With the cost of rent rising around the UK, many first-time renters are finding that the homes they choose are not big enough to fit all their belongings. This leaves them with two choices – downsize or find alternate storage arrangements.

If you’re not looking to downsize at the moment, a self-storage unit is perhaps the best option. These units are accessible to you at any time you wish, allowing you to store your stuff without the worry that you won’t have access when you need it. 

However, if you’ve never rented a storage unit before, one of the most common questions is – how do you ensure that you have enough space in your unit to fit your needs? If this sounds like you, keep reading for tips.

Conduct an Inventory of Your Home and Belongings

Before you can decide what storage unit size you need to rent, you need to know what you’ll be storing in it. In order to know this, you need to know two things:

  • What you own
  • The storage capacity of your home

Knowing how much you can store at home will allow you to determine the “overflow” for the storage space. You can also use this opportunity to look for creative storage ideas so that you can increase the number of things you can store at home. Once you’ve determined what will be going in storage, it’s time to move on to the next step.

A quick tip: If you’re finding conducting an inventory of all your belongings challenging, one easy way to estimate how much space you’ll need is to identify the largest items that you’ll be putting into storage. Depending on their dimensions, you may find that your unit needs to be a particular size. For example, if your bed will be going into storage and is 15 feet long, you’ll need to ensure that your unit can fit it, regardless of what additional items will be going into storage as well.

Research Sizes

Depending on where the storage unit is located – indoors, outdoors, or covered storage – you’ll find that you have numerous size options. Before you make the decision to start renting a storage unit somewhere in the UK, you’ll need to know which of these you’ll be choosing. Additionally, you’ll also need to decide how big the unit will be. 

Depending on your storage needs, it may be that one or more of those options are not relevant for you. For example, if you’re storing expensive electronics, you’ll probably prefer an indoor option to others. Once you’ve chosen which of the three options is right for you, you can start researching what unit sizes are available for you to rent. 

Consider Your Requirements

Choosing from the three types of unit locations is only the first decision you’ll have to make. Once you’ve made that decision, you’ll also need to consider additional requirements that you may have of your storage unit. For example, you may need a unit that is climate controlled or one that has video monitoring capabilities depending on which area or city in the UK you’re going to use for storage. 

Whatever you decide you need, your options will likely be cut down further by this series of decisions. 

Visit Facilities and Talk to Companies

Sometimes, you’ll find that the bare minimum is not enough. Depending on what is going into storage, you may need your unit to have enough space for you to move around inside comfortably. 

For example, if you’re storing work documents and plan to visit your unit once a week, there should be enough space for you to not only walk around but also pause and go through the documents without feeling claustrophobic

While measurements can help you narrow down your options, they can only tell you so much. Once you have an idea of how big your unit will need to be at a minimum, it’s a good idea to visit storage companies that are well known around the UK, take a look at empty units that are about the size you’re considering, and speak to experts. 

This will give you a better idea of what the unit will look and feel like once everything has been put inside. It will also allow you to determine whether you’ve made the right choice or you need to move up one (or several) rungs on the size chart.

The need for extra storage is quickly becoming the new normal, especially among young people moving out and renting their first property anywhere within the UK. While choosing what size self-storage unit you should rent may seem like a challenging task, you’ll soon find it’s actually as easy as can be!

Author

Founder of Paisley.org.uk in 1998 and constantly strives to change peoples attitudes to the town, Brian is a self described Paisley Digital Champion who promotes Paisley via any means necessary. You can also follow me on X