Hi Richard J. Hanak
I think some of the same issues you are thinking about are the same as the ones I have been thinking about. I read your posting and thought that the examples you used could be used to illustrate the need for a uniform expansion of space.
(In case you do not know I am pushing a theory call the uniform expansion theory. It proposes that not only is space expanding, but matter is also included in the expansion
www.uniformexpansion.com )
Using you storage area problem, notice that as you increase the amount of stuff it becomes increasingly difficult to add anything else. Eventually it would be so stuffed that there would be no way for anything to change, there is no room to move.
This is a philosophical basis for believing that the expansion of space must include matter itself. In order for there to be change, there must be room for that change to occur.
snowflake