First in: the heavy things, the things that don't stack, and the things you won't need for months, along the back and side walls. Last in: whatever you'll need soonest, right by the door. Two questions decide where everything else goes: how heavy is it, and how soon will I want it? If something is heavy and you need it often, it goes by the door, on the floor, not on top of anything. Leave an aisle down the middle so you can reach the back, and keep the doorway clear. In a small unit, see the next section first. If you're renovating, keeping business stock or storing student things for the summer, there's a short section for you below.
Before you start
"Unit sizes are approximate" (clause 26), so if you have exact requirements, check with us before you sign, and measure the unit on day one. Goods are stored "at Your sole risk and responsibility" (clause 30), so the order matters: heavy low, fragile high, nothing crushed.
In a small unit
The same order applies, packed tighter. Our smallest-unit guide says "Pack it like a wall, heaviest and sturdiest at the bottom and back, lightest and most fragile on top and at the front." A full-width aisle won't fit, so it suggests you "leave a narrow channel to the front if you can". That guide treats the smallest unit (a few boxes and soft bags) and the small unit (one full bedroom) as different sizes, so check which you're booking.
The loading order, back to front
Our guide to what size unit a 3-bed move needs puts the first step simply: "Heavy and non-stacking items go in first, along the back and side walls: white goods upright, dismantled beds flat against a wall, the sofa on its end."
| Load | Zone | What goes there | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Back and side walls | White goods (upright), large furniture, dismantled bed frames, heavy boxes of books, and awkward shapes like stepladders and garden tools you won't need while it's stored | A stable base, and the hardest things to move twice or build around |
| 2nd | Middle | Sealed boxes and furniture you won't need while it's stored | Out of the way, but not blocking the aisle |
| Last | By the door | The boxes you'll want first, fragile boxes, anything you'll visit for, including things you'll need partway through, like bikes or seasonal decorations; heavy kit you'll use every week, low on the floor | You can reach them without unstacking |
Our house-move packing guide puts it plainly: "The front zone is for anything you might need soon". Something you'll need in month three goes nearer the door than something you'll need in month six.
Keep the aisle open the whole length. For a house move into a larger unit, the house-move guide suggests "sixty to eighty centimetres of clear passage down the centre of the unit." It also suggests keeping box stacks "no more than five boxes high unless the bottom boxes are specifically rated for it." We don't publish heights: see how high our units are.
The last box in is the one you'll want first. Our house-move guide calls it the "DO NOT BURY" box, and it "goes in last so it sits right behind the door."
Any shelving must stand on its own: our terms say you mustn't "paint or make alterations to or attach anything to the internal or external surfaces of the Unit" (clause 22(d)), so nothing screwed to the walls and no hooks.
Mattresses and sofas
For a stay of months, lay a mattress flat on pallets or boards along a wall, early, with nothing on top; for a few weeks it can stand on its long edge against a side wall (how to store a mattress). A sofa can usually go on its end against the back or side wall if its frame can take it, but sofa beds need the maker's say-so and flat-pack sofas and futons are best taken apart (can I stand a sofa on its end?).
Off the floor, with a little air
Before the furniture goes in, put down pallets or boards under it (a sofa stood on its end is the exception: see our sofa page). Our packing tips say to "Use pallets to keep furniture off the floor", and our garden furniture guide adds: "Leave a little air around items rather than compressing everything tight against the walls." So load along the back and side walls, with a small gap behind. Ask us when you book whether your site has pallets.
Anything with a built-in battery (laptops, tablets, battery toys) has its own rule. Our terms require that such goods "are not stacked and are stored allowing air circulation" (clause 20.1(b)), and no more than "ten (10) laptops, tablet computers, children’s toys or other similar items containing built-in batteries" in a unit (clause 20(d)). So keep them out of the box towers, near the front where you can see them. Removable lithium-ion batteries, such as power tool packs, fall under clause 20(a), which bars "any Lithium ion batteries exceeding a watt-hour (Wh) rating of 160 Wh unless they are built-in and cannot be removed from the otherwise permitted Goods": check the rating on each pack. Our terms also bar "portable battery chargers, power banks or any similar portable power source" (clause 20(b)), and some other goods can't be stored at all: check what goods are prohibited before you load.
Keep the doorway clear
Our antique furniture guide warns: "Stacking tightly against the door is efficient loading but it becomes an obstacle course when you need the chest from the far wall." Anything leaning on the inside of the door can fall towards you when you open it, so stop the load a step short of the doorway.
The corridor isn't overflow space either. Our terms bar you from leaving items in, or obstructing, "any common space within the Facility" (clause 22(g)). Plan the order before the van arrives.
Labels that face the aisle
Label the side of each box, facing the aisle. Add the top too if you like. Our 3-bed guide suggests labelling "by room and by likely need, not just by contents. “Kitchen, daily” and “Loft, no rush” tell you instantly what to grab and what to leave." Mark fragile boxes on at least two sides. Our packing tips also suggest you "list or photograph everything you plan to store", which makes claiming on your insurance easier.
If you're renovating, keeping stock, or a student
Renovating
Load in reverse of the order things go back. Our kitchen renovation guide brings appliances back first and crockery last, so for a kitchen job the appliances can sit nearest the door, on the floor, with the crockery behind. If you need tools or materials every week during the job, keep them at the front, on the floor, with a clear space to stand, and the household contents behind. For tradespeople, see a sole trader's guide to secure self storage for tools.
Business stock you need to reach
Our market traders guide puts "fast-moving lines closest to the door" and adds: "A clear pull-out path from the unit door to the van makes a 6am start considerably less stressful." Slow-moving and spare stock goes to the back. Our stock-and-stall guide says: "Roll the gazebo and store it upright or flat in a corner that you do not need to move past." And: "Label stock by product line or by pitch, not just by date." Our terms exclude liability for "loss or damage to Your business, if any, including consequential loss, lost profits or business interruption" (clause 30(a)), so check your own business cover.
Students storing for the summer
Our smallest-unit guide says: "Start with the boxes you will not need until September against the back wall, stacked book-boxes lowest". Keep anything you might want mid-summer, like a suit or a phone cable and plug, "in a clearly labelled box right at the front". "If a mattress is going in, size up." The guide explains the sizes. If a parent is doing the packing, the account holder can give them their own access: see can I share access to my storage unit?
Already have a unit, or adding over several visits
Fill the back first, while the unit is empty and easy to walk into, and save the front and the "DO NOT BURY" box for the last run.
For general organising tips, see 10 smart ways to organise your storage unit. If you know what you're storing, get a price online or call us on 0800 2545585, and ask about ceiling height and pallets while you're booking.
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