Putting furniture & belongings in storage

[MouseMovingHouse]

Can anyone give me a rough idea of costs for putting all our stuff in storage please. We have a 4 bedroom house with loft and garage?

Never used storage before so absolutely no idea of even a ballpark figure.

I have two companies coming to quote for removals this week. Do removals companies have their own storage facilities and charges or should I be shopping around for storage charges separately? What do I need to consider/look for?

It will be for 3 months initially (we are moving into rented accommodation whilst we look for a house to buy).

Get them around to quote and then use the cubic metre figure they give for storage to shop around for other options. Probably easier to use one company for everything though.

What are “other options”? Do I look for Self Storage? Is that what things like The Big Yellow Storage Company do? Would my removal company take it all to them and unload it/repack it into a storage container at another company? Is that how it works? Should I choose somehere local to where I’m looking to buy or can it be further out? We don’t live in a city.
Sorry utterly clueless on this!

We used Simply Storage for a two bedroom flat (though we had enough stuff for a three bedroom house with all the boxes of books) and it cost us £250 a month for six months. They were the most reasonable I found who could collect it all, pack it up (that was extra), store it and then deliver it to our new address.

I used self storage, moved in with a man and van outfit, moved out with a proper removal company.

It could work any way you have mentioned, do you want to access your things while they are in storage.

It is what big yellow etc do, you would have access so I think they would cost more.

We found removals men expensive for storage. Most storage companies give you eight weeks half price, but it doesn't include all the extras

Be aware that cheaper options may be containers in fields. Not suitable for anything you wouldn't keep in a shed , gets damp and attracts rodents. Furniture etc has to be in a proper climate controlled facility.

BTW if this is england you won't get a 3 month rental unless a holiday let. May be cheaper to rent an unfurnished place on an ast and keep your stuff there. 3 months to move in is unlikely.

We wanted to access our stuff so picked the self storage closest to our house.

We have moved and put all our belongings into store twice, our houses were a similar size to yours, also we have a lot of thing such as books and paintings.The removal company packed, stored and moved us into our new house.
Packing was £200 and storage was £50 a week. This was a year ago.

We have used both self storage and a removal co/storage at the same time. After clearing out my parents house we put the stuff in self storage. It was £150 a month. Downside was we had to hire a man and van and the access to the storage unit was rather tight. However, we did have access to our stuff, not that we needed it. We then had a major house refurb so got a removal company to virtually empty our house and store contents. This was so much better as they did all the lifting (I have a bad back) and it was sealed into massive crates and stored in climate controlled conditions. This was around £50 per month per crate. We were so happy with the removal company we had them empty the self storage and take it to their facility so it was all in the same place. Everything came back just as it had left us. The only thing was there was no access, but we didn't need it. If you don't like shifting furniture (and who does?) use a removal and storage company, but shop around. Prices vary wildly.

Thank you. I had two companies quote today. The cheapest of the two (Britannia) worked out £86 per week in storage costs plus insurance. This is stuff being stored in 8 wooden crates inside a huge warehouse. We can have free access anytime. (Obviously removals and packing extra). Pickfords was dearer and I was very unimpressed with their service around doing the survey/quote anyway.

Need to try and find somewhere else to get a storage quote from. As per the warning from a previous post I need to make sure the storage is safe and dry.

We pay £320 A month to self store our house which had the equivalent of 3beds worth if stuff. We packed and moved it all ourselves over a few months (initially held our personal stuff whilst selling now has all our house whilst we're at in laws).

We basically went for the closest to where we live and could have free access. It would have been cheaper to store in sealed crates but we need access to certain bits.

We paid for storage when we were in a rented home for 3 months last summer. It was an independent place but of the style of Big yellow storage, ie dry locked rooms.
I suppose about a third of our stuff was in a 100sq ft unit and that cost about £180 a month. So you would need 3-4 times that and I expect £500 a month?

Pack it decently in proper boxes, labelled and make sure stuff you might need is at the front. Our unit was packed to the ceiling and door like tetris! We did pop over quite frequently so I would locate it near your rented home.

It sure focuses the mind on decluttering too.

Make sure you look at the price they charge after the initial discount period - a lot of storage companies offer 50% off the first 8 weeks, but depending on how long you are looking to store, you are better off choosing a storage company that have lower rates throughout - often people stay longer than they initially thought they were going too. Also think about if you want to have the storage collected from your house or to go to the unit and how often you want to visit it. Make sure you pick one who has a climate controlled warehouse so you know it will keep your stuff in good condition. If you do go with a big storage company, I work for a company called easyStorage who are really nice and aim to 40-50% cheaper than competitors on their standard, non discounted rates. You can use my discount code for £50 off if you want - FAMILY50 - only works over the phone and if you book for 2 months or more this year.