What Size Storage Unit For A 3 Bed House Move

Found American 10x20s when all you wanted was a straight UK answer?

You are in the middle of planning a move and someone has told you to look up storage unit sizes. You have found a load of American results telling you to book a 10×20. That means absolutely nothing to you and it should not, because UK self storage is measured in square feet, not in US floor plans.

Here is the plain answer. A typical furnished 3-bedroom house fits in a 100 sq ft unit. If you are emptying the garage, clearing the loft and shifting the shed as well, you will want 150 sq ft. That is the honest fork and this guide will help you figure out which side of it you land on.

We help movers size units every week across our UK market-town locations. The thing we tell people most often is this: right-sized is cheaper than padded, and it is not a risk. It is the sensible choice. Read on and you will have the answer before you pick up the phone.

The Plain UK Answer for a 3-Bed House Move

For the vast majority of 3-bedroom house moves in the UK, 100 sq ft is the right unit size. That covers a furnished house without a heavily loaded garage or loft clearance. If the garage, shed and loft contents are going into storage as well, then 150 sq ft is the correct call.

100 Sq Ft or 150 Sq Ft: The Fork That Matters

Think of 100 sq ft as the footprint of a single UK garage, roughly 10 by 10 feet. It sounds compact, but when you pack smartly, it holds more than you expect. A typical 3-bed house with two or three bedrooms of furniture, a living room suite, dining table and chairs, kitchen appliances and 40 to 60 boxes fits inside 100 sq ft.

150 sq ft is one and a half of those garages. You step up to it when the house contents are genuinely heavy: the loft full of boxes, a garage stocked with tools and garden equipment, plus the shed. That is a lot of volume, and 150 sq ft holds it.

The question that decides it is simple. Are you clearing the whole property, outbuildings included? Or are you boxing up the living rooms and bedrooms, and leaving the rest to sort later?

If you are not sure yet, keep reading. The room-by-room method below will settle it.

If you want to see how the comparable Wigwam sizing guide approaches the broader question of right-sizing for any move, the “Don’t Rent More Than You Need” page on the site is the deeper companion to this one.

Why the US Sizes You Find Online Do Not Translate

The organic search results for this query are dominated by American storage operators. They recommend units by floor plan: 10×20, 10×15, 10×25. Those numbers are US standard-issue dimensions and they do not map to UK practice.

For context only: a 10×20 unit is 200 sq ft, nearly twice what most UK 3-bed movers need. A 10×15 is 150 sq ft, which puts you at the top of the UK fork. The mover who takes the American “safe” recommendation and books a 200 sq ft unit pays for 100 sq ft of empty space every month. That is a real cost, and it is avoidable.

UK self storage works in square feet, quoted as a single floor area. When you see a UK operator offering 100 sq ft or 150 sq ft, that is the measurement that applies to your move.

How to Walk Through Your House and Land on the Right Size

Rather than giving you a generic chart to guess from, here is a method you can run through mentally before you book. Go room by room, note what is going in and what is not, and the answer will show itself.

Bedrooms, Living Room, Dining Room and Kitchen Appliances

Start with the furniture that takes up the most floor space. For a 3-bedroom house, that is typically: two double beds or one double and one king, plus mattresses; two or three wardrobes; a chest of drawers per room; a three-seater sofa; a two-seater or armchair; a coffee table; a dining table and four to six chairs; a fridge-freezer; a washing machine; a dishwasher if you have one; and a tumble dryer.

Flat-packed and dismantled furniture changes the number considerably. Beds and dining tables that dismantle lay flat and stack, which releases floor area for other things. If you can get the beds down to frame, slats and headboard, you recover meaningful space.

Add your box count. A 3-bed house with a thorough clear-out produces roughly 40 to 60 standard removal boxes. That is the normal range. Beyond 60 boxes, you are probably pulling in the loft or garage contents, which pushes you toward 150 sq ft.

The Bits People Forget: Garage, Shed, Loft and the Box Room

This is the section where most movers find their answer. The garage, shed and loft are the fork.

