With over 16 years experience and 160,000 five-star reviews, AnyVan is the nation’s most trusted moving company and Angus has lots of helpful tips on how to move your belongings to and from storage.
Moving your whole home into storage is a big task – I see people underestimate the time they need to pack all the time. How long it’ll take really depends on how big your property is and how much of it you’re moving into storage. I usually recommend you get started 2-3 weeks before your move.
Take it one box at a time. Start with boxing up the things you can live without, and don’t forget you might need to dismantle furniture too – it can quickly take up your evenings and weekends! Items you use everyday, like your kettle, the cereal cupboard, and kids cots etc. should be the last things you pack away.
So, you have a couple of options when it comes to moving your things into storage. What’s going to work best for you will depend on how much you have to move and your budget.
If you have a car and just a few small boxes to move then DIY-ing it is going to be quick and easy. I’d make sure that all your items fit ahead of time or you’ll be playing an unwinnable game of Tetris on moving day!
Another option is to hire a van and drive to and from the storage unit yourself. This might seem pretty cost effective at first but make sure you’ve factored in the time you’ll need to pick up and drop off your van, fuel and insurance. If you’re moving large or heavy items, you’ll need to rope in some help. If you value your friendships, this might not be the smartest solution…
This is usually the best option if you have large furniture, appliances or a lot of boxes to move. They’ll do the heavy lifting and drive your belongings to the storage unit. But, it can take a while to get quotes to compare – that’s why AnyVan gives you an instant price and assigns you a vetted, local team, so you don’t have to worry about it.
If you’re moving a home into storage – a large one-bed with furniture, or bigger – you’ll want a removals service. As well as loading up the van and delivering them to storage, most removal companies will also offer packing and furniture assembly. Make sure you’re choosing a reliable partner so that everything arrives safely though – you can check their reviews on Trustpilot to see what real customers have said.
Some things like antiques and pianos need specialist expertise to move them, so, you’ll definitely want a team with experience in these types of moves.
Ultimately, it comes down to what works for you and your budget but, if your stuff is worth enough to you to put into storage, it’s worth finding a safe pair of hands to handle it. Don’t forget, you’ll need to do this all over again when you’re ready to move out of storage. If you don’t know when you’re moving out of storage, AnyVan has flexible moving dates all year round, so we can get you moving with as little as 24 hours notice.
I could give a TEDTalk on packing! But, bottom line, if you pack well for the move into storage, then your stuff should be fine while you store it.
If you do the packing yourself I’d recommend using boxes over bags – everything will stack better, which means it’s less likely to get crushed and you’ll have more room in your van and your storage unit. You’ll also want to cover any soft fabrics, like sofas or cushions, with sheets or blankets to protect them from dust or damage when you’re moving them.
If someone else is helping you pack and move your stuff, like a removal company, check what insurance they have – you don’t want your belongings getting damaged on their way into storage. AnyVan offers £50,000 fire and theft cover as standard on every move, but we also offer a Protection+ option for extra peace of mind. There’s nothing worse that moving something to storage just to find it’s been scratched on the way in!
This can be a bit of a minefield if you don’t keep an inventory. The quickest way to do this is to create an itemised list of everything you’re storing while you pack it up. I know it’s a little extra effort, but it’ll be worth its weight in gold when you’re moving out of storage or wondering where all your camping gear has disappeared to.
Something as simple as labelling your boxes with what each box contains makes it easy to cross-reference your inventory. Also, think about when you move out of storage or if you’re planning to take some things out of storage before the rest – place everything you’ll want access to first at the front of your storage unit.
If you choose a company that charges hourly rates then you’ll pay a minimum for 1 hour, usually £50-£100 for a man and a van. It’ll also be more if you need more than one pair of hands. But be careful – run over by just a couple of minutes and you’ll be charged for another hour. In my experience, people usually regret this choice!
That’s why AnyVan’s prices are based on the amount you’re looking to move and the distance to or from your storage unit. If you’re just moving a few pieces of furniture or some boxes then this could be as little as £26, but if you need to move most of your home into storage, expect to pay more. For smaller moves, this could be £200+ and for larger homes £1,000 or more. Our pricing is transparent so your quote will include a clear breakdown. If you can, I always recommend moving on a weekday as it’s usually cheaper.
Remember, if you’re storing your home before you find a new place to live, then you’ll need to factor in the cost to and from storage. It’s worth getting a few quotes to make sure you’re getting good value.
Absolutely! We understand how quickly things can change so we offer last-minute moves with as little as 24 hours notice. We’ve made this even easier for people moving out of Access Self Storage, so all you need to do is tell us if you’re moving in or out of storage, the size of the storage unit and where it is, and we’ll give you an instant quote. We have over 3,600 moving teams across the county so we’re almost always able to help!
Got your storage sorted and ready to book your move to or from your Access Self Storage unit? Get an instant price now at https://www.anyvan.com/partners/access-self-storage.