The word “household contents” is one of the terms in the German vocabulary that everyone understands immediately, without really knowing what is actually included in the collective term. Household contents becomes one of the most important points of dispute when it comes to divorces, inheritances, or insurance cover against natural disasters and crime.
Household contents is among the essential, and most valuable, property that a household can have. That is why the decision to part with it is never taken lightly. With the increasing range of storage services for private households, many households decide to rent storage space instead of throwing their items away or selling them cheaply.
Several storage options are available, including traditional self storage and Full Service Storage, where, in addition to conventional storage, collection and return delivery of the household contents are also included.
Before you hand your precious household goods over for storage, you should consider the following points.
What counts as household contents, and what does not?
Household contents generally refers to all movable items that are located in a household in an apartment, a house, and the associated ancillary rooms. Insurance companies, in particular household contents insurance policies, however, restrict this interpretation of the term considerably in order to exclude some valuable objects from conventional insurance cover.
The household items and furnishings that household contents insurance regards as conventional household contents are:
- Clothing
- Books, CDs, DVDs, and video games
- Decorations and pictures
- Documents
- Furnishings such as furniture, carpets, lamps, pictures, and decorations
- Electronics, including televisions, stereo systems, gaming consoles, etc.
- Crockery, glasses, and cutlery
- Large and small household appliances
- Lawn mowers
- Sports equipment, including surfboards, inflatable boats, and canoes
- Tools
Items that insurance does not include in standard household contents insurance and that are covered only for an additional charge or with additional insurance include:
- Antiques
- Cash
- Stamp and coin collections
- Art, including paintings, sculptures, drawings, graphics, etc.
- Furs
- Jewelry and other valuables made of precious metals and stones
- Certificates
- Securities and passbooks
- Weapons
- Valuable carpets such as genuine Persian and Oriental carpets
If you want to store all or part of your household contents, you must take these restrictions of liability insurance into account. As a rule, the valuable items listed are excluded from self storage or Full Service Storage.
Hazardous materials and highly flammable substances such as chemicals, solvents, petrol, gas cylinders, explosives, weapons, and ammunition, which can endanger both the stored household contents and the entire surrounding area, may also not be stored in self storage.
When should you store your household contents?
Affordable housing in German cities is becoming ever more expensive and, on an uncertain real estate market, many households these days are not very inclined to move or give up their apartment or house when circumstances change.
Many households therefore decide to create space by storing superfluous or rarely used items outside the home. The most frequently cited reasons for storing household contents off site include:
- Family changes such as new partnerships, separations, or additions to the family
- Moving
- Inheritance
- Renovation
- Need for a home office for professional reasons or when starting a business
- Subletting of a room or apartment
- Stays abroad and longer trips
Many households quickly find that their own storage options such as the cellar, attic, or garage have their limits and in most cases are already overcrowded.
Self storage offers rapid availability and, if you order Full Service Storage, even the logistical part, such as transport and carrying heavy items, can be delegated to others.
What you absolutely must consider before storing your household contents
Your entire household contents are usually also a large part of your property and, besides the considerable financial value, also have a certain emotional value. That is why, when choosing your storage option, you should always consider the following points:
- Is the future storage space dry and or climate controlled?
- Are ventilation and air circulation systems available?
- Does the storage space landlord keep the premises clean and free of rodents and other pests?
- Is there sufficient security monitoring such as CCTV or security guards?
- Does your household contents insurance also cover storing your household contents outside your own four walls?
- Do you have sufficient transport for your household contents and the necessary muscles to carry heavy items and furniture?
- Are aids such as sack trucks, pallet jacks, and ramps provided to you at the storage facility, or do you have to bring these yourself?
You should also ensure that your self storage landlord offers enough parking spaces in the immediate vicinity of the entrance door. Wide corridors, doors, and elevators are also necessary to ensure smooth storage of large household items.
If even at the stage of organization and logistics the storage is becoming too much for you, or you do not have time to do it yourself, you should consider Full Service Storage. This not only takes collection and return delivery as well as transport off your hands, but often also the carrying of items and the headache over correct storage and proper stacking.
Full Service providers usually provide you with trained staff who assist you with all steps of storing household contents.
