Ask the question nobody asks
Most storage advice explains how to book a container. Far fewer people ask the more useful question first, which is whether a particular item is worth storing at all.
It matters because storage is a recurring cost against a one off decision. Something worth £80 that costs a few pounds a week to keep can quietly cost more than its own value inside a year, and the awkward truth is that a fair proportion of stored belongings are never wanted back.
None of which is an argument against storage. It is an argument for storing the right things, which makes the cost obviously worthwhile rather than vaguely uncomfortable.
The test that settles most items
Two questions, honestly answered.
Would I buy this again today at full price? If the answer is no, and the item has no sentimental value, you are paying to postpone a decision you have already made.
What is the replacement cost against the storage cost? Work out what the item would cost to store for the period you actually expect, then compare it with buying an equivalent later. A flat pack bookcase loses that comparison immediately. A solid oak table does not.
Two categories sit outside the test entirely, and should. Anything irreplaceable, meaning family pieces, photographs, letters and objects with history. And anything you are legally obliged to keep, such as business records under HMRC retention rules, which our guide to an office clear out covers.
What is genuinely worth storing
- Things with real value. Quality furniture, instruments, tools, artwork, collections.
- Things that are irreplaceable. Inherited furniture, family papers, anything with meaning.
- Things you will definitely want back, on a known timeline. Furniture waiting for a bigger flat, kit for a hobby you will return to, a child's belongings while they are away.
- Seasonal items that genuinely get used: camping equipment, ski gear, Christmas decorations, garden furniture over winter.
- Business stock, archive files and equipment, held somewhere cheaper than office floor space.
- Anything caught in a gap, whether that is a chain, a renovation or a downsize, which is what storage was invented for.
What usually is not
Said plainly, because nobody else will.
- Broken things you intend to fix. If it has been broken for a year at home, storing it does not change the odds.
- Duplicates. Two sofas, three kettles, the spare everything.
- Flat pack furniture. It rarely survives a second dismantling well, and it costs less to replace than to keep.
- Old electronics. They depreciate while stored and may not work when retrieved.
- Anything stored purely to avoid a decision. That is the expensive category, and the one that quietly runs for years.
Be particularly wary of the phrase "it might be useful". It usually is not, and the storage bill is the price of finding out slowly.
Set a review date on day one
The single most useful habit with storage: write down when you will review it, and put it in the calendar.
Six weeks of storage during a chain has a way of becoming three years, not through any decision but through the absence of one. A review date turns a drift into a choice.
At the review, three options each time. Bring it home, dispose of it, or consciously decide to keep storing it for a stated reason. All three are fine. The problem is only ever the fourth option, which is not thinking about it.
Storage as extra space, not just for moves
Plenty of people use storage without moving at all, and in London it makes obvious sense.
A converted flat has no loft, no garage and no shed. The space that a house elsewhere uses for the things you need four times a year simply does not exist, and renting a larger flat to house them is dramatically more expensive than storing them.
Common cases: bikes and sports equipment, seasonal clothing and gear, a home office that needs the spare room back, a growing family that needs the boxroom, hobby equipment that takes up a corner of the living room, and inherited furniture waiting for a house it fits.
Think of it as a room you do not have to clean, with one condition attached: it is not a room you can wander into. Containers are stacked in a warehouse, so access needs a few working days of notice. Load anything you might want during the period last, so it sits at the front.
Booking it, with or without the move
Two ways to do this.
With a removal. One firm collects, stores and delivers, which means a single point of contact, one insurance arrangement and no handover between companies. Usually simpler and often cheaper as a combined job.
On its own. Storage does not require you to book a removal with the same company. Containers can be delivered to your address, loaded, and taken away, with no move involved at all.
The mechanics, including container sizes and what fits, are in our guide to how container storage works, and the terms, access rules and what happens if an account goes unpaid are covered in storage rules and what happens if you stop paying.
Frequently asked questions
Is self storage worth the money? It depends entirely on what you are storing. For valuable, irreplaceable or genuinely needed items, and for gaps between properties, it usually is. For broken, duplicate or low value items, the storage cost overtakes the replacement cost surprisingly quickly.
How do I decide what to put into storage? Ask whether you would buy the item again today at full price, and compare the cost of storing it for the period you expect against the cost of replacing it later. Irreplaceable and legally required items sit outside that test.
How long do most people use storage for? Anything from a few weeks during a chain to several years. The important thing is to set a review date at the start, because storage taken for six weeks very often runs far longer by default.
Can I use storage without moving house? Yes, and many people do. Containers can be delivered to your address, loaded and collected without any removal involved, which suits flats with no loft or garage.
Can I get to my belongings whenever I want? Not on demand. Containers are stacked in a warehouse, so allow a few working days of notice for access or a return delivery, and pack anything you might need near the front.
Is it cheaper to book storage and removals together? Usually, and it is always simpler. One company handles collection, storage and delivery, with a single point of contact and one insurance arrangement.
Talk to us
RMV Storage & Removals has stored belongings for London households and businesses for over fifteen years, with container storage collected from your door, house and office removals, packing services and materials and man and van work, across every area we cover.
Tell us roughly what you want to store and for how long, and we will tell you how many containers it needs and what it costs, including if the answer is that you need fewer than you think. Get in touch.
Written by Riki Migliori, Director at RMV Storage & Removals. Originally published October 2017. Fully reviewed and updated summer 2026.