Storage Size Guide: Which Self Storage Unit Do You Actually Need?

Booking a storage unit without knowing what size you need is a bit like ordering a van without knowing what you're moving. You either end up with something too small and spend an extra day shuffling boxes, or you pay for space you’ll never use.

This guide exists to prevent both. It covers every unit size Make Space offers — from the 10 sq ft locker at one end to the 250 sq ft room at the other — with practical examples of what actually fits. Use the table below to jump straight to your situation, or read through to understand the logic behind choosing a size.

One thing worth knowing before you start: if you do get it wrong, you can simply swap. At Make Space, moving to a different unit size is straightforward; just ask the team. So don't let the decision paralyse you. Get close, then adjust.

Make Space units run from 10 sq ft up to 250 sq ft, with a standard ceiling height of 8ft across all rooms. That ceiling height matters more than most people realise — it means you can stack shelving or boxes four to five layers deep and make the vertical space work for you.

Units available: 10, 16, 25, 35, 50, 75, 100, 125, 150, 175, 200, and 250 sq ft.

Roughly the size of: a large wardrobe or tall telephone box

Fits: 10–15 boxes, a bike, seasonal gear, important documents, sports equipment

A 10 sq ft unit is compact — about 2.6ft × 4ft. It's not designed for furniture. What it's built for is anything you need to keep safe but don't need daily access to: a collection of archived paperwork, camping gear that lives in the loft for 10 months of the year, or a couple of suitcases you only unpack on holiday.

For students storing between terms, this size works well for clothing, books, and smaller personal items.

Roughly the size of: a large walk-in wardrobe

Fits: 15–20 boxes, a small sofa, a couple of chairs, or a combination of flat-pack furniture and boxes

A 16 sq ft unit is the smallest size that starts to accommodate light furniture. You can squeeze a single mattress in, or a set of shelving units, alongside a reasonable number of boxes. It's a popular choice for people who are decluttering a room before putting a house on the market — clear out one room at a time without taking on a larger unit than you need.

Roughly the size of: a regular garden shed

Fits: contents of a furnished bedroom — bed frame, mattress, chest of drawers, wardrobe, plus 15–20 small boxes

At 25 sq ft, you're in proper furniture territory. A single bed setup — frame, mattress, a wardrobe, a chest of drawers, bedside table, and a good stack of boxes — fits comfortably if you pack smartly. Put heavy items at the bottom, use the height, and you'll be surprised how much you can get in.

This is also a sensible starting point for business owners needing somewhere to keep a small amount of stock that doesn't belong in the office.

Roughly the size of: a garden shed

Fits: double bed setup, sofa, dining table and chairs, multiple boxes

35 sq ft is one of the most commonly booked sizes. It fits the contents of a double bedroom with room to spare — add a two-seater sofa, a small dining set, and 20–25 boxes, and you're still comfortable. It's the sweet spot for people moving between small rentals when there's a gap between leaving one property and moving into the next.

Roughly the size of: a small studio flat's living space

Fits: living room furniture, double bedroom furniture, appliances, 30+ boxes

Here is where you start thinking in rooms rather than items. A 50 sq ft unit holds the contents of a typical living room and bedroom combined — sofa, coffee table, TV unit, bed frame, mattress, wardrobe, chest of drawers — and still has floor and ceiling space for stacked boxes.

If you're renovating a floor of your home and need to clear everything out, 50 sq ft is usually sufficient for a single-floor clearance.

Roughly the size of: 1 Luton box van

Fits: contents of a one-bedroom house, including kitchen appliances and white goods

75 sq ft is the size we point people toward when they're moving out of a one-bedroom flat and need somewhere to store everything. The rough dimensions — 8ft wide, 9ft deep, 8ft ceiling — create a room you can actually walk into and organise properly.

What typically goes in: double bed, wardrobe, sofa and armchairs, dining set, TV unit, chest of drawers, desk, kitchen appliances, boxes from every room. If you're strategic with vertical space — shelving on the walls, boxes stacked to the ceiling — you can fit a surprising amount.

This size is also popular with small businesses that need to store point-of-sale equipment, seasonal stock, or archived records.

Roughly the size of: a large master bedroom with space to walk around

Fits: contents of a two-bedroom home.

When you're storing the contents of a two-bedroom property, 100 sq ft is usually the starting point of the conversation. You're looking at two bedroom setups — beds, wardrobes, bedside tables — plus living room furniture, a dining set, boxes from the kitchen, hallway, and bathroom, and general household items.

If you have a lot of white goods (American-style fridge, large washing machine, dryer), you might want to size up to 125 sq ft to be comfortable.

Roughly the size of: a medium-sized open-plan living room

Fits: contents of a two-bedroom home including white goods, or a three-bedroom home minus the large furniture

125 sq ft gives you the room to be organised rather than just packed. You can create clear pathways to reach items at the back, label everything systematically, and still have space for all the furniture and boxes from a fully furnished two-bedroom property. It's also the right size for a house-to-house move where you want to access things regularly during the storage period rather than simply locking the door and leaving.

Roughly the size of: a generous living/dining room

Fits: contents of a three-bedroom home, most furniture included

150 sq ft is where three-bedroom households typically land. Three beds with mattresses, full living room, dining room, kitchen items, bathroom, and garage or utility storage — it all fits if you're methodical about how you load. Use furniture strategically: wardrobes can hold boxes inside them, beds can be stored vertically, and sofas can be stacked on their ends.