How do you store specific household items?
As already mentioned, household contents consists of a range of dissimilar items which, due to their materials, also require different storage conditions and requirements.
To store your household contents properly over a shorter or longer period of time and to prevent them from being damaged in the process, you must take safety measures. These depend on the type of household contents.
Furniture
Even with furnishings and furniture you will encounter different materials that you need to take particular care of when storing.
Regardless of whether these are built in units or individual pieces of furniture, you should always dismantle your furniture properly before storage and break it down into individual parts as far as possible. This not only saves space, and therefore rent, but also ensures safe storage.
When storing furniture, you should pay attention not only to the packaging but also to the way you store the items. Make sure that stacks are secured and balanced. Upholstered furniture may at first glance offer additional storage surface, but should never be loaded with heavy items over a longer period of time. The same applies to mattresses, which lose their shape when loaded with heavy things.
Note that, in the event of any damage in storage, liability insurers pay compensation only if proper storage and stacking were ensured during storage.
Electronics
While most people think only of entertainment when it comes to electronics, the category of electronic household items includes a whole range of products, including:
- Computers, laptops, and printers
- Televisions
- Speakers
- Stereo systems
- Game consoles
- Cameras and digital photo frames
- Vacuum cleaners
- Kitchen machines
- Chargers
- Lamps and lights
- Remote controlled toys and drones
To ensure safe and clean storage of electronics over a longer period of time, you should keep them in their original packaging. If the original boxes are no longer available, you should find cartons of an appropriate size that reliably protect the devices from moisture and dust during storage.
Ensure that all batteries are removed before packing and disposed of properly. Make sure that remote controls and remote control units are always packed with the corresponding device. Gaps in the cartons should be carefully filled with filler material and void fill.
Make sure that screens and monitors are stored upright and are not subjected to weight. Cables should, if possible, be removed and rolled up to avoid kinks and breaks. Use antistatic ESD foil when packing your electronic household items in order to protect them from electrostatic discharges.
Kitchen fittings and household appliances
Fitted kitchens, kitchen cupboards, and kitchen islands must be professionally dismantled and packed before storage to save space and ensure safe storage.
As with wooden furniture, you should wrap the individual components in cardboard or other breathable packaging materials to ensure air circulation while protecting against dust, knocks, and scuffs.
With large household appliances such as:
- Cookers and ovens
- Refrigerators and freezers or freezer chests
- Dishwashers
- Washing machines
- Dryers
- Microwaves
Make sure that before storage they are not only completely cleaned but possibly also disinfected. This prevents mold and stops rodents and pests from being attracted unnecessarily. Also ensure that the hoses are drained and securely attached to the corresponding appliances. Roll up the power cords and protect the plugs with cardboard.
When placing the appliances in your storage facility, prevent the doors of the household appliances from being closed in order to avoid musty odors and ensure air circulation.
Smaller kitchen appliances, including air fryers, smoothie makers, coffee machines, etc., should be packed and stored in the same way as electronics.
Crockery, cutlery, and glasses must all be packed individually. Use plenty of packing material such as bubble wrap, corrugated cardboard, filler material, and foam wrap to protect your most fragile household contents. Once all individual components of your kitchen accessories are wrapped sufficiently, you should store the items in sturdy boxes.
Many self storage providers, especially Full Service landlords, offer sturdy plastic crates for sale or for rent that are excellent for storing household contents.
Before storing your large and smaller kitchen household goods, make sure that all items are truly dry. Damp items in storage or in boxes not only increase humidity, but also soften cartons and lead to mold and bad odors.
Clothing
The clothing of an entire household is among the household contents that take up the most space and have the annoying habit of spreading throughout the entire living space. When wardrobes are overcrowded and you can barely reach the front door because the wardrobe takes up all the space, most households decide to declutter and divide the clothing by season.
When properly storing winter items and summer items, you should take the following safety measures so that you can enjoy your clothing in the next season as well:
- Always wash your clothes before storage and make sure they are completely dry before you pack them
- Use vacuum bags to protect your textiles from moisture and dust, and to save space
- Sort your clothes sensibly before you seal the bags or boxes, do not mix summer items with winter items, and clearly label categories such as evening wear, sportswear, work clothing, etc.
