What Is Self Storage?

Self storage is a safe, secure storage facility that offers extra space, storage rooms and storage units to people and businesses where they can come as they please to store their furniture, belongings and items. Self storage has become extremely popular over the years with more and more people needing self storage as a secure place to store household furniture, office items and business goods. Self storage ensures that you are in full control of your own belongings, furniture and items. It also ensures that your belongings are monitored around the clock and stored safely offering you great peace of mind.

Self storage is a flexible way to store personal items, household furniture, business archives, student belongings as well as various tools, machinery and even  vehicles. Durning opening times you can access your self storage unit as and when you require you will have full access to a pad lock, key and door codes. Self storage is usually charged on a monthly basis if renting your self storage unit for longer you may be offered a discounted rate.

There are many reasons why you may need self storage to store your belongings and items. Listed below are some of the main reason why you may need to move your belongings in to self storage:

• If moving house and the new home is not ready your items may need to go into storage.
• If you are a business that needs extra storage space to store excess stock and equipment
• When students need to store their personal items and belongs during holiday seasons
• If a family member has pass away and you want to place  the items safely into storage
• Your new home is lacking space and you need to store your bikes and personal items that would usually end up in the attic or shed
• Incase your completion day is unsuccessful and you have to place your whole home belongings in to storage
• Moving in to a small place with a partner and require extra space to store your belongings
• When decorating and having building work completed on your home 
• Decluttering your home and bring back the space you need for you and your family.

With self storage you can store almost any item of furniture you want and for as long as you may need. This make self storage a flexible and great solution for many people. See below the list of items your self storage company can take.

• Beds
• Wardrobes
• Dining Tables & Chairs
• Sofas, Arm Chairs & Sofa Beds
• White Goods
• Tv & Stand
• Cupboards, Chest Of Draws & Units
• Boxes, Bags & Suitcases
• Piano & Piano Equipment & Stool
• Office Chairs & Desks
• Filing Cabinets
• Archive Files
• Excess Stock
• As well as many other household and business items

It can seem like you can store what ever you want in a self storage unit. However most self storage companies in the UK have limitations to what items and furniture you can store. Below we have constructed a detailed list on the items you should not store with in a self storage unit, these items include:

• Flammables Liquids
• Food
• Animals
• Firearms
• Weapons | Explosives
• Legal Documents
• Money
• Jewellery
• Valuable Items
• Wet Furniture
• Furniture With Liquid Inside
• Gas Canisters
• Items With Fuel Or Oil Inside

The size of your self storage unit is determined by the amount of furniture and belongings you have to be stored. Self storage rooms come in all shapes and sizes, your storage company will need to know a few things before they can provide you with the size storage room that you need. Below we have some of the things you will need to find out before renting a self storage room.

• How many items you have to be moved & stored?
• What furniture and items you have to be stored?
• What size of van or vehicles you will be using?
• The size of your home?
• The size of your business
• How many rooms you have to be stored?

Work out the size of your self storage room by using the vans you are loading or the size of the house your are moving from. The easiest way to estimate the size of your storage is by the size and number of the vehicles being used or the size of the house.

Check the self storage sizes in the table below to see which one is the best fit for you.

When loading in to a self storage unit the space often stacks up quickly depending on the items or furniture being stored. This means items are stacked on top of each other which could end up damaging a lot of your furniture. The best thing to do is to shrink wrap and bubble wrap all items being stored as this will avoid them getting scuffed, scrapped or damaged whilst in storage. You will want to purchase removal blankets that will act as added protection and warmth for your furniture.

There are various services that you may need when renting a self storage unit. If your furniture and belongings are worth quite a lot of money you are going to want to make sure they are safe, secure from damage and protected at all times. To do this you will need to ensure a few things have been achieved:

• To ensure that your items are secure and protected you will want to consider packing the items or requesting a home packing service for the items you wish to store. 
• Insurance is provided with your self storage unit, however for added security of your belongings we suggest that you take out a content insurance policy while your belongings are in storage.
• Self Storage units have moving boxes and packing materials on the ready. Boxes can be brought in store, this offers convenient solutions to customers as most self storage companies are open 7days a week.
• If you are a business you can use your self storage unit as your own warehouse or business premises, where you can store your business documents, products and equipment. Self storage staff will take deliveries and mail and help to make sure your businesses runs effectively.
• You can hire a removals company to help you move your home or to relocate your office in to the self storage unit. Removal companies offer various services and have removal agents to assist with the moving, loading and unloading in to the storage unit. Your can also request them to move the items out of storage whenever you need them.
• You can even run your online or eBay business directly from your self storage unit. Renting warehouses & office space has dropped due to the increase in office rental prices. As an affordable option many businesses are setting up shop using self storage facilities across the UK.

There is no doubt that since 2008 and 2023 self storage has grown to become in such high demand for residential and business customers. This is because self storage is safe, secure, affordable and flexible for people to use as and when required. Self storage facilities have 1000’s of storage rooms and units in all different sizes readily available for people that need to store their belongs and items. We have listed some of the ways that self storage can help and benefit you.

• If you are going on holiday and you don’t feel safe leaving your items in your home you can use a self storage unit to store them safely.
• Need some work doing on your home for a few weeks or months, pack up your items and take them to a self storage until the works complete.
• Not enough office or business space? Need additional business storage space to store your business files, documents or products. Self storage will save you the hassle of moving your business premises into a bigger location.
• If your home completion falls through and you can’t move in to your new home on removals day, you will no doubt need to consider hiring a self storage unit, at least until you can move in to your new home.
• Self storage is perfect for students as well, especially international students that need some where safe to store excess belongings, furniture and student material.
• If a family member has passed away you may not want to give the items to charity or send them to a recycling tip. In this case you can hire a self storage room to store the items until you can decide what best to do with them.
• If moving from a large 4 bedroom home and downsizing to a 2 bedroom bungalow or 1 bedroom care home you may want to think about storing the items you will not be taking with you to the new home. Downsizing is hard, but knowing your goods are safe and secure provides that extra peace of mind.