{"id":15390,"date":"2019-05-13T11:00:08","date_gmt":"2019-05-13T15:00:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cubesmart.com\/blog\/?p=15390"},"modified":"2019-05-13T11:00:08","modified_gmt":"2019-05-13T15:00:08","slug":"inside-the-memory-keeper-of-ann-cumbie-patterson","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cubesmart.com\/blog\/real-life\/inside-the-memory-keeper-of-ann-cumbie-patterson\/","title":{"rendered":"Inside the Memory Keeper of Ann Cumbie Patterson"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\t\t\t\t\n

This is one of a series of stories we are sharing to show what’s inside CubeSmart. You not only get a peek inside our customer’s storage unit, but also a peek inside what is important to them. Thank you to Ann, customer of our CubeSmart store in Cutler Bay, FL, for sharing her story with us.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ann Cumbie Patterson, a South Florida native, arrives dressed in black slacks, a colorful, patterned top, and a large purse filled with supplies & items for kids. She informed us that she has temporary custody of three of her grandkids, all 10 and under. Her son\u2019s in the Navy, stationed overseas, and she was stopping by the unit located at 19395 SW 106th Ave, Cutler Bay, FL 33157<\/a> storing his belongings, so she could grab some items for them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She\u2019s got limited time nowadays between caring for her grandchildren and visiting her husband of 25 years in the hospital, as he recently suffered a stroke. However, Ann says she would like to downsize her units; she\u2019s got several. She goes through the process of downsizing every few years for the past 5-7 years but ends up getting additional units to store items from other family members.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her son\u2019s leave from the Navy only lasts 3-4 days\nat a time, so he never has an opportunity to go through his things before going\nback. Her other son is a traveler and doesn\u2019t stay in one place too long; so he\nneeds to store items in a unit as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her Grand Uncle who passed at 97, left behind some memorabilia from WWII.  Hurricane Michael struck the homes of her 90-year-old father and her sister in Georgia, and she stores their salvaged personal items. Another sister visited and left things behind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ann says many of the things she stores have sentimental value and she\u2019s been reluctant to downsize because she feels that those family items are part of their memories. She\u2019s even taken on jobs to pay for all of the units. She realizes that she\u2019s become \u201cthe one that holds all of the memories.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She\u2019s lost a lot of family and friends as she\u2019s gotten older, which has caused her to hold on to the things she holds dear. But, she desires to clear out some of the items that are holding her back, tying her to a past that doesn\u2019t allow her to move forward. Ann laments, \u201cTough, this letting go is. I wish I had someone else to go through it. When it\u2019s out of sight, it\u2019s out of mind.\u201d She mentions reading a book from Dr. Wayne Dyer regarding \u201cletting go, and paying others to do the things you can\u2019t do yourself,\u201d and wished she had the help of an organizational specialist in completing the sorting process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She planned to spend the past two weeks\nsorting through the items; even picking up Marie Kondo\u2019s Tidying Up book to\nassist her. But, planning her godsister\u2019s unexpected funeral swallowed up her\nspare time. Ann says she was a workaholic prior to retiring, and now she still\nstruggles to find time to do things for herself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first step in Marie Kondo\u2019s book is to\nsort through clothing that does not have sentimental value; sentimental items\nare saved for the end of the process. Ann says that she finds this first step\nencouraging because clothing makes up most of what she personally stores in her\nunits. She\u2019s been tempted by sales at Marshall\u2019s, Ross or Goodwill, and picks\nup clothes that she sometimes never even wears. She says that in the past, she\nended up donating some clothes to Christ Fellowship for victims of\nsex-trafficking, and she would do that again if she could manage to get through\nher clothes. The next step is books, and she says she has an entire set of\nencyclopedias that she is contemplating donating because \u201cyou can Google\nanything on your phone now.\u201d She\u2019s unsure of when she will have the time to get\nto the sentimental items; especially the ones belonging to other people, but\nshe knows that it needs to get done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ann appreciates that CubeSmart is working with her to help her in reducing what she has and will easily transfer her when she is ready. She also says that this location has a community of its own and that sometimes a customer\u2019s only contact with the outside world is when they visit their unit. Even though she could pay her bill on her phone, she says she still comes in person because it\u2019s her opportunity to meet other people. She suggested that there be monthly workshops with a professional organizer, as well as a staging area that would allow customers to sort through their items with tables and hanging racks so that they could easily see what they have. She believes that this would be helpful to many more people than just her and that it would fall in line with the consistent support she already receives from the staff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s evident that Ann cares deeply for other people, and desires to both support and respect their belongings and their past.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We’d love to hear how self storage has positively impacted your life. Share your #HumansofSelfStorage story in the comments. <\/em><\/p>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This is one of a series of stories we are sharing to show what’s inside CubeSmart. You not only get a peek inside our customer’s storage unit, but also a peek inside what is important to them. Thank you to Ann, customer of our CubeSmart store in Cutler Bay, FL, for sharing her story with […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":15392,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1938],"tags":[924,232,1133,1150],"class_list":["post-15390","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-real-life","tag-humansofselfstorage","tag-inside-self-storage","tag-madetokeep","tag-south-florida-storage"],"yoast_head":"\r\nInside the Memory Keeper of Ann Cumbie Patterson | The Storage Space<\/title>\r\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Take a look as we explore what's inside the stories of our customers. Meet Ann Cumbie Patterson, who is using Cutler Bay storage to help her house the memories of her past.\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\r\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cubesmart.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15390\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Inside the Memory Keeper of Ann Cumbie Patterson | The Storage Space\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Take a look as we explore what's inside the stories of our customers. Meet Ann Cumbie Patterson, who is using Cutler Bay storage to help her house the memories of her past.\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.cubesmart.com\/blog\/real-life\/inside-the-memory-keeper-of-ann-cumbie-patterson\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Storage Space\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-05-13T15:00:08+00:00\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.cubesmart.