How to Choose a Storage Unit

Moving home in a hurry and have no time to dispose of your surplus items from your home decluttering exercise?

Perhaps you want to redecorate or renovate parts of your home and need a safe place to store your furniture.

Or maybe you must leave your old home before gaining access to your new home, so need somewhere to store your belongings for a few weeks.

Using a secure self-storage facility could well be the answer you are looking for.

There is even one storage company in London that offers specialized storage for your wine collection, from a few cases to an entire cellars contents!

That’s the beauty of self-storage, it is so flexible.

Rent space from a week to a year or more, a place to store a few boxes or the contents of an entire mansion.

Whatever your reason for needing a storage facility, there are plenty to choose from and plenty of size options available to rent. This usually means that the pricing is flexible too, so don’t be afraid to ask for a deal.

Of course, not all storage companies will be equal, some will offer basic storage with limited facilities and access times, while others will offer a range of storage options with 24/7 access and state-of-the-art fire suppression and security systems.

As you would expect with such a variety of storage options, the costs can vary enormously too.

What Size Storage Unit Do I Need?

What sizes are self-storage units? You can rent anything from 10 to 700 square feet, although not every storage facility will offer such a broad range of sizes.

Broadly speaking, what size storage unit do I need for a…………?

• Garden Shed – 25 sq ft
• 1 Bedroom home – 50 Sq Ft
• 2 Bedroom home – 100 sq ft
• 3 Bedroom home – 125 sq ft
• 4 Bedroom home – 200 sq ft
• Double garage – 200 sq ft

You may also like to read: The Epic Guide to Decluttering for a Home Move. Decluttering is the one home-moving task that is guaranteed to save you money. Here we go through the best ways to tackle what can be a monumental task.

How Much Does a Self-Store Unit Cost?

To give you some examples, below are the average costs for a self-storage unit in London and the Midlands. These are only averages and will depend upon whether you require any additional services and exclude insurance costs.

Midlands                                                                                                        

25 sq ft – £8.00 to £20.00 pw                                                                                   

50 sq ft – £14.00 to £40.00 pw                                                   

100 sq ft – £21.00 to £80.00 pw                                              

125 sq ft – £42.00 to £90.00 pw                                               

200 sq ft – £70.00 to £140.00 pw   

London

25 sq ft – £ 20.00 to £36.00pw

50 sq ft – £42.00 to £120.00 pw

100 sq ft – £80.00 to £140.00 pw

125 sq ft – £120.00 to £200.00 pw

200 sq ft – £140.00 to £280.00 pw

You will also want to insure your goods whilst they are in storage.

Usually, the storage company is flexible about who insures your items, as long as they are insured.

Insurance provided by the storage companies starts at approximately £5.50 + VAT per week for £2000 worth of cover.

You may also like to read: Home Moving Insurance – Do I Need It? Whilst this article is about insuring your home move, there is information there that you will find useful, especially regarding the dangers of undervaluing your items for insurance purposes.

What Not to Put in a Storage Unit

Each storage facility will have its own regulations as to what can and cannot be stored, but here is a generic list of items to give you an indication of the items prohibited from self-storage units.

• Food or perishable goods
• Plants
• Birds, fish, animals, or any other creatures
• Combustible, flammable, explosive or oxidising materials, liquids, or gases e.g. paint, petrol, oil, cleaning solvents, gas cylinders, cellulose nitrate film, fireworks
• Firearms, weapons, ammunition, explosives
• Chemicals, radioactive materials, biological agents; pollutants, toxic or hazardous materials or contaminated goods or other materials of a potentially dangerous nature
• Any item that emits any fumes, smell, or odour
• Any illegal substances, illegal items, or goods illegally obtained
• Compressed non-flammable gases
• Items of high value or requiring specialist storage (including jewellery, money, bullion, deeds, bonds, securities, stamps, antiques, fine art, or fine wines)
• Asbestos or hazardous waste materials.

You may also like to read: Non-Allowable Items. What Your Removal Firm Cannot Pack and Move. In this guide, we look at items that removal firms cannot pack and move for health and safety reasons. Storage units often have the same restrictions.

How to Choose a Storage Facility

From Fred the local farmer with some spare space to rent in his old cow sheds, to purpose-built, climate-controlled, security-patrolled, digitally controlled self-stores, and every permutation in between. There is a plethora of self-storage facilities out there, so how do you choose a good self-storage unit?

A good starting point if you want anything more than a simple storage solution is to look out for members of The Self-Storage Association UK.

There is an industry association for Self Storage Companies that sets out minimum requirements for its members. The Self-Storage Association UK (SSAUK) website can be accessed here.

Now read on to discover the type of questions to ask to help you choose the right storage facility for your things.

Questions to Ask Before Renting a Storage Unit

• How often will you need to access your items? – Are you realistically going to need access to your things 24/7? Can you gain access to the unit on an evening or weekend?

What level of security do your self-store goods require? Is access to your storage unit secure, and are you the only one able to access your items? Is the perimeter of the storage facility well fenced with adequate lighting and a securely gated entrance? Do they employ manned security? Is there 24/7 CCTV surveillance? Is there adequate fire suppression systems in place? Remember that security will be a big factor in the premium you pay for insurance.