- If you store textiles such as towels, duvet covers, curtains, or blankets, label these well
- If you do not use vacuum packaging, apply moth protection before storage
When storing textiles, the right climate control and humidity in your storage facility are of particular importance because fabrics and textiles are particularly susceptible. Therefore, before storage, ensure that a temperature of 23°C and a humidity of 50% are not exceeded. Sunlight and UV rays can also prove fatal for your favorite sweater.
Files, papers, and documents
When decluttering household contents, many households end up with an unexpected mountain of papers and documents that cannot all be thrown away. On the one hand, the tax office has determined that certain files must be kept safe and undamaged for ten years. On the other hand, the pile of papers also includes documents such as annual payslips or contracts that you may not need for years or even decades, but that then become extremely important when applying for a pension and in a legal context.
To store documents and papers safely and retrievably, note the following:
- Sort your documents properly by date, criterion, and category
- Use sturdy archive boxes that are suitable for longer storage
- Use acid free folders and boxes so the packaging does not deteriorate prematurely
- Avoid paper clips and oxidizing materials that can affect your documents later
- Label archive boxes and crates clearly so that you and other authorized persons can find them quickly
Here too, the rule applies that you should rent a clean, dry, and secure storage unit to guarantee the continued existence of your files.
How much does storing household contents cost?
The price for storing your household items in self storage depends on several factors:
Amount of household contents
The rent for your storage unit depends on the storage area that your stored household contents take up. It is important not only to look at the price per square meter, but also at the total volume of the storage space. With smart packing and careful preparation, household contents can be stacked vertically to make the best possible use of the space. If you know how much storage space you actually need, use a storage space calculator online.
Length of the rental contract
As a rule, the longer you commit to storing your household contents in self storage, the cheaper the monthly rent becomes. However, before signing the contract, make sure that the landlord does not reserve the right to increase the rent arbitrarily. You normally receive further discounts if you pay the rent for a longer period in advance.
Location
Besides the amount of your household contents, your location is also decisive for the rental price of a storage unit. In German major cities where housing is scarce, including Berlin, München, Hamburg, or Frankfurt, storage rents are generally more expensive than in smaller cities. A storage room of 1 m² in Berlin can, for example, cost 19 €, while a storage space of the same size in Münster is around 13 € per m².
Additional costs
When storing household contents, pay attention to additional costs. You need certain climate conditions and well monitored premises to ensure security. Ask your self storage provider what is included in the rent, and what is not.
Transport costs
Your household contents have to be brought both to and from the storage facility. You will also probably want to pick up or inspect items in between. Factor in transport costs or freight forwarding prices as well as possibly your lost working time. Here you might consider Full Service Storage, where transport and professional storage by trained staff are included in the price.
Insurance
As a rule, your household contents are covered by your household contents insurance. However, make sure that the insurance cover is also valid when stored outside the home. Many self storage and Full Service landlords also offer basic or additional insurance.
Packing material
If you are planning to store your household contents, you should also consider the costs of packing. Besides cartons and crates, you need large amounts of bubble wrap, corrugated cardboard, corner and edge protection, labels, small plastic bags, and adhesive tape. You can make the work easier by renting crates intended specifically for storage from your storage provider.
Which self storage option is best suited for your household?
In Germany, very different solutions for storing household contents are offered today. You can rent all kinds of sizes of storage units and even entire warehouses.
The level of service of self storage and Full Service providers differs and can usually be adapted to your needs.
Anyone who sends their household contents either entirely or partly into storage is usually already in a stressful situation and wants to complete the storage process as quickly as possible.
Added to this are concerns regarding suitable transport, taking leave from work for storage, which can take up an entire day, and possibly the organization of childcare.
In many cases, Full Service Storage may therefore be appropriate for you and your household. Your household contents are collected from your home, transported to the storage facility, and stored properly.
If you want to put all your property into storage, you should perhaps book a freight forwarding company and also commission it with the storage.
In both cases, you save time, money, and other hassle. At the same time, your household contents are stored securely and set up by professionals who deal day after day with professional household contents storage.
