I’m a new dad who has a little 3 bedroom house with no garage.
On top of working 80 hours during the week, I was working every weekend for 6 months to finish our baby’s room and spare bedroom by my wife’s due date. When we found out we were having twins, all of a sudden we had a hell of a lot of stuff and nowhere to put it. Everything in the spare bedroom had to be put into storage.
I checked the prices around Auckland and it was actually crazy, around $90 - $150 per week for a few square metres of space. I couldn't believe it. We ended up asking my neighbour (he's a legend) who had a large garage, if I could just pay him $45 a week to store my stuff there.
Luckily, he said yes. Then I thought; there must be a lot of people out there like me - and there must be an easier way to do this.
And with that, anyspace was born.
It started off as helping friends and family find garage space close by, but quickly became a part-time job. On one hand I felt I was helping people earn a little extra money, and on the other, I was helping people save money & time - all while supporting the locals instead of large corporates.
I've had a friend Tim paying $135 a week to store a 7m boat, now he pays $40 a week to park at the back of a renter’s property. That price includes access to electricity and water to wash down the boat. It’s cheaper for Tim, and he feels it's 10x safer for his boat now.
The big storage companies are truly taking Kiwis for an expensive ride. For me, anyspace was initially about saving time & money - but the longer I do this, the more I realise how important a “shared economy” is. It works so well for everyone Involved.
