What Size Storage Unit Do I Need? A Room by Room Guide

"What size storage unit do I need?" is the single most common question we hear at the front desk, and it is a good one. Rent too small and you are playing Tetris with your grandmother's dresser. Rent too big and you are paying for air. After nearly three decades of helping Macomb and St. Clair County families move, downsize, and declutter, we have a simple trick: compare each unit to a room you already know. Here is the room by room breakdown.

Picture the hall closet where the winter coats live. That is a 5x5, which gives you 25 square feet of floor space.

It holds seasonal decorations, a few stacks of boxes, camping gear, golf clubs, or the contents of a small home office. College students love this size for summer break.

If your pile fits in the back of a pickup truck, a 5x5 probably covers it.

A 5x10 is the size of a generous walk-in closet, 50 square feet.

This is the sweet spot for the contents of a single room: a mattress set, a dresser, a desk, a couple chairs, and a healthy stack of boxes. It also swallows motorcycle gear, kayaks stood on end, and patio furniture over the winter.

Our Gratiot Avenue location in Lenox Township starts at this size, and every unit there is ground floor drive-up, so loading is quick.

A 10x10 gives you 100 square feet, roughly half of a one-car garage. It handles the contents of a one bedroom apartment: living room set, mattress and frame, kitchen boxes, and appliances if you stack thoughtfully.

Bump up to a 10x15 and you can fit a full one bedroom apartment with room to spare, or a two bedroom apartment if you pack tight. Long items like couches, canoes, and rolled rugs fit without diagonal wrangling.

A quick tip from our storage tips page: leave a walkway down the middle so you can reach boxes in the back without unloading the whole unit.

A 10x20 is the size of a standard one-car garage. It holds the contents of a two to three bedroom house, or a full-size car. In fact, if you want to store a vehicle with us, this is the unit to ask about, since cars are stored inside units rather than outside on our lots.

The 10x30 is our largest traditional unit, comparable to an oversized garage or a small moving truck's worth of household goods times two. Families between home closings use this size to hold an entire household, appliances and all, in one place.

Both sizes are available as drive-up units at our Casco Township location, where you can back the truck right up to the door.

Before you book, walk your home with a notepad. Count furniture pieces, estimate box counts, and flag anything odd-shaped like treadmills or grandfather clocks.

Then check our size guide, which maps common household loads to unit sizes. The American Trucking Associations' moving division, Moving.org, also publishes planning resources that help you inventory a household before a move.

Still stuck between two sizes? Go with the larger one if you plan to visit the unit often, since access room matters more than most people expect. Or call our office. We have matched thousands of households to units since 1997, and we would rather get you the right size than the biggest one.

Once you know the footprint, decide what kind of unit that footprint should be.

Drive-up units let you back a truck or trailer right to the door. For heavy furniture, appliances, and frequent visits, that convenience is hard to beat. Every unit at our Gratiot Avenue property is ground floor drive-up for exactly this reason.

Climate-controlled units hold steadier temperatures and humidity through Michigan's swings. Wood furniture, electronics, photographs, instruments, and anything with sentimental value ride out summer humidity and winter cold much better inside one. At Casco Township, we offer both types across the full size range, so you do not have to trade the right size for the right conditions.

A common middle path: rent a climate-controlled unit for the delicate items and a drive-up unit for the garage stuff. Two smaller units sometimes serve a household better than one giant one, especially when one load will leave storage months before the other.

What size storage unit do I need for a 3 bedroom house?

A 10x20 handles most three bedroom homes if you stack efficiently. If you have a garage full of extras or oversized furniture, step up to a 10x30 so you are not forced to leave things behind.

Do climate-controlled units come in the same sizes?

At our Casco Township location, we offer both drive-up and climate-controlled units in sizes from 5x5 to 10x30. Climate control is worth considering for wood furniture, electronics, and photos.

Can I switch unit sizes after I move in?

Yes. If you find you rented too big or too small, talk to our office and we will move you into a better fit as availability allows. It happens all the time and it is an easy fix.

How full should I pack my unit?

Aim for about 85 percent. Leave an aisle, keep heavy boxes low, and put anything you might need soon near the door. Our FAQ page covers more packing questions.

Find Your Size Close to Home

With three locations serving Macomb and St. Clair counties, the right unit is probably a short drive away. Browse available units and sizes, rent online in a few minutes, and pick up your free disc lock at move-in.

Moving.org: American Moving and Storage resources