How Much Storage Space Do You Need When Moving House in London?

Storage is the part of a house move that most people think about last. The boxes are packed, the van is booked, and then someone asks: where do the extra things go? The answer matters, because storage that is too small means a second trip or an overflowing unit, and storage that is far too large means paying for empty space you never use.

The right size does not come from your property type alone. Two two-bedroom flats can need very different amounts of storage. What matters is what you are actually storing, how long it will be there, and whether you will need to reach it while it is stored.

Start with what you are storing, not how many bedrooms you have

Bedrooms are a rough starting point, but they hide the details that decide the size. A spare room used as a study, a hallway cupboard, a loft with boxes in it, and a shed can hold as much as another bedroom. So can a garage, a balcony store, or the space under the stairs.

Before you estimate anything, make a simple list of what is going into storage. Split it into three groups:

1. Large items — sofa, bed and mattress, wardrobe, chest of drawers, dining table and chairs, fridge, washing machine, dryer, dishwasher, bikes, pram, large toys.
2. Medium items — bedside tables, lamps, mirrors, vacuum cleaner, ironing board, sports equipment, suitcases, storage boxes you already own.
3. Boxes — everything else, counted room by room.

If only some of your belongings are going into storage and the rest are going straight to the new address, keep the two lists separate from the start. Mixing them is the most common reason estimates go wrong.

A room-by-room way to estimate

Walk through your home one room at a time and write down what is in each room that will go into storage. Do not guess from memory — open the cupboards, check the loft, and look in the shed and garage. Things stored out of sight are the ones people forget.

For each room, note:

• the large items going into storage;
• roughly how many boxes that room will fill;
• anything awkward, heavy, or fragile that needs care.

Add the rooms together and you have a realistic picture: a count of large items plus a total box count. That picture is far more useful to a storage provider than “I live in a two-bedroom flat”, because it describes your actual belongings rather than an average.

If you are packing as you go, keep a running tally on the side of each box — one line per box, with the room it came from. By the time the last room is done, the tally tells you how much you are storing without any extra effort.

 

A worked example: a two-bedroom flat, sized honestly

Take a typical two-bedroom flat: a sofa, an armchair, a dining table with four chairs, two double beds, two wardrobes, a chest of drawers, a desk, a television and stand, kitchen boxes and the usual run of bags and cases. Stacked and wrapped the way a removals crew stacks them, that is a 75 square foot unit in most cases, with the wardrobes and the sofa deciding whether you sit comfortably inside it or wish you had gone one size up. A one-bedroom flat usually lands between 35 and 50 square feet, and a three-bedroom house between 100 and 200, depending on the garage and loft contents. The pattern to notice is that the big furniture sets the floor of the size and the boxes decide the rest, which is why an estimate built from the actual items beats one built from the bedroom count.

The bulky items that change everything

A handful of items can change the size you need more than a dozen boxes will. Measure the largest ones before you book anything: the sofa, the wardrobe, the bed frame and mattress, the fridge, and the washing machine. Note which ones can be taken apart for storage and which cannot, and whether drawers and doors can come off to make an item flatter.

Tell the storage provider about these items by name. “A three-seater sofa, a double wardrobe, and a king-size mattress” is a much better guide to size than “some furniture”. If an item is unusually large — a corner sofa, a piano, a large sideboard — say so early, because it may need a different arrangement or a larger unit.

Think about how long it will be stored, and how often you will need it

Short-term storage and longer-term storage need different thinking. If your things are going in for a few weeks between addresses, you mostly need them to fit safely and come out again in one piece. If they will be there for months, you need to be able to find things without emptying the whole unit.

If you will need access while your things are stored, leave a narrow walkway down the middle of the unit and keep the boxes you are most likely to need near the front. Label every box on two sides — the side you see when you walk in, and the top — with the room it came from and a short list of what is inside. “Kitchen — plates, mugs, baking trays” is useful. “Misc” is not.

If you will not need access at all, the unit can be packed more tightly, with the heaviest items at the bottom and the things you need first on top and nearest the door.

Questions to ask the storage provider

Before you book, ask the provider these questions and get the answers in writing:

• How is the unit measured, and what does the price include?
• What are the access hours, and how does access work?
• How is the unit secured, and who holds the key or code?
• What cover or insurance applies, and what does it exclude?
• Can you move to a larger or smaller unit later, and how much notice does that need?
• Is there a minimum term, and how much notice do you need to give to leave?
• Can the removal company deliver straight into the unit, and does someone need to be there?

The answers matter more than the headline size. A unit that is hard to reach, hard to access, or hard to leave can cost more in time and hassle than a slightly larger one nearby.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Guessing from bedrooms alone. Two homes with the same number of bedrooms can hold very different amounts of belongings.
• Forgetting the hidden spaces. Lofts, garages, sheds, hallway cupboards, and under-stair storage hold more than people expect.
• Not measuring the big items. One unmeasured sofa can be the difference between fitting and not fitting.
• Leaving no access gap. A unit packed wall to wall is cheap to fill and miserable to use.
• Labelling badly. “Misc” on five boxes guarantees an afternoon of opening boxes to find one thing.
• Booking before the list is done. An estimate made before the full list exists is a guess, not a plan.

Storage as part of your move

If you are using a removal company and storage together, tell the removal company from the start what is going to storage and what is going straight to the new address. Label the two groups differently — for example, one colour of tape for storage and another for the new address — so nothing ends up in the wrong place on moving day.

Load the storage items together and the new-address items together, and keep a copy of both lists with you. On arrival, the crew can then put each group in the right place without you having to supervise every box.

Frequently asked questions

How do I estimate how many boxes I need?
Count room by room as you pack. Kitchens and bedrooms usually fill the most boxes; bathrooms and hallways the fewest. Keep a running tally and you will have a real number, not a guess.

What if I am between homes and do not know how long storage will last?
Ask the provider about minimum terms, notice periods, and moving between unit sizes. Choose an arrangement you can change without a long commitment if your dates are uncertain.

Can I change to a larger or smaller unit later?
Many providers allow it — ask before you book, and check how much notice is needed and whether there is a charge for moving units.

Should I visit the storage site before booking?
If you can, yes. Seeing the unit, the access route, and the security arrangements answers questions a phone call cannot.

A simple way to finish

Storage does not need to be complicated. List what is going in, measure the biggest items, count the boxes room by room, and ask the provider the questions above before you book. That gives you a size based on your actual belongings — and a move with one fewer surprise in it.

If you are planning a move in London and want storage as part of it, tell us what is going into storage and what is going to the new address, and request a written quote. We will confirm the details before you book.

Once you have a rough size in mind, check what size storage unit you need room by room. It also helps to compare self storage vs removal storage before you book. For a managed option, see our storage solutions.