If the garage and loft are going into storage, you need 150 sq ft. A loaded garage with shelving, tools, garden equipment and the bikes that nobody ever rides takes a significant slice of your unit. Add a loft with archived boxes, suitcases, seasonal items and the things you have been meaning to sort since 2018, and 100 sq ft will be tight.

If the garage is being cleared separately, sold, or going to relatives, and the loft is being emptied to buyers but not coming to the unit, then 100 sq ft is your answer.

The box room is less decisive. A small bedroom with a bed and a wardrobe fits inside the 100 sq ft total without trouble. Only worry about it if it is being used as a secondary storage room in its own right.

One important note: household contents and business goods can go in a Wigwam unit. Vehicles, motorbikes, caravans and boats cannot. If your garage contains garden boxes, shelving and hand tools, all of that is fine. The car and the caravan need a different solution.

A Quick Estimate Without a Calculator

Here is the rough guide. Count your large furniture items (sofas, beds, wardrobes, tables, white goods). Fewer than 20 large items and up to 60 boxes: 100 sq ft. More than 20 large items, anything over 60 boxes, or garage and loft contents in the mix: 150 sq ft.

That is a guide, not a guarantee. But it gets most movers to the right answer without a calculator or a long phone call.

For cost once you have the size, the pricing page at wigwamstorage.co.uk/how-much-is-self-storage-in-the-uk gives you the honest Wigwam range.

What a 100 Sq Ft Unit Actually Holds from a 3-Bed House

Square footage is abstract until you see it in furniture. Here is what a well-packed 100 sq ft unit holds from a typical 3-bed house.

A Typical 3-Bed Load in Furniture, Appliances and Boxes

A 100 sq ft unit, packed sensibly, can hold:

• One king-size bed frame, mattress and headboard (dismantled)
• One double bed frame, mattress and headboard (dismantled)
• Two to three wardrobes (standing upright or laid flat)
• Two to three chests of drawers
• One three-seater sofa (wrapped and stood on end if needed)
• One two-seater sofa or armchair
• One dining table (dismantled) and four to six chairs
• One coffee table
• One fridge-freezer
• One washing machine
• One dishwasher
• One tumble dryer
• 40 to 60 standard removal boxes, stacked to ceiling height

That is a full 3-bed house. It is not a squeeze, provided you pack upward and leave a clear aisle to the back.

Pack to Fit: Dismantling Beds and Tables, Going Vertical Safely

Getting the most from 100 sq ft is about how you load, not just what you put in.

Dismantle every bed and table you can. Frames, slats and headboards stacked flat take a fraction of the floor space of an assembled bed. The same applies to dining tables. Remove the legs, wrap the top, and you have recovered a surprising amount of room.

Go vertical. Stack boxes from floor to ceiling with the heaviest at the base and the most fragile on top. Wardrobes and tall units can stay upright and serve as structure that you stack boxes against.

Wrap sofas in furniture blankets or stretch wrap and stand them on end if the proportions allow it. This frees floor area for the white goods, which need to stay upright.

Leave a clear aisle from the door to the back wall. You will need to get in to retrieve things during the move, and a unit you cannot access is a frustrating one.

Your unit at Wigwam is individually alarmed and accessed by you alone with your own smart entry. How you arrange it is entirely up to you.

When You Need to Step Up to 150 Sq Ft

Sometimes 150 sq ft is genuinely the right answer. Here is when.

The Full-House Scenario: Garage, Loft and Shed All Going In

If you are clearing a 3-bed house completely, outbuildings and all, 150 sq ft is the sensible choice and there is no shame in that.

A garage with shelving, bicycles, garden furniture, a lawnmower, and two decades of accumulated boxes is a substantial volume on its own. Add a loft in the same state and a garden shed, and you are looking at a move that genuinely fills the larger unit.

150 sq ft holds everything in the 100 sq ft list above, plus: the boxed garage contents (tools, seasonal equipment, garden items); loft boxes and suitcases; garden furniture (chairs, a table, parasol); shed contents in boxes.

