Have you ever heard someone use an expression and, despite having heard it many times before, been left wondering how it entered the lexicon? Today, we look at how a guy named Sam Hill became synonymous with mystery and wonderment.
Samuel Hill was a mercantile store owner in Prescott, Arizona. Founded in 1877, the Sam Hill Hardward Company was noteworthy to area residents for the wide variety of its inventory. His store began to arouse so much curiosity from shoppers that “what in Sam Hill is that?” came to describe anything one found to be odd or unusual, just as if it had come straight off Samuel’s shelves.
This is a phenomenon we actually see quite a bit of in the self storage industry. Customers will often put items into storage, fully intending to retrieve them in the near future, only to forget about them. Later, either when organizing the storage unit or preparing to move out, they’ll run across a particular item and either have the memories associated with it come rushing back…or left wondering why they had ever considered it worth saving to begin with.
Here are some tips to help you keep tabs on what you’ve got in your storage unit, so you’re never wondering what in Sam Hill you’ve got in there.
Here are some tips
• Keep a detailed inventory: Not only will this be instrumental in helping you keep track of the stuff you’re keeping in storage, it’s also key in helping you determine how much insurance you need to get for your stored possessions.
• Clearly label your boxes: The last thing you want is to roll open your storage unit door because you need to grab a specific item and all you see if stacks of boxes that look exactly the same and aren’t marked in any way.
• Have a plan when unloading stuff into your storage unit: Keep like items in the same boxes when possible and boxes of like items together. Try to portion off your storage unit so items that belong in the same room can be kept in the same area of the storage unit.
• Make accessibility easy: Appliances and heavy furniture should be kept at the back of a storage unit as they are items you’re less likely to need access to with any regularity and they’re more difficult to move around within the confines of a storage unit. Stack boxes into rows so you can easily move around them, checking labels when you’re in need of a specific item.
Nearly everyone enjoys a bit of mystery in their life, but generally not when it comes to the stuff they already own. Following these basic tips when packing and storing your stuff will help prevent you from invoking Sam Hill’s name the next time you visit your storage unit.