What Size Storage Unit Do You Actually Need? A Practical Guide to Getting It Right

Most people who ring us aren’t sure what size unit they need, and that is completely normal. It is hard to picture a cubic metre in your head. You don’t want to pay for space you won’t use, but you also don’t want to arrive on moving day with a full trailer only to find you haven’t rented enough room.

Getting the size right is the single biggest thing that makes storage feel simple rather than stressful. This guide walks through how to work out what you need, what actually fits in each size, how to pack so you need less space, and the two mistakes that catch people out most often.

Start with what you’re storing, not the size

The common trap is picking a size first and hoping it works. It is far easier to do it the other way around. Walk through each room or area, and write down what is going into storage as you go.

Group your items as you list them: boxes, furniture, whitegoods and appliances, and the awkward things like mattresses, bikes, surfboards or garden gear. Those bulky, odd-shaped items are usually what decides your size, not the boxes. Bikes and children’s toys in particular take up far more room than people expect, so give them a bit of extra allowance.

Removalists think in cubic metres when they estimate space, so if a removalist is moving your things into storage, ask them for their volume estimate and you have your answer. If it is a do-it-yourself job, add up the rough space for each room, total it, and then add around 20 per cent on top as a buffer for the things you have forgotten. Almost everyone forgets something.

One detail people overlook is height. KeepSafe units run from 2.4m to 3.0m tall, so you have real vertical space to use. Sturdy, well-packed boxes stack safely, and once you factor the height in you often need less floor area than you first thought.

A quick size guide

Our units range from 1m² up to 26m², in a wide variety of shapes. Every situation is different, so treat the guide below as a starting point rather than a guarantee. When you are stuck between two sizes, go up: a little spare room costs far less than a second move.

Vehicle storage is available at selected facilities, and it comes with its own requirements, such as the vehicle being in running condition or on a trailer and you arranging your own insurance. Our vehicle storage page covers the detail. Worth knowing too: units of 15m² and above include individual lighting controls, which makes a real difference if you plan to access the unit after dark or spend time organising things inside it.

Pack smart and you’ll need less space

How you pack changes how much space you need, sometimes by a whole unit size. A few habits make the difference:

Disassemble what you can. Bed frames, tables and flat-pack furniture take up a fraction of the room once they are broken down and stood on their edge. Use the height by stacking sturdy boxes rather than spreading everything across the floor. Fill the dead space inside larger items too, so a dresser, washing machine or esky becomes a container for smaller things rather than a hollow box taking up room.

Protect and label as you go. Sturdy boxes of a similar size stack far better than a mix of odd cartons, and furniture covers keep lounges and mattresses clean. Label every box on more than one side and keep a simple inventory list, so you are not opening ten boxes to find one thing. You can pick up boxes, covers and packing materials from our box shop if you need them.

Two mistakes worth avoiding

Sizing for today only. If your renovation might run long, or you are between houses and settlement dates haven’t lined up, the amount you are storing can change week to week. Because storage with us is month-to-month with just seven days notice to vacate, and you can switch to a larger or smaller unit at any time subject to availability, sizing a touch generous and adjusting later is cheap insurance against having to move everything twice.

Forgetting about access. If you will be visiting often, which is common for business stock, tools or files, leave yourself an aisle down the middle and pack the things you will want first nearest the door. It is frustrating to unpack half a unit every time you need something from the back.

Use the calculator, then talk to a person

Our space calculator lets you build a list of what you are storing and gives you an estimated size. It is a good first step and takes a couple of minutes.

That said, a quick phone call with the team often lands it faster. We size units every day, so we can usually tell you whether your “about 10 square metres of stuff” is really closer to 6m² once it is packed well. Getting it there is easy too: many of our facilities offer a free move-in truck, van or trailer for new customers, covered by KeepSafe’s own insurance with a $100 excess, which takes the transport headache out of your first load.

Ready to sort your storage?

Once you have a rough size in mind, you can book a unit online in a few minutes, or call your nearest facility and we will confirm the right fit before you commit to anything. Our facilities are located across Australia, in Perth, Melbourne, Brisbane and Northern NSW. Pricing scales with the size you choose and the facility, starting from around $2.50 a day, so ask about current pricing when you enquire.

Get the size right and the rest of the process is genuinely simple. And if you are still unsure, that is exactly what the team is there for.