Remember: garden furniture and boxed garage contents are household goods and they are welcome in the unit. Cars, motorbikes, caravans and boats are not.

What to Do If You Are Between Sizes

If you have read this and you are still not certain which side of the fork you are on, get a quote for both sizes and ask the team at your local Wigwam store. That is exactly what the team is there for.

There is less financial risk in the decision than it might feel. Wigwam’s terms include a refund of unused days if you leave earlier than expected, which means booking slightly larger costs less than it looks on paper. Read the full terms at wigwamstorage.co.uk/terms-conditions/.

Getting to Your Things During the Move

Knowing the right unit size is one thing. Knowing you can actually get to your goods when the removal van arrives is another. Here is the honest picture.

Smart Entry, 6am to 10pm, Seven Days a Week

Access at Wigwam is by smart entry, seven days a week, from 6am to 10pm. That window covers the full working day and then some. Most removal van starts fall between 7am and 9am; most late drops happen by 8pm. The access window holds both ends comfortably.

What it does not cover is 24-hour access. Wigwam is not a 24-hour facility. If you are planning a midnight retrieval, that is not possible. For the overwhelming majority of house moves, 6am to 10pm is more than adequate.

Access is by smart entry, not a physical key you can lose during a move.

Unmanned Sites: What That Means for Deliveries and Removals

Wigwam sites are unmanned. You access your unit yourself. There is no on-site team member to receive deliveries, sign for couriers or take in goods on your behalf.

This matters if you are arranging for furniture to be delivered to the unit while you are elsewhere. If a removal company or courier is bringing goods to your unit, someone from your own household or business must be there to receive them. Wigwam will not sign for anything on your behalf and cannot accept goods in your absence.

Plan your delivery and collection times with this in mind. It is straightforward when you know it upfront.

Ready to book? You know the size. You know the access hours. Get a quote for your nearest Wigwam store at quote.wigwamstorage.co.uk.

What It Costs Per Month for a 3-Bed Unit in the UK

Cost is never far from the sizing decision, and we are not going to be coy about it.

The Honest UK Range and What Moves the Price

The national range cited by AI search tools for storing a 3-bed house is roughly GBP 150 to 300 per month, depending on unit size, location and time of year. We do not quote unit prices on this page because the right answer for you depends on your nearest store and the current availability. The pricing page at wigwamstorage.co.uk/how-much-is-self-storage-in-the-uk gives you the Wigwam picture in full.

What moves the price: the size of unit you take, where your nearest store is, and when in the year you move. The biggest lever you control directly is the size. Every square foot you do not need is money you pay every month until the move completes.

Why Sizing Right Saves More Than Shopping on Headline Rate

Here is the calculation that matters. If you take a 150 sq ft unit when 100 sq ft would have held everything, you pay for 50 extra square feet every month until you empty the unit. Across a three-month move, that adds up to a real sum. Across a six-month overlap between properties, it adds up to a much larger one.

The mover who sizes correctly and pays the right rate beats the mover who found a slightly cheaper headline rate but booked too big, every time.

Right-sizing is not the cautious choice; it is the financially rational one. Get a quote for both sizes at wigwamstorage.co.uk/how-much-is-self-storage-in-the-uk if you want to see the difference in black and white.

Choosing Your Wigwam Store for the Move

Once you know the size, the next step is finding your nearest store. That is where the move becomes real.

Finding Your Nearest Market-Town Wigwam Store

Wigwam sits in UK market towns, not on out-of-town retail parks. That matters during a move because the stores are closer to where you actually live, which means shorter van runs and easier access on moving day.

If you are moving in or around Bath, Wigwam Self Storage Bath is your local store. If you are based in Lincolnshire, Wigwam Self Storage Lincoln is where to head. For all our other UK market-town locations, the full list is at wigwamstorage.co.uk/self-storage-locations/.

