Storage Unit Size Guide | How To Choose The Right Storage For You
Once your closets, crawlspaces, attics, and/or garages begin overflowing with items, deciding that you may need to rent storage space becomes infinitely easier. However, unless you are a mover or shipper by profession, deciding how big or small a storage space you may need can be exceedingly more difficult. The conundrum could be compounded if what needs to be stored varies in size, such as a stack of furniture and appliances, racks of clothing, sports equipment, and decorative knick-knacks. To facilitate choosing the appropriate sized storage unit for all your items, Mini Entrepôts has put together the following storage unit size guide you can easily refer to. This way, you can pick the right unit for your needs, taking care to conserve both space and money!
The Storage Unit Sizes Mini Entrepôts Offers
Rest assured, no matter how big or how small the size of your inventory is, we have the space to accommodate it. Mini Entrepôts offers a veritable plethora of interior and exterior storage units ranging from 2 x 5 to 47 x 60 feet in measurement, with everything in between!
Should your items be of a delicate nature (such as antique furniture, printed material, or delicate collectibles) Mini Entrepôts also offers climate-controlled units that will maintain uniform temperature and humidity levels all year around, safeguarding your valuables from possible warping, curling, and general damage from the elements. All that remains is to determine what your needs are because Mini Entrepôts will have no problem fulfilling it!
A Storage Unit Size Guide for Determining Your Needs
Determining exactly what size storage unit you need can be a little difficult for some. We’ve broken down our offerings into 3 basic categories of sizes to make that decision easier for you. Our storage unit size guide will also help you determine what type of items would be best to store!
#1 - Smaller Storage Units
The first category in our storage unit size guide is Smaller, which ranges between 10-100 square feet. On average, this is comparable to a bedroom in a home or apartment and should be treated accordingly in terms of space.
Although almost anything can be stored anywhere, smaller storage units are ideal for boxes and plastic storage containers housing items like clothing, knick-knacks and collectibles, or books and magazines. They are also perfect for seasonal equipment like bicycles, Christmas decorations, and lawnmowers or snowblowers. Sports equipment like skis, weights, and exercise equipment are also good candidates for smaller-sized storage containers.
It’s important to note that storing furniture and appliances in smaller units should be avoided, unless:
- it is only 1-2 pieces, or
- they are multiple pieces of smaller items, like end tables, nightstands, or accent pieces.
#2 - Medium Storage Units
The next category in our storage unit size guide is Medium, which ranges between 100-200 square feet. On average, this is comparable to 2 or 3 bedrooms in a home or apartment and should be treated accordingly in terms of space.
Medium-sized storage units are ideal for storing a mix of choice, carefully selected items. This is especially true if your storage stash is composed of things you’d like to keep but have run out of space for in your home. This can include several pieces of furniture (like couches, beds, and/or armoires) and appliances (like fridges, washers and dryers, and/or dishwashers) mixed with storage boxes, seasonal/sports equipment, and other items.
#3 - Larger Storage Units
The next category in our storage unit size guide is Larger, which ranges between 200-450 square feet. On average, this is comparable to 4 bedrooms in a home or apartment and should be treated accordingly in terms of space.
Larger-sized storage units are ideal for storing large furniture pieces or appliances in addition to storage boxes and containers. These units are even large enough to store vehicles and are perfect for people who are moving and find themselves in between homes or have to relocate for work purposes. Larger-sized storage units are also optimal for business purposes, proving popular in storing office equipment and supplies, as well as serving as makeshift offices.
Maximize Your Space
An important topic to mention in this storage unit size guide is the maximization of your unit space. Too often, people rent storage units that are too big simply because they lack the foresight to make better use of the space they actually require. This ends up wasting money as well as space since larger units are more costly to rent than smaller ones. However, with just a little organization and planning, you can store your items comfortably for a fraction of the cost!
Organizational Advice
Those most guilty of wasting money on larger storage spaces are people who tend to throw their belongings into their units without any sense of pre-planning.
As a rule, you should consider the following bits of advice:
- Map out how you want to store your items, placing items you don’t intend to use for a while towards the back of the unit, with more frequently accessed items placed towards the front.
- When placing your items, you should allow for spaces in the form of aisles, walkways, and paths to access and move them around in the unit if you so wish.
- Consider buying shelving and racks to maximize the use of vertical spaces, and be careful to place heavy storage containers and boxes on the bottom shelves to avoid damage and tipping.
- If placing smaller items within storage containers or boxes, make sure each one is visibly labeled, so the contents of each box can be easily recognized.
- Keep a detailed inventory of everything that is entering your storage unit, for easy referencing and access.
- If you are storing furniture like dressers or armoires, consider using the built-in drawers to maximize your storage space.
Heeding these tips can help you rent smaller storage units for the space you need, rather than the space you think you need. This can no doubt save you hundreds of dollars per year on rental fees!
For more tips and advice on storage unit sizes and rates, contact Mini Entrepôts today!