Do you need equipment to move your items into and out of the self-store area? The better self-stores will have moving equipment, ranging from a hand truck to a fork lift available for your use.

Is customer service / on-site support important? Certainly on your first visit someone to show you around is essential, but after that do want the reassurance of someone onsite to assist you should you need it.

Do you need climate controlled self-storage? Are any of your possessions temperature sensitive?

Are the storage facilities at the very least waterproof?

Is there somewhere to load, unload, or sort through your possessions under cover and which provides a dry area for you in which to work?

Where should the storage facilities be? If you need regular access, then closer to home may be more convenient, have less transportation costs, but may be more expensive to rent.

Does the storage company have the ability to let you pay your account online?

Don’t forget that many removal firms have their own storage units or have an arrangement with a local storage facility and will be able to advise you on the best solution for your particular needs.

And before making the decision to hire a storage unit be sure to read The Drawbacks of Hiring a Storage Unit later in this article.

How to Prepare Things for Storage

If you are moving home then you will have hopefully already followed our guides on how to pack your items properly and you need to do very little other preparation in order to store your items.

However, if you need to know how to pack things for a storage unit, here is some top packing advice.

Packing Materials. It is essential that you obtain the correct packing materials to ensure the safe transportation and storage of your goods.

You may like to read: Alternative Packing Materials for Moving Home. In this guide, we look at cheaper alternatives to traditionally expensive packing materials but we also look at the use of plastic tote boxes which are sometimes ideal for storage purposes.

Fragile Items. Fragile items often require special packing techniques to ensure their safety.

Read this guide for comprehensive packing guides: How to Pack for a Home Move. From plates to fine art, in this series of packing guides we offer essential tips to protect your fragile items during their relocation.

Label Each Box. To ensure you can locate any individual items when in storage, and for when it becomes necessary to unpack your boxes, it is recommended that you label each and every box.

You may like to read: How to Label Moving Boxes – An Easy and Foolproof Way. This guide suggests an easy and simple way to label your moving boxes so that you know the most important boxes to unpack first and which room of the new home they belong in.

Packing List / Inventory. Some storage facilities may ask for a packing list or inventory of the items you have stored with them. It would also be useful for insurance purposes too. Bear in mind that sooner or later you will need to find something in one of those boxes.

You may also like to read: How to Make an Inventory For Moving Home. This is a useful step-by-step guide on how to create an inventory of the things you will be putting into storage.

Storing Leather. Even if your self-store has climate control it is recommended that you treat leather with a conditioner before putting it into storage.

Household Appliances. Washing machines should be fully drained of any water, and fridges/freezers should be defrosted and emptied of any food. Cookers should be thoroughly cleaned to ensure no grease is transferred to any of your other stored items.

You may also like to read: How to Move a Washing Machine Without Getting in a Spin. In this guide, we offer step-by-step instructions on how to disconnect, pack, move, and reconnect your washing machine when moving home.

Self-Storage Unit Packing Tips and Tricks

This will obviously depend upon what you intend to store, and what you will require regular or easy access to, but read on to learn how to store things in a storage unit.

• The general self-storage advice is that furniture should be stacked along the walls.
• Stack the heaviest boxes on the floor, finishing with the lightest or most fragile boxes on the top.
• Anything that you know you will need to access in the near future can be stacked towards the door of the store.
• Remember to have the face of the box with the box number and contents label facing outwards so that you can easily read it.
• To save space you can utilize the drawers or cupboards in any furniture you are storing.
• The drums of washing machines and tumble driers will also hold a surprising amount of things.
• Depending on the water tightness of your storage facility, you may want to line the floor of the store and place a waterproof liner over the top, this will protect your cardboard boxes from moisture damage.
• Alternatively, you could stack the boxes on pallets to keep them off of a dirty or damp floor.

What are the Drawbacks of Using Self-Storage?

Something to bear in mind: If you have ever seen Storage Wars, you will know one of the dangers of self-storage is out of sight is out of mind.

And whilst your ignored items are sat in their nice safe storage, the costs are racking up too.

Depreciation is also another factor to take into consideration.

Over time, will the contents of your self-store have cost you more to store than they are actually worth?

Would it be more cost-effective to sell the items now and buy replacements in the future?

How to Transport Things to a Storage Unit

The safest and sometimes most cost-effective way to get your precious items out of your home, and into storage, is to employ the services of a professional moving company.

Many removal companies will also be able to provide you with packing materials, a full packing service, and even storage facilities.

To find out what services are available and just how cost-effective they can be, you can get a free, no-obligation quote in just a few minutes by filling out this simple form.

You may also like to read: How to Pick a Good Removal Company: The Ultimate Step-by-Step Guide. Choosing the best removal company for your particular needs can be daunting considering all the hundreds of movers out there. So, in this guide, we have created a step-by-step process to help you find the right removal firm for you.

Of course, you also have the option of a self-move where you pack, load, and unload everything yourself, or even a mix of doing parts yourself and hiring a removal firm to do the hard work.

In Ways to Move Home: The Pros and Cons of Every Home Moving Option we explore the different ways you can move home so that you can make a more informed decision as to what is best in your particular circumstances.

And finally just to remind you that irreplaceable and very high-value items should never be placed in a self-store unit unless the storage unit is specifically designed for that purpose and your insurance policy will cover your items adequately.