What to Expect at a Wigwam Unit: Clean, Dry and Secure

Every Wigwam unit is clean, dry and secure. They are individually alarmed, which means your alarm is on your unit, not shared across a corridor.

There is no climate control at Wigwam. What we offer is a well-maintained, dry, secure environment for household goods. That is the right condition for furniture, boxes, white goods and the contents of a typical 3-bed house. If your goods have specific temperature or humidity requirements, talk to your insurer about what that means for storage.

Contents protection is mandatory for all goods at Wigwam. You can take out Wigwam’s RSA-backed contents protection policy, or you can prove that your own cover applies. Either way, cover must be in place on move-in day. Before you book, check what you need at wigwamstorage.co.uk/contents-protection/. Declare the full replacement value of your goods; if you under-insure, any claim will be settled in proportion to the shortfall. This is a signpost, not insurance advice. Your own insurer or broker can advise on the right level of cover.

Before You Book: A Practical Checklist for a 3-Bed Move

You now have the sizing answer and the access picture. Here is the pre-booking checklist to arrive at the quote stage ready.

Five Things to Confirm Before You Get a Quote

1. Choose your size. Use this guide: 100 sq ft for a furnished 3-bed without the garage and loft; 150 sq ft if the outbuildings are going in too. If you are still undecided, get quotes for both.

2. Check your dates. The minimum stay at Wigwam is two weeks. If you leave early, unused days are refunded. That suits movers whose completion dates shift at the last minute.

3. Allow for the deposit. There is a refundable deposit. It is returned after a 14-day notice period once you have vacated the unit and the account is settled. Budget for it going out on move-in and coming back at the end. The full details are at wigwamstorage.co.uk/terms-conditions/.

4. Sort contents protection before move-in. Whether you use Wigwam’s RSA-backed policy or your own, cover must be in place before you bring goods to the unit. See wigwamstorage.co.uk/contents-protection/ for the options.

5. Note the access window. Smart entry from 6am to 10pm, seven days a week. Plan your removal van times, courier deliveries and return trips around that window.

Getting Your Quote

Head to quote.wigwamstorage.co.uk, choose your nearest location, and select your size. If you are still sitting between 100 and 150 sq ft, the team at your local store can help you work through it.

You have done the hard part. You know what goes in, you know the size it needs, and you know what to expect when you arrive. The rest is logistics.

Get a quote for your local Wigwam store at quote.wigwamstorage.co.uk.

Frequently Asked Questions

What if I book 100 sq ft and the van turns up with more than fits?

First, do not panic on the day; it is more recoverable than it feels. If a 100 sq ft unit fills before the van is empty, the usual cause is one of two things: items that could have been dismantled went in whole, or the loading went out across the floor instead of up to the ceiling. Both can often be fixed by repacking. Stand the sofa on end, break down the beds and table you skipped, and build the boxes upward against the back wall, and a surprising amount of “overflow” disappears.

If it genuinely will not fit, the answer is to move to a larger unit, and that is a conversation with the team rather than a crisis. Availability at your site on the day is the constraint, so it helps to flag any doubt before moving day rather than discovering it with a van idling outside. This is one reason I steer people who are honestly between sizes toward getting a quote for both 100 and 150 sq ft upfront: it costs nothing to know the larger option is there, and the refund of unused days means a slightly larger unit is cheaper in practice than it looks on paper.

The deeper fix is at the planning stage. Count your large non-stacking items first, the white goods, the assembled furniture you cannot dismantle, because those set your real floor footprint. If that list alone is creeping past 60 to 70 square feet before boxes, you were probably a 150 sq ft job all along. Size for the furniture you cannot fold, not the boxes you can stack.

Can I store the contents of my 3-bed move and my business stock in the same unit?

Yes, as long as all of it is household or business goods rather than anything on the prohibited list, you can mix the two in one unit. There is no rule that a unit must be either domestic or commercial. Plenty of people moving house also run a small business and put the boxed stock in alongside the furniture. The unit does not mind what the boxes contain, within the normal limits.

