What's in your steel container?

Whether it's food and hunting supplies in a little retreat in the woods or pigs in a farm shelter, there are some interesting things showing up in steel shipping containers. Here are a few more examples of how people are using their containers:

• Microsoft's Cloud Computer Data Center

• Cabin

• Modern root cellar; the container is buried in a hill and holds veggies and a plow.

• 8 minis (yes 8 cars, sans wheels, in a 40' container)

• Burn building used by a fire department to train firefighters.

• Car port; two shipping containers set up for storage with a roof between the two. Talk about storage space!

• Warehouse space.

• Sides of a barn; containers provide lockable storage areas.

• Large barn.

• a home bar (see Gail & Paul's Barnacle Bar)

• a portable store

• ATV and other toy storage.

• Storm cellar; with survival supplies.

• Repair shop.

• Tools and garden stuff

• Employees, guests, normal folk

• Minnesota brothers

• Shopkeepers

• Traveling art

• a cafe

• Workshops, labs

Before you purchase your own steel shipping container to use for your own creative purposes, be sure to check your local codes. A few communities have special requirements if the containers are going to be buried, hold food, or house humans.

Everyone has storage problems. Shipping containers probably won't help with all those shoes cluttering your closets. You can't store you baby sister until she grows up either. But you could store you old car until it's old enough to qualify as a collectible instead of junk.

What's in your storage container? What would you like to see in your container?

Do you think Santa has 40' steel containers on each continent to keep toys safe for Christmas?