A chain breaks, a completion date slips, or a new build is not ready. Whatever the reason, storing your furniture for a few weeks or months between homes is common. A little planning means everything comes out in the same condition it went in.
Two to four weeks before
- Measure your furniture and use our size guide to estimate the unit you need.
- Get several quotes and check access hours, especially if your move-out day is a weekend.
- Book removals that can drop off at the store, or hire a van with enough room for one trip.
- Check insurance. Ask your home insurer whether items in storage are covered and for how long.
Packing and protecting
- Clean and dry everything. Damp or dirty furniture can grow mould in storage.
- Dismantle what you can. Bed frames, table legs and wardrobes take far less room flat. Bag the screws and tape them to the item.
- Cover, but let it breathe. Use breathable furniture covers or old sheets rather than sealing wood and fabric in plastic.
- Protect mattresses with a mattress bag and store them flat or on their side, never folded.
- Empty and dry white goods. Defrost the fridge and leave the door slightly open. Drain the washing machine.
- Label every box on two sides with the room it is going to.
Loading the unit
- Put the largest, heaviest items at the back and along the walls.
- Stand sofas on end only if the store and the sofa allow it - otherwise keep them flat.
- Stack boxes heaviest at the bottom, and no higher than you can safely reach.
- Keep a walkway and put the things you will need first nearest the door.
- Raise items off the floor with pallets if you are using a container.
Things not to store
Food, plants, paint, gas bottles and anything flammable are banned at most stores. See our full list of items you cannot put in storage.
