Guide to Choosing the Right Self Storage Unit Size
When it comes to storing your belongings in a self storage space, it can be difficult to know what size of a storage unit you’ll need. You don’t want to spend the money, and then start putting stuff in just to find out that it’s too small or far bigger than you required. Are you wondering how you could possibly estimate how much space your stuff will take when it’s all gathered together?
We make it easy for you with our size guide summarized below.
What Can You Fit in Which Space?
5’ x 5’ Unit
For example, a 5’ x 5’ self storage unit would fit the contents of a small room or apartment, including:
- Small desks
- Suitcases
- Small bookcases
- Lamps
- Fans and other small appliances
- Chairs
- Sports equipment
- Boxes of belongings
5’ x 10’ Unit
A 5’ x 10’ unit gives you 50 square feet of space. You should be able to fit in a living room in there:
- Chairs
- Sofas
- Dressers
- Lamps
- Most HDTVs
- Sports equipment
- Boxes of belongings
And if your living room is pretty sparse, you could also fit in the belongings from a closet or other space in your home.
10’ x 10’ Unit
A 10’ by 10’ unit will hold the contents of 3 rooms. You could store:
- Mattress sets
- Couches
- Armchairs
- Tables and desks
- Dining room set
- Wardrobe (boxes)
- HDTVs and Stereos
- Bicycle(s)
- Fitness / sports equipment
- Many boxes of belongings
Need an Even Larger Space?
You can get storage units to fit the belongings of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6 or even more rooms. If you got a 10’ by 25’ storage unit, you would be able to store the contents of 6 or more rooms, depending on your belongings. You could include:
- Couches
- Mattresses and beds
- Dining room sets
- Patio sets
- Garage items
- Bicycles
- Major appliances like washers and dryers
Tips for Making the Most of Your Self-Storage Space
There are things you can do to maximize your storage unit space: Take apart any bulky furniture to reduce the space it takes up, and get as many items as you can packed into boxes so you can take advantage of stacking (high space)
- Stack chairs with blankets or towels between them
- Keep the stuff you’re likely to use more often towards the front of your unit
- Keep a list of which items have been placed in storage and where you put them in the unit
- Leave enough room to walk down the centre of larger units so that you can easily access belongings at the back
- Place boxes, bedding or books on the shelves, in the fridge or in other appliances to save up space in your unit
- Don’t pack items too close to the door of the unit. Not only can it make it hard to close the door, it can make it even harder to re-open it later. You also risk damaging some of your contents or restricting access to the stuff you might need in a pinch. If you need more space, transferring to a larger unit is easy to arrange and you’ll find it makes for less work and a quicker experience when you need to access your unit and add or remove items.
For more tips on how to make the best use of your self-storage unit and to explore the possibilities of different unit sizes, check out the Public Storage Canada online storage calculator. You can select the guide for personal use, business use, or even vehicle use. You won’t have to worry about accidentally renting a unit that’s too small or too large to fit everything you need to put in storage.
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