No. Nothing in our storage terms requires you to use our boxes, and our price pages list boxes as an optional extra. Free boxes, second-hand boxes, a removal firm's boxes, your own business cartons, plastic crates and suitcases can all go in your unit. What matters is the box, not where it came from: strong enough for its load (double-wall for anything heavy or fragile), in a few matching sizes so it stacks, clean of food, and dry. If you'd rather buy, our online Box Shop sells double-wall boxes from £3.50 each, or £25 for ten medium boxes (sale prices on 23 September 2026).
Storing stock or files, clearing a relative's home, or already renting a unit from us? There's a short section for each further down.
What makes a box good for storage
On moving day a box only has to last a few hours in a van. In a unit it may carry others for months. Our own packing guides set out what that asks of it:
| Look for | Why | From our guides |
|---|---|---|
| Double-wall board for heavy or fragile things | It resists crushing under a stack | "Avoid single-walled or grocery store boxes for anything fragile or heavy." |
| A few matching sizes | Faces line up and the stack carries weight evenly | "Uniform box size helps stacking; mixing small, medium and large boxes leads to unstable piles." |
| Boxes filled to the top and sealed | A half-empty box sinks under the one above | Double-walled boxes, "well taped and filled to the top before sealing, are entirely adequate for a shorter stay" |
| No food history | Crumbs and smells draw pests | "Do not store food, crumbs or anything perishable, because that is what draws insects and rodents in the first place." |
| Dry, with no damp marks | Damp weakens cardboard and spoils what's inside | "Every item going into the unit should be dry when it goes in." |
Our terms back up the food point. You can't store "food or perishable goods unless securely packed so they are protected from and do not attract vermin" (clause 18(a)). An empty produce box isn't food, but it can carry the crumbs and smell that attract pests, so give each one the look-and-sniff test, and recycle any that fail.
The box also matters because of clause 30: your goods are stored "at Your sole risk and responsibility", including "damage to, and deterioration of the Goods caused by any reason". Your belongings must be insured while they're with us, for their Replacement Value (clause 31), through our contents protection or your own policy. Whether collapse damage is covered depends on your policy (see how to make a claim on storage insurance).
Free and second-hand boxes
Good free boxes are out there if you know where to look.
- Friends and family who've just unpacked: used moving boxes are made for the job.
- Local giveaway sites and marketplaces: Freegle, local community groups and online marketplaces are worth a look.
- Offices: printer-paper boxes are small, which suits books and papers.
- Supermarkets and local shops: ask, as whether they hand boxes over is up to each store. Keep these for light things (see the double-wall row above). Treat a banana box like any other grocery box: light things only and off the bottom of a stack. A produce box with any food residue or smell stays out of the unit, however sturdy it looks.
Before a free box goes in, press a corner (if it folds easily in your hand, it will fold under a stack), check the flaps still close flat, and look and sniff for water marks, mould or food. Our guide to whether free moving boxes are good enough for storage goes into more detail.
Plastic crates and bags
Crates are allowed too, and our house-move packing guide rates plastic totes for longer stays: "Plastic totes stack perfectly, close securely, and are waterproof to a point." It says to "avoid cardboard for long-stay soft items where a sealed tote does the job better".
Clothes and bedding can go in bags. The same guide says "Seal soft items in totes or bags rather than open boxes", and "Clothing bags and vacuum-pack bags for bedding keep volume down and keep dust out." It calls soft items "the best gap-fillers in the unit", going around furniture and into the spaces between boxes, and says "Put the weight low and the light, soft items high". So bagged clothes go on top or in the gaps, not under boxes.
Crates you already own cost nothing extra. The Box Shop doesn't list plastic crates, so if you want them you'll be buying elsewhere.
Hired crates belong to the hire firm, not to you. Under clause 1(c) of our terms you warrant that you are the owner of the goods in the unit "and/or entitled at law to deal with them", so check that your hire agreement allows the crates to be kept in storage, and that the hire runs as long as your stay.
Buying from our Box Shop, if you want to
Every box listed in our Box Shop is double-walled. These are the prices shown in the shop on 23 September 2026, where each was marked as a sale price:
| Box | Size (mm) | Single | Pack of 10 | Per box in a pack |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Medium | 457 × 330 × 330 | £3.50 (was £4.25) | £25 (was £42.50) | £2.50 |
| Large | 450 × 450 × 500 | £4.50 (was £5.25) | £35 (was £52.50) | £3.50 |
| Extra large (tall) | 450 × 450 × 750 | £5.25 (was £6.25) | £45 (was £62.50) | £4.50 |
Moving kits bundle double-wall boxes with tape and a marker pen: the Student Moving Kit is £35, the Standard Moving Kit £99.99 and the Large Moving Kit £195, and the Standard and Large kits list a roll of bubble wrap in their contents. Our guide to how many boxes you'll need helps you count. Orders are delivered to your door; check the delivery cost at checkout. Our guide to what the Box Shop sells and which size is for what goes through each box and kit. Some sites sell packaging on site; see can I buy boxes at a Wigwam site?
You don't have to choose one or the other. A common-sense mix is new medium boxes for heavy things and the bottom layer, and your best free boxes or crates for light, soft things on top.
Storing business stock or files
Your own shipping cartons, supplier boxes and archive boxes are fine, on the same tests. Our house-move guide says "Stack heavier boxes on the bottom, lighter boxes on top", so archive boxes of files go low in the stack.
Clause 30 also excludes our liability for "loss or damage to Your business, if any, including consequential loss, lost profits or business interruption". So if a collapsed box spoils stock, knock-on costs such as lost sales fall outside our liability: make sure your insurance suits the stock you're storing and its value. If you need invoices for your records, see do you provide VAT invoices for business storage?, and if any of your stock is flammable, read can I store flammable stock for my business? before you pack it.
Clearing a parent's or relative's home
Use what's already in the house. Our packing tips say "Fill drawers, bins and suitcases with smaller items". Give any boxes the corner, flap and sniff test first, and leave out any that smell musty or held food.
If the belongings are a parent's, clause 1(c) has you warrant that you are the owner of the goods or "entitled at law to deal with them in accordance with all aspects of this Agreement as agent for the owner". If your parent is moving because of dementia, see how storage can help when a parent with dementia moves home.
Already storing with us?
You can bring more boxes from anywhere at any visit, during access hours: normally 6am to 10pm (check your site's page and confirm your hours when you book). Stacking a new lot on top of old boxes? Our guide to packing boxes so they stack safely covers what goes where, and labelling boxes for storage helps you find things later.
Ready to store
If you still need a unit, get a price online or call us on 0800 2545585. If you're short of boxes after the free ones run out, the Box Shop delivers.
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