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/ann-2.jpg\" \/>\r\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"6000\" \/>\r\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"4000\" \/>\r\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"The Storage Queens\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@cubesmart\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@cubesmart\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"The Storage Queens\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\r\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.cubesmart.com\/blog\/real-life\/inside-the-memory-keeper-of-ann-cumbie-patterson\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.cubesmart.com\/blog\/real-life\/inside-the-memory-keeper-of-ann-cumbie-patterson\/\",\"name\":\"Inside the Memory Keeper of Ann Cumbie Patterson | The Storage Space\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.cubesmart.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.cubesmart.com\/blog\/real-life\/inside-the-memory-keeper-of-ann-cumbie-patterson\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.cubesmart.com\/blog\/real-life\/inside-the-memory-keeper-of-ann-cumbie-patterson\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.cubesmart.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/ann-2.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-05-13T15:00:08+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.cubesmart.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/67d25c3d5286e06e72d026d46688b9d5\"},\"description\":\"Take a look as we explore what's inside the stories of our customers. Meet Ann Cumbie Patterson, who is using Cutler Bay storage to help her house the memories of her past.\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.cubesmart.com\/blog\/real-life\/inside-the-memory-keeper-of-ann-cumbie-patterson\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.cubesmart.com\/blog\/real-life\/inside-the-memory-keeper-of-ann-cumbie-patterson\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.cubesmart.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/ann-2.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.cubesmart.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/ann-2.jpg\",\"width\":6000,\"height\":4000,\"caption\":\"Ann Cumbie Patterson standing next to her storage unit in Cutler Bay, FL\"},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.cubesmart.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.cubesmart.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"The Storage Space\",\"description\":\"CubeSmart Self Storage Blog\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.cubesmart.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.cubesmart.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/67d25c3d5286e06e72d026d46688b9d5\",\"name\":\"The Storage Queens\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.cubesmart.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/56009031a311978c84919342ca72f708?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/56009031a311978c84919342ca72f708?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"The Storage Queens\"},\"description\":\"We know a thing or two about moving. Together, we share the best tips in organizing, storage, navigating your city, and more!\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.cubesmart.com\/blog\/about-us\/\"]}]}<\/script>\r\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Inside the Memory Keeper of Ann Cumbie Patterson | The Storage Space","description":"Take a look as we explore what's inside the stories of our customers. Meet Ann Cumbie Patterson, who is using Cutler Bay storage to help her house the memories of her past.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.cubesmart.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15390","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Inside the Memory Keeper of Ann Cumbie Patterson | The Storage Space","og_description":"Take a look as we explore what's inside the stories of our customers. Meet Ann Cumbie Patterson, who is using Cutler Bay storage to help her house the memories of her past.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.cubesmart.com\/blog\/real-life\/inside-the-memory-keeper-of-ann-cumbie-patterson\/","og_site_name":"The Storage Space","article_published_time":"2019-05-13T15:00:08+00:00","og_image":[{"width":6000,"height":4000,"url":"https:\/\/www.cubesmart.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/ann-2.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"The Storage Queens","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@cubesmart","twitter_site":"@cubesmart","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"The Storage Queens","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.cubesmart.com\/blog\/real-life\/inside-the-memory-keeper-of-ann-cumbie-patterson\/","url":"https:\/\/www.cubesmart.com\/blog\/real-life\/inside-the-memory-keeper-of-ann-cumbie-patterson\/","name":"Inside the Memory Keeper of Ann Cumbie Patterson | The Storage Space","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.cubesmart.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.cubesmart.com\/blog\/real-life\/inside-the-memory-keeper-of-ann-cumbie-patterson\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.cubesmart.com\/blog\/real-life\/inside-the-memory-keeper-of-ann-cumbie-patterson\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.cubesmart.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/ann-2.jpg","datePublished":"2019-05-13T15:00:08+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.cubesmart.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/67d25c3d5286e06e72d026d46688b9d5"},"description":"Take a look as we explore what's inside the stories of our customers. Meet Ann Cumbie Patterson, who is using Cutler Bay storage to help her house the memories of her past.","inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.cubesmart.com\/blog\/real-life\/inside-the-memory-keeper-of-ann-cumbie-patterson\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.cubesmart.com\/blog\/real-life\/inside-the-memory-keeper-of-ann-cumbie-patterson\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.cubesmart.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/ann-2.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.cubesmart.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/ann-2.jpg","width":6000,"height":4000,"caption":"Ann Cumbie Patterson standing next to her storage unit in Cutler Bay, FL"},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.cubesmart.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.cubesmart.com\/blog\/","name":"The Storage Space","description":"CubeSmart Self Storage Blog","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.cubesmart.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.cubesmart.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/67d25c3d5286e06e72d026d46688b9d5","name":"The Storage Queens","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.cubesmart.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/56009031a311978c84919342ca72f708?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/56009031a311978c84919342ca72f708?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"The Storage Queens"},"description":"We know a thing or two about moving. Together, we share the best tips in organizing, storage, navigating your city, and more!","sameAs":["https:\/\/www.cubesmart.com\/blog\/about-us\/"]}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cubesmart.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15390","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cubesmart.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cubesmart.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cubesmart.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cubesmart.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15390"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.cubesmart.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15390\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cubesmart.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15392"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cubesmart.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15390"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cubesmart.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15390"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cubesmart.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15390"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}