Storing Furniture: Options, Costs, Tips, and Checklist

Furniture and household items are things you absolutely need, but they can also pile up quickly. Good furniture is not cheap, so most people think twice before putting it out for bulk trash pickup or giving it away. Self storage was created to offer an alternative to rushed, poorly thought-out decisions. Instead of throwing away good but unnecessary furniture out of frustration, different storage options give you the ability to keep your items in dry, secure, and clean storage facilities for either a short or long period of time. If your basement or attic is already packed to the ceiling, the following options are available for furniture storage:

• Rent a storage container at home
• Rent an off-site storage container
• Rent a garage
• Rent a self storage unit or storage box
• Rent full-service storage with pickup, delivery, and transportation

Below, we take a closer look at the pros and cons of the different furniture storage options and how to store furniture properly.

Why Furniture Gets Put Into Storage

There are many reasons why you may suddenly end up with more furniture than you can use. Moving into a smaller apartment, major life changes such as an inheritance, the birth of a child, a separation, a new relationship, or home renovations can all leave extra furniture without a place to go. Other reasons include spending time abroad for school or work, as well as seasonal needs, such as storing patio furniture. Unexpected events such as burst pipes or fire damage also require a fast solution to keep furniture safe, at least temporarily. How long you need to store your furniture depends on your personal situation. If you are renovating your apartment or home, you may only want to protect your furniture for a short time from dust and mess caused by contractors. If you are planning to spend a year abroad, your household goods will need a new home for a longer period of time. If you inherit an entire household, long-term furniture storage may become necessary to avoid being forced to sell items simply because you do not have enough space. No matter how long you store your furniture, you should always document the condition of your items with photographs, especially if you hire someone else to handle transportation and storage. This documentation can help later if you need to file an insurance claim.

What Type of Furniture Do You Want to Store, and for How Long?

The word furniture is a broad term for household items that serve different purposes. Cabinets and shelving units are used to hold and store belongings. Upholstered furniture and beds are made for sitting or lying down, while tables and benches provide a surface or place for everyday activities. Different uses require different materials. Armchairs and sofas often contain a large amount of fabric or leather. Cabinets are usually made of wood or wood-based materials, while shelving units and tables may be made of metal, wood, or glass. Different materials require different storage conditions. Glass needs a different type of protection than wood, and fabrics require different storage methods than metal. All furniture items that go into storage have one thing in common: they do not tolerate moisture or major temperature changes well. Especially for mid-term storage of more than three months or long-term storage of more than one year, the climate conditions in your storage facility become extremely important. Even after short-term but improper storage of three months or less, your furniture may show damage or at least develop an unpleasant odor if your storage space does not provide good ventilation. If your furniture will also serve as storage space for other items while it is in storage, you need to take those items into account as well. Files, books, and household goods, whether boxed or unboxed, should receive additional protection. You should already consider all of these requirements when taking your furniture apart. This is especially true if kitchen appliances and other household appliances, such as refrigerators, stoves, freezers, TVs, and similar items, are also part of what you plan to store. Do not forget to take photo evidence of the condition of your furniture and its contents, and store those photos somewhere you can easily find them later.

Which Type of Storage Option Is Right for You?

If walking through your living space increasingly feels like an obstacle course and, after several stubbed toes and bruised shins, you start thinking about an alternative storage solution for your furniture, several options will probably come to mind. Before making a decision, however, you should consider the following points if you are thinking about a do-it-yourself storage solution:

Do you have enough space to store your furniture on your property?

↓

If not, do you have access to a van or truck to transport the furniture to a self storage facility?

↓

Can you take time off work to organize and complete the transportation and storage process?

↓

Do you need to arrange other things, such as child care during the move?

↓

Do you have enough packing materials, including moving blankets, bubble wrap, and boxes, to protect your furniture?

↓

Can you move your furniture yourself, or do you need extra help to carry heavy items such as cabinets, sofas, and bed frames?

If even one of these points gives you a headache, you may want to consider full-service storage. With this furniture storage option, the storage provider handles transportation, lifting, storage, and return delivery of your stored items. In many cases, you can also rent suitable containers for transportation.

Is a Basement or Garage Enough?

Most people first look for a solution at home. The basement, attic, or garage usually comes to mind. However, each of these options has its limitations and can even create unsafe or prohibited conditions:

Basement

At first glance, your own basement may seem like the ideal solution. Everything stays in your home and under your supervision, you do not have to carry items far, and you save on transportation. Before you can properly store furniture in a basement, however, you may face significant costs. The basement not only needs to be protected against moisture and temperature swings. You also need to ventilate, climate-control, and/or heat the space year-round to prevent mold and decay. Then there are pests such as rodents, moths, and other insects that may be waiting for a comfortable place to settle into your belongings.

