History is full of defining moments.  On 16th January 1909, for example, when Ernest Shackleton’s British expedition reached the area of the South Magnetic Pole. A triumph of endurance, teamwork, and—let’s be honest—excellent packing. While most of us aren’t hauling sledges across Antarctica, we do occasionally face moments that feel just as momentous and represent personal landmarks in our lives. Like moving house. Starting a business. Downsizing. Or finally admitting that the spare room has become a museum of “things we might need one day.”

Enter self storage: the unsung hero of modern life’s great expeditions.

Over the Christmas period, I had some time to sit, relax and contemplate my life, in both a personal and business capacity, to come to the conclusion of “how lucky am I !”  and I’m not talking in a material sense but my upbringing; it’s the parental guidance and the people in my life that I am talking about, including friends from primary school. My mother; thoughtful, kind, nurturing and wonderful. My father, strong, loving and hard-working, building a business from nothing.
These values have fortunately led to a material success through an ethic of hard work which was drummed into me and remain ingrained as I near my 50 years in the business.

Ah, New Year’s resolutions — that annual ritual where millions of us solemnly swear at midnight on January 1 that this year will be different. We’ll be healthier, tidier, more disciplined… and by January 14 we’ll be back on the sofa with a slice of cake wondering what went wrong. Sound familiar? You’re not alone — humans have been wrestling with the concept of “new beginnings” for thousands of years.

Every year on 26 December, the UK enjoys the Boxing Day bank holiday — a day synonymous with leftovers, sales, and trying to remember where you put the remote. But despite the name, it has absolutely nothing to do with sport, fighting, or putting on gloves after Christmas dinner. Instead, Boxing Day has a surprisingly practical origin… which makes it a perfect match for the self-storage industry.

For large organisations, Christmas isn’t always quiet. Some teams slow down, yes, but others ramp up. End-of-year audits, seasonal projects, temporary staff, IT refreshes, and stock rotation all collide at once. The result? Space pressure that can slow operations and frustrate teams.

Planning ahead is key. Managing Christmas space doesn’t have to be stressful — it just takes a bit of foresight and smart temporary storage solutions.

Autumn in London always feels like a reset. The air cools, the city speeds up again, and suddenly everyone’s talking about efficiency, sustainability, and “doing more with less.”

For big businesses, that often means asking: where are we wasting space, energy, or money — and how do we fix it?

Here’s a hint: sometimes the greenest move is simply storing smarter.