I used a storage unit for approximately one year - I quickly left an apartment/housemate situation due one of the housemates devolving into lunacy. I ended up renting a single room in someone's house, and things like hand tools, car parts, and kayaks and such that had lived in my own storage section had to go into storage. Additionally, things like the couch and tables and such that I owned that were in common areas had to go into storage as well. The storage unit situation lasted about a year until I bought a fixer-upper of my own.