Attic

The attic is also close to your living space, but it can quickly become a serious safety risk if you overload it with heavy furniture. Before you start moving cabinets, shelving units, sofas, and armchairs upstairs, remember that your attic is also the ceiling above your living space. If you place too much weight in the attic, the ceiling above you could fail. Even if you were to come through a ceiling collapse unharmed, you would likely find out quickly that your insurance may not cover the damage.

Garage

In dense U.S. cities such as New York, garage and parking space can be limited, yet many homeowners and renters still consider using the garage to store furniture and other household goods. What you are allowed to store in a garage depends on your lease, building rules, HOA policy, local fire-safety codes, and insurance terms. In many cases, a garage is primarily intended for your vehicle. You may also be allowed to store items related to your vehicle, such as tools, tires, a limited number of gas cans, lubricants, and spare parts. Using a garage as long-term furniture storage may violate your lease, building rules, or insurance terms, so it is important to check the applicable rules before turning your garage into a furniture storage space.

How Much Does It Cost to Store Furniture?

Once you realize that storing furniture at home may not be the best solution after all, you may worry that renting a storage unit will be unaffordable. In most cases, self storage rent is far less expensive than remodeling a basement to make it suitable for furniture storage, or repairing major damage after an overloaded attic causes structural problems. You also avoid a lot of stress and potential consequences by keeping your garage available for its intended use. The rent for your self storage unit depends on several factors:

• Your location
• The size of the storage space you need
• The length of the rental agreement
• Additional services
• Additional costs and fees

Location

As with apartment rents and home prices, self storage rates are influenced by supply and demand. In large cities with limited living space, including New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Boston, and Seattle, storage space is usually more expensive than in smaller cities or suburban areas. You can often save significantly on rental costs by choosing a self storage provider outside the city center or dense urban areas. Storage facilities in industrial areas, often near highway exits, are usually less expensive than storage units in central neighborhoods.

Storage Space

Your rent is based on a price per square foot set by your storage provider. In general, the price per square foot becomes lower the larger the storage space you need. When determining the amount of storage space, remember that some furniture can also be stacked vertically. For this reason, you should consider not only the floor area of your storage unit, but also the total volume, measured in cubic feet. If you are not sure how much storage space you need for your furniture, many self storage and full-service storage providers offer a storage unit size calculator to help you estimate the required square footage.

Rental Agreement Length

If you already know how long you want to keep your furniture in self storage, this can affect your rent. The longer you rent a self storage unit, the more discounts you may usually be able to receive from your storage provider. When signing the agreement, however, pay attention to transparent and fair terms, including clauses on notice periods and contract duration.

Additional Services

Not all self storage providers are properly equipped for furniture storage. To move heavy or bulky items such as sofas or cabinets into their final storage space, you may need ramps, wide hallways, elevators, and parking close to the storage units. Self storage providers that are fully set up for larger household items and the related conveniences, including hand trucks, pallet jacks, or forklifts, usually charge a slightly higher price per square foot. In return, you save yourself a lot of trouble and logistical headaches. Full-service providers go one step further by offering not only secure storage space, but also transportation, pickup, return delivery, and, under certain conditions, carrying services for the furniture. Here too, the rental price may be slightly higher, but you save on transportation costs and the need to book a rental van or moving crew.

Additional Costs and Fees

As with apartment rentals, self storage rentals may involve additional costs, including:

• Insurance
• Fire protection
• Security costs such as CCTV/video surveillance
• Possibly electricity and heating/air conditioning
• Cleaning/trash removal

Whether these costs are included in the rent or charged separately depends on your self storage provider. Read your agreement carefully so you do not face unpleasant surprises when the bill arrives.

What Is the Best Way to Store Furniture?

Before your furniture disappears from the path of bruised shins and aching toes, you need to make a few preparations. These include safely packing your furniture and making sure it remains protected during storage.

How Do You Pack Furniture Before Storage?

Properly protecting the furniture you plan to store begins with disassembly. Make sure you have all necessary tools on hand before you start, including a set of often-overlooked Allen wrenches. To ensure safe transportation and space-saving storage, you should disassemble all furniture as much as possible. Remove all shelves from shelving units, doors from cabinets, and glass tops from tables. After taking apart each item, remember to place screws, nuts, and shelf supports in a separate bag. Label the bag and attach it to one of the individual parts with string. Avoid Scotch tape or adhesive tape directly on furniture, as it can leave marks, especially during long-term storage. If you have items with many individual parts, label them properly to make reassembly later as smooth as possible. After disassembly, focus on suitable packing. Make sure you have enough good-quality packing materials, including bubble wrap, moving blankets, and corner and edge protectors. Boxes and corrugated cardboard can also be useful when storing smaller furniture such as nightstands and shelving units. Also remember that glass items such as mirrors, cabinet doors, and tabletops should always be packed separately and individually, for example in bubble wrap, and clearly labeled so they are handled with special care during transportation and storage. Corner and edge protectors help ensure that delicate wood and metal parts do not get unattractive scratches, scuffs, or chipped corners during transport or later rearranging inside the storage facility. Make sure your furniture is well stabilized during transportation and storage, and that individual items cannot fall onto others. At the same time, remember that many pieces of furniture can be stored upright after proper disassembly, helping you save valuable storage space.