There are a couple of practical points worth thinking through. If you will need to get to the business stock regularly while the household goods sit untouched, load it so the stock is near the front with a clear aisle, and put the furniture you will not touch for weeks at the back. Mixing the two without planning the layout means shifting a wardrobe every time you need to reach a box of stock. A little thought at loading saves a lot of unstacking later.

The other point is deliveries. If business stock is going to be couriered in to top up while your household goods are stored, remember our sites are unmanned: someone from your side has to be at the unit with the smart entry code to receive anything, because we do not sign for or accept deliveries. And both the household and the business goods need to be covered, so when you declare the replacement value for contents protection, make sure the figure reflects everything in the unit, furniture and stock together, not just one or the other.

Does a 3-bed unit cost more in summer when everyone is moving?

Storage demand does rise in the busy moving seasons, spring and autumn especially, and at popular market-town sites units genuinely do fill up at those times. The bigger effect of the season is usually availability rather than a different headline figure: the size you want is more likely to be taken when everyone is moving, so the practical cost of leaving it late can be having to take a larger or less convenient unit. I will not quote figures here because rates vary by location, unit size and what is available, and you should see current numbers for your site rather than a stale one.

What this means for a 3-bed move is simple: book earlier in a busy period, not later. The unit you want for a July completion is best reserved well before July, while you still have a choice of size and start date. Booking ahead does not lock you in awkwardly, because if your completion date shifts, the booking dates can shift too, and the refund of unused days protects you if you end up needing it for less time than planned.

So the honest answer is that the season affects your odds of getting the right unit more than it changes the basic deal. Check the live figure for your nearest store on the pricing page, get a quote for the size you have worked out, and reserve it in good time. The mover who books three weeks ahead in peak season almost always gets a better outcome than the one who calls the day before completion hoping a 100 sq ft unit is free.

How do I pack a 3-bed unit so I can still reach things during a long completion gap?

Plan a single clear aisle from the door to the back wall and load around it, because a unit you cannot walk into is a unit you cannot use mid-move. The instinct under time pressure is to fill every inch, but if your completion gap runs to weeks rather than days, you will almost certainly need to retrieve something, a winter coat, a document box, a child’s toy, and you do not want to unstack half the unit to reach it.

A workable method for a 3-bed load:

1. 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.
2. Build box towers against that furniture, heaviest boxes at the base, fragile on top, labels facing the aisle.
3. Keep the things you are most likely to need, the “first week in the new house” boxes, nearest the door, clearly marked.
4. Leave the central aisle open the whole length of the unit so you can reach the back without dismantling the front.

Label 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. Access is 6am to 10pm, seven days, so you can come back as often as the gap requires, but only if the unit is laid out to let you in. Spend ten extra minutes on the aisle when you load and you save yourself an hour every time you visit.

My completion is in Scotland or Northern Ireland. Does the sizing and the terms still apply?

The sizing absolutely applies; the legal move process does not. A 3-bed house holds the same furniture whether it sits in Bath or Aberdeen, so the 100 sq ft versus 150 sq ft fork, the room-by-room method and the stacking advice all work exactly the same. UK self storage is measured in square feet across the country, so none of the sizing guidance on this page changes because of where you are moving.

What does differ is the conveyancing timeline, and that is your solicitor’s territory, not mine. Scotland runs a different system, with commitment at the conclusion of missives and a fixed date of entry, so the completion-gap pattern that drives a lot of English and Welsh storage bookings looks different there. Northern Ireland operates differently again. If your move has a cross-border element or you simply want to know how your own dates will fall, your solicitor is the right person to ask, because they know your transaction and I do not.

On the storage terms themselves: wherever your nearest Wigwam site is, the two-week minimum, the refund of unused days, the refundable deposit with 14 days notice, the smart entry hours of 6am to 10pm and the mandatory contents protection all work as described. The unit does not care which legal system your purchase runs under. So take the timing questions to your solicitor, bring the unit and sizing questions to us, and the practical side of storing a 3-bed load is the same job in every part of the UK.