Pack it tight
Best for a move-out date when nearly everything leaves together. It maximizes capacity but makes retrieval difficult.
PRACTICAL PLANNING GUIDE
What size storage unit do I need?
The shortest honest answer is: the smallest unit that clears your real inventory, the facility's access constraints, and the amount of retrieval space you want. A room-count chart is useful, but it is only a baseline.
1. Start with an inventory, not square footage
Write down the large pieces first: sofas, mattresses, bed frames, dressers, tables, desks, appliances, shelving, bicycles, and outdoor equipment. Then estimate boxes by size. A one-bedroom apartment with a sectional and large desk can need more floor space than a lightly furnished two-bedroom home.
Fast inventory checklist
Count items that cannot safely carry weight separately from stackable boxes. Flag anything longer than 8 feet, wider than a typical doorway, fragile, temperature-sensitive, or difficult to disassemble.
2. Check volume and floor footprint
Cubic feet can make a unit appear more generous than it is. Sofas, appliances, and fragile furniture use floor space that cannot always be recovered by stacking. A useful estimate checks both total volume and the area committed by items that must stay on their natural base.
The StorageUnit web calculator applies both constraints. The iPhone app adds individual items from Quick Pick, photos, or RoomPlan before running its deterministic calculation.
3. Decide how often you need access
Balanced
Allows modest working space and more conservative stacking. This is a practical default for most household storage.
Easy access
Reserves a real aisle and lower stacking. Choose it when you will visit often or need specific boxes during storage.
4. Measure the entire path
An item can fit inside the room and still fail at the door. Confirm the unit door width and height, hallway turns, elevator opening, loading-bay clearance, and any vehicle height restrictions. Measure rigid pieces in the orientation you will actually carry and store them.
5. Pick the right facility features
Climate control
Consider climate control for wood furniture, electronics, instruments, artwork, documents, photographs, textiles, and belongings stored through extreme heat, cold, or humidity.
Drive-up access
Drive-up units reduce carrying distance for furniture and appliances. Indoor units may offer better weather protection but can introduce elevators, hallways, and carts into the move.
Floor level and access hours
Ground-floor access is valuable for heavy or frequent loads. Compare elevator hours, gate hours, lighting, security procedures, insurance requirements, locks, and administrative fees before reserving.
6. Treat the recommendation as a starting point
Storage dimensions are usually nominal. Interior columns, door framing, ceiling variation, and facility rules can reduce usable space. Before paying, share your largest-item measurements with the facility and ask whether you can inspect the exact unit.
Ready to estimate?
Compare common unit dimensions, build an inventory with the free web calculator, or join the iPhone beta for photo and LiDAR-assisted workflows.