How Do You Protect Furniture From Moisture and Dust?

The first requirement for properly storing furniture, regardless of material, is a dry, well-ventilated, climate-controlled storage unit. Moisture can affect all of your furniture. Metal can rust if humidity is too high, armchair and sofa upholstery can develop mold, and wood can swell when exposed to too much moisture. Even glass and mirrors can be permanently damaged by moisture. For this reason, make sure you use the right packing material for each piece of furniture. Cover upholstered furniture with breathable moving blankets designed for that purpose. Avoid plastic so moisture does not build up and quickly turn into mold. Use corrugated cardboard instead of plastic to protect wood and patio furniture from dust, and do not forget corner and edge protectors. For mirrors and glass doors, make sure the bubble wrap is not wrapped too tightly around the items and allows some air circulation and ventilation to prevent moisture buildup.

Checklist for Proper Furniture Storage

Anyone who wants to store furniture is probably already dealing with a stressful situation that can quickly turn into chaos. Checklists help you keep a clear head and complete the process in the right order. Here is our checklist for storing furniture and household items.

Which Steps Should You Take, and in What Order?

Determine Your Storage Needs

Your journey into the world of storage begins with realizing that you have too much furniture and need to place it somewhere else. Take a close look at your extra furniture to determine what type of storage fits the quantity and size of the items. Find a self storage or full-service storage provider that can accept your furniture.

↓

Book Transportation

Book transportation for your items. Moving companies often do not have immediate availability, so it is worth booking early. If you want to handle storage yourself, you will need to look for a cargo van or even a moving truck. However, if you plan ahead, you can book a full-service provider from the start that includes transportation, allowing you to skip this step.

↓

Declutter

Open all cabinets, desks, dresser drawers, and similar furniture to see what is inside. Be strict and throw away anything you are sure you no longer need. Go through your shelves and remove books you will never read again and DVD/CD collections that have been made unnecessary by streaming subscriptions. Empty the shelves and pack everything you want to keep long term into boxes or bins.

↓

Disassemble the Furniture

Take your furniture apart properly. Do not forget to place small parts in bags and label them.

↓

Pack the Furniture

Wrap your furniture piece by piece in appropriate packing material. Cover upholstered furniture with moving blankets and pay special attention to protecting fragile or vulnerable items. Do not forget to label the packed furniture so you can easily identify it when it is returned.

↓

Load the Vehicle

On storage day, load the vehicle. Make sure the items are stabilized and cannot tip over. If you booked full-service storage, you can probably skip this step and the following steps.

↓

Place Items in Their Final Storage Space

Inside your storage unit, make sure you arrange your furniture in a space-saving way. Ensure sensitive furniture does not stand directly on bare concrete flooring, and keep aisles clear so you can access all of your items at any time. This step is also handled for you with full-service storage.

↓

Secure the Stored Furniture

Before you breathe a sigh of relief, close the door, and return happily to your now-tidy home, make sure your belongings are properly secured. Is your furniture stored behind proper locks and barriers? Is there CCTV/video surveillance? Do you have the right insurance coverage for your stored items? This step is usually not necessary with full-service storage rentals.

Which Packing Materials Do You Need?

In addition to the furniture storage checklist, you should also create a shopping list for packing materials and tools to make sure you do not suddenly find yourself without what you need during disassembly. You should have the following materials on hand when taking furniture apart:

• Bubble wrap on large rolls. Please note that bubble wrap is not suitable for wood furniture or fabrics.
• Breathable moving blankets in the right size for your upholstered furniture. These come in sizes from about 59 in x 79 in to 79 in x 118 in. Measure your upholstered furniture to determine the number and size you need.
• Plenty of corner and edge protectors to protect shelving frames and table legs from bumps during storage.
• Corrugated cardboard, which can be used as a base during disassembly and also as packing material for individual items.
• Large boxes or moving bins. These are available up to an XXL size of about 25 in x 11.4 in x 12.7 in. If you rent full-service storage, moving bins are usually offered for rent.
• Packing tape to close boxes and properly secure packing material.
• Labels, bags, and string so you can label your furniture and the individual parts that belong to it.
• Tools, including screwdrivers in different types, such as flathead and Phillips screwdrivers, Allen wrenches, and pliers for stubborn shelf supports, for example.

You can cover all your packing needs with one visit to your local hardware store. In addition, all packing materials are also available online, and many self storage and full-service storage providers offer proper storage supplies that you can buy on-site.