One of the most common questions people have before booking a storage unit is simply: will my stuff actually fit? It’s a fair question, and one that’s genuinely hard to answer without seeing a unit in person — but getting the size right matters, since paying for more space than you need is wasteful, and not booking enough means a second trip, extra cost, and a lot of unnecessary hassle. Here’s a rough guide to help you figure out what size suits your situation.
Small units (roughly the size of a box room)
These suit a handful of boxes, a couple of suitcases, seasonal items like Christmas decorations, or a bike or two. Good for students storing over the summer, or anyone doing a light declutter of a single room rather than an entire house. If you’re mainly storing sentimental items, documents, or a modest amount of overflow, a small unit is often plenty and keeps costs down.
Medium units (roughly the size of a single bedroom)
These can comfortably hold the contents of a one-bed apartment — a couch, bed frame, a few boxes, a table and chairs, maybe a wardrobe if it’s disassembled. This is a popular size for people moving between rentals around Dublin or Clondalkin who need somewhere for their furniture short-term while sorting out their next place, and it’s also a common choice for small business owners storing stock.
Large units (roughly the size of a double bedroom or small living room)
These suit the contents of a two- or three-bed house — full bedroom sets from more than one room, a full sitting room including a couch and TV unit, kitchen appliances, and a fair number of boxes on top of that. Handy for families renovating a home in stages, or moving house and needing somewhere to store everything for a few weeks between the sale closing and the new house being ready.
Extra-large units
These can take the contents of a larger family home, including garden furniture, larger appliances like fridges or washing machines, and business stock or equipment for companies that have outgrown a medium unit but aren’t ready for commercial premises. If you’re storing the entire contents of a four- or five-bed house during a long renovation, this is usually the size you’re looking at.
A few tips regardless of size
Furniture that can be disassembled — bed frames, tables, some wardrobes and shelving units — takes up far less room than left whole, and it’s worth the extra half hour with a screwdriver to save on unit size. Boxes of a similar size stack more efficiently than a mix of odd shapes, so where possible, try to source uniform boxes rather than a random collection from various shops. Leave a small gap near the door so you’re not unpacking the whole unit to grab one thing you need urgently, and keep anything you’ll need regular access to towards the front.
Measuring before you book
If you’re not sure how much space your belongings will actually take up, it can help to do a rough measure at home first — lay out your larger furniture pieces, or at least list them with rough dimensions, before contacting a storage provider. Most facilities are well used to helping people figure out the right size over the phone or by email, and can usually recommend a unit based on a simple description of what you’re moving, like “contents of a two-bed apartment, no large appliances.”
Better to size up slightly than run short
If you’re on the fence between two sizes, it’s generally worth sizing up slightly rather than trying to cram everything into a unit that’s a tight squeeze. A unit that’s slightly too small makes loading, accessing, and eventually unloading far more difficult than it needs to be, and the cost difference between adjacent sizes is often smaller than people expect.
If you’re not sure what size suits your situation, it’s worth having a chat with your local storage provider — most people in Dublin and Clondalkin storing the contents of an apartment or a few rooms end up needing less space than they first think, and a good provider will steer you towards the right size rather than upselling you on something bigger than you actually need.
Common mistakes when estimating size
A frequent one is forgetting to account for boxes altogether and only thinking about the big items — the couch, the bed, the wardrobe. In reality, the average move or clear-out generates far more boxes than people expect once books, kitchenware, decorations, and general bits and pieces are packed up. Another common mistake is assuming furniture will fit as-is; a couch that seemed to slide easily through your own front door might not sit as neatly once it’s alongside several other large pieces in a shared unit. Take a moment to picture the unit as a small room you’re furnishing, not just a container to be filled.
Accessing your unit over time
Think ahead to how often you’ll need to get into the unit, not just how much you’re storing. If it’s mostly long-term items you won’t touch for months, they can go right to the back without much thought. But if you know you’ll be swapping seasonal items in and out, or regularly grabbing stock for a small business, it’s worth planning the layout with that access in mind from day one, even if it means the unit looks slightly less “efficiently packed” than it could.
Getting help on the day
Most facilities have trolleys or similar available to help move heavier items from your car or van to the unit itself, which makes a real difference if you’re doing the move without professional movers. It’s worth asking about this when you book, along with practical details like ceiling height, door width, and whether there are stairs or lifts involved, particularly if you’re storing anything bulky like a wardrobe or a large sofa.
