ABSTRACT

The process and stresses of moving home are a common experience in our lives, and few find sorting and packing household possessions easy. When moves are temporary, uncertain or contingent on other factors it can be particularly difficult to know what to take with us, so renting a self-storage unit allows for movement and mobility without the need to reduce the material convoy or make premature decisions on what to keep or dispose of. Contrary to previous research, which has focused on the purchase or divestment of objects during life course transitions, house moves and experiences of mobility, this paper argues that the practice of storing objects is equally as important. The data for this paper is drawn from object-elicited interviews undertaken in the UK with three women who were motivated to rent self-storage to store their household possessions when moving to a new home temporarily or more permanently, across the country and abroad, in the pursuit of different opportunities (education, work, lifestyle change). Self-storage is seen to both accommodate materiality caught up in feelings of uncertainty and indecision, and anchor possessions which collectively stand-in for a sense of home when itself is not yet remade.

摘要

搬家的过程和压力是我们生活中的普遍经历，很少有人觉得整理和打包家庭物品很容易。当移动是临时的、不确定的或取决于其他因素时，可能特别难以知道我们要带什么，所以租用一个自存储单元可以让移动和机动性变得更容易，而无需减少物资运输或过早决定什么保存或处置。与之前的研究相反，以前的研究重点是在生命历程过渡、搬家和流动体验期间购买或撤资物品，本文认为存储物品的做法同样重要。本文的数据来自于在英国对三名女性进行的对象诱发式访谈，她们在临时或更永久地搬到新家时，在全国和国外，在追求不同的机会（教育、工作、生活方式的改变）。自我存储被视为既能容纳陷入不确定和优柔寡断的物质，又能锚定在自身尚未被改造时共同代表家的感觉的财产。