At this size, having a plan before move-in day saves a lot of time and effort. The Make Space team at each store can give advice on loading strategy — don't underestimate how much the team on-site can help.

Fits: contents of a large three-bedroom or smaller four-bedroom property

175 sq ft is for larger homes where the three-bedroom benchmark doesn't quite stretch. If your three-bed has a study, a conservatory full of furniture, or a substantial garden and outdoor equipment to store alongside household contents, 175 sq ft gives you the extra room to work with.

At this size, we'd recommend reserving the unit in advance and coming in to see the space before move-in day. It makes planning significantly easier.

Roughly the size of: a double garage

Fits: contents of a four-bedroom house, or significant business stock and equipment

200 sq ft units are rarely booked by individuals storing household contents — but when they are, it's usually a family moving temporarily from a large home into a smaller property during a renovation, or someone downsizing from a four-bedroom house who isn't yet ready to part with everything.

For businesses, 200 sq ft becomes practical storage infrastructure — a place to run a proper pick-and-pack operation, store display equipment between events, or hold archive records that need occasional access.

Fits: contents of a five-bedroom property, or substantial commercial inventory

Our largest unit. At 250 sq ft with an 8ft ceiling, this is a serious amount of space. The people booking this size are typically businesses with ongoing storage requirements — e-commerce operations, exhibition and events companies, contractors with tools and equipment — or households in the middle of a major renovation or international relocation where everything needs somewhere to live for an extended period.

The most reliable shortcut is to count the furnished rooms you're clearing. One bedroom = 25–35 sq ft. Two bedrooms + living room = 75–100 sq ft. Each additional room adds roughly 25–35 sq ft to the estimate.

The items that cause problems are rarely the obvious furniture. It's the garden tools, the bikes, the framed artwork, the TV on its stand. Make a list of anything large or oddly shaped before you estimate a size.

If you're storing for a short period and won't need access, you can pack more tightly and go smaller. If you'll be visiting regularly — pulling out boxes, swapping items — build in enough space to create a working aisle. A unit you can't navigate efficiently is a unit you'll dread visiting.

The cost difference between adjacent sizes is rarely significant. The frustration of a unit that's 15% too small is disproportionate to that cost difference. If you're on the fence between two sizes, go with the larger one.

At Make Space, you're not locked in to the size you start with. If you move in and realise you need more room, or find you're paying for space you don't use, speak to the team. We'll sort out a transfer. No penalties, no drama.

Packing quality. Well-packed boxes stack better, stack higher, and waste less space than hastily filled ones. A uniform box size makes a real difference. We sell quality boxes in-store if you need them — including twin-walled boxes that let you stack higher without crushing the contents.

Vertical storage. At Make Space, all units have 8ft ceilings. Every unit you book has the same height. Use it. Flat-pack shelving, wardrobe frames turned on their sides to create shelving rows, boxes stacked from floor to ceiling along the walls — these approaches can effectively double the usable capacity of a mid-size unit.

Disassembly. Bed frames, dining tables, and large wardrobes take up far less space when flat-packed. If you're storing furniture for more than a month, it's worth the twenty minutes with a screwdriver.

Every Make Space location has a space estimator tool on-site and online. But the simplest way to get a reliable answer is to call the store directly — our teams have helped thousands of customers make this decision and can usually give you a confident recommendation based on a two-minute conversation about what you're storing.

All three stores — Horsham in West Sussex, Clapton in East London, and Billericay in Essex — have the full range of sizes available, and you can move in on the same day you enquire.

If you're moving house and want to understand how storage fits into the process, our guide to storage for moving home covers the practical side in detail.

A 75 sq ft unit is the standard benchmark. It comfortably fits a double bed, wardrobe, sofa, dining set, and boxes from every room. If your flat is on the larger side or you have significant kitchen appliances, consider 100 sq ft.

A 50 sq ft unit is approximately 6.3ft × 8ft with an 8ft ceiling. In practice, it's similar in floor area to a small studio living room. It holds the furniture from one or two rooms plus a collection of boxes.

At Make Space, our smallest unit is 10 sq ft — roughly the size of a large wardrobe. It's suited to boxes, bikes, seasonal gear, and documents rather than furniture.

Yes. At Make Space, you can transfer to a different size at any time, subject to availability. Speak to the team at your store, and they'll arrange it.

Pricing scales with size, but not always linearly. The jump from a 50 sq ft to a 75 sq ft unit typically adds less to your bill than the difference in space suggests. Get a quote for accurate current pricing.

All Make Space units have 8ft ceilings. This is consistent across all sizes and all three stores.

Neither extreme is ideal. A slightly larger unit where you can create clear aisles and access things easily is usually better value in practice than a crammed unit you dread opening. Pack methodically, use vertical space, and don't sacrifice access if you'll be visiting regularly.

Yes — all three Make Space stores sell boxes, including twin-walled boxes designed for stacking. You get a free £20 box voucher when you get a storage quote, and if there’s anything you purchase that you don’t end up using, simply bring it back for a refund!

It depends on how many rooms you're clearing. A single room renovation typically needs 35–50 sq ft. Clearing an entire floor needs 75–100 sq ft. A whole-house renovation usually warrants 150 sq ft or more. Call the store and describe the rooms you're clearing — the team can give a confident recommendation in minutes.

Yes. All three stores offer business storage across the full range of unit sizes, including drive-up units at Horsham and Billericay. There's no fixed contract, and you can scale up or down as your storage needs change.