting influence of John Clayton. You are missed. 1 | P a g e Abstract Thirty years ago the self-storage industry in the UK was non-existent; now it is the biggest in Europe. Renting a self-storage unit is advertised as the solution to controlling clutter, a secure space for valuable objects and way to enable mobility. Its growth in size and popularity is thought to be symptomatic of wider material afflictions and shifts in Western society including overconsumption, an increase in divorce rates, an ageing population, increased mobility and ‘generation rent’. Self-storage plays a significant role in routine domestic practices as well as distinct periods of transition (i.e. moving house), trajectories (i.e. growing up, growing older) and events (i.e. bereavement, divorce) that occur over the life course. The overall aim of this thesis has been to form an understanding of what self-storage units signify including, and besides, their storage function. Based on interviews and object elicitation at self-storage units with users in the UK, this thesis argues that our possessions, as they are sorted, packed, moved and stored, are integral aspects of our dwelling and mobility in the contemporary world. By bringing to light the narratives surrounding hidden objects stored in self-storage units, this thesis has shown that ‘unpacking’ this kind of materiality provides rich possibilities to understand and grasp the world beyond and displaced from people’s immediacies. This thesis firmly situates self-storage use within a range of contextual forces: the categorisation, ordering and hierarchical place(ment) of matter in response to ideas of clutter, mess and excess; the containment of contingency and potential futures in the face of uncertainty; and the connection and consolidation of identities in light of mobility and changes across the life course. It adds new sets of ideas to engage with theories of consumption, home and identity, and demonstrates the importance of acknowledging stored materiality as a distinct, necessary and complex phase in biographies and geographies of objects, which has previously been underplayed in the material culture literature. 2 | P a g e Declarations This work has not been submitted in substance for any other degree or award at this or any other university or place of learning, nor is being submitted concurrently in candidature for any degree or other award. Signed……………………………………………………… Date ………………….………… This thesis is being submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of PhD. Signed……………………………………………………… Date ………………….………… This thesis is the result of my own independent work/investigation, except where otherwise stated, and the thesis has not been edited by a third party beyond what is permitted by Cardiff University’s Policy on the Use of Third Party Editors by Research Degree Students. Other sources are acknowledged by explicit references. The views expressed are my own. Signed……………………………………………………… Date ………………….………… I hereby give consent for my thesis, if accepted, to be available online in the University’s Open Access repository and for inter-library loan, and for the title and summary to be made available to outside organisations. Signed……………………………………………………… Date ………………….………… I hereby give consent for my thesis, if accepted, to be available online in the University’s Open Access repository and for inter-library loans after expiry of a bar on access previously approved by the Academic Standards & Quality Committee. Signed……………………………………………………… Date ………………….………… 3 | P a g e Table of contents 1 Introduction ........................................................................................................... 7 1.1 Prologue: Mind over matter............................................................................. 7 1.2 What is self-storage? ...................................................................................... 8 1.3 Unpacking geographies of storage ............................................................... 17 1.4 Thesis outline ............................................................................................... 20 2 Literature review ................................................................................................. 23 2.1 Things that matter ......................................................................................... 24 2.2 Homing in on storage .................................................................................... 31 2.3 Theorising spatial practices in/around/of storage .......................................... 33 2.4 Putting ‘the self’ in self-storage ..................................................................... 48 2.5 Stor(e)ying .................................................................................................... 60 2.6 Chapter conclusions ..................................................................................... 62 3 Methodology ........................................................................................................ 64 3.1 Locating the research ................................................................................... 64 3.2 Methods........................................................................................................ 68 3.3 Data collection .............................................................................................. 71 3.4 Ethical considerations ................................................................................... 86 3.5 Chapter conclusions ..................................................................................... 91 4 Categorisation – Putting ‘everything in its place’ .................................................. 92 4.1 ‘Matter out of place’ ...................................................................................... 93 4.2 Locating collecting and hoarding ................................................................ 102 4.3 Enabling consumption ................................................................................ 106 4.4 Chapter conclusions ................................................................................... 107 5 Contingency – Containment of uncertain futures .............................................. 110 5.1 Dormant things ........................................................................................... 111 5.2 Disposal: Absence, forgetting and letting go ............................................... 122 5.3 Final resting place (perhaps) ...................................................................... 124 5.4 Chapter conclusions ................................................................................... 128 6 Connection – Bridging between countries and homes ....................................... 131 6.1 Bridging countries ....................................................................................... 132 6.2 Bridging homes ........................................................................................... 139 6.3 Chapter conclusions ................................................................................... 150 7 Consolidation – Mooring personal and family identities ..................................... 151 7.1 Personal life-history .................................................................................... 151 7.2 Family identities .........................................................................................