What Fits in a 20ft Storage Unit?
20ft Storage Container — What Fits and What It's Used For
A 20ft container gives you 160 sq ft of floor, a footprint of 20ft by 8ft and around 1,200 cubic feet once you stack to head height. That is more than one and a half garages, and it is the size most people take for a full house move.
It is our most popular size for a reason. A 20ft takes a three-bedroom house with a walkway left down the middle, which means you can still get at a box of paperwork or a set of tools halfway through a six-month store rather than unloading the whole thing to reach the back.
What fits in a 20ft container?
- A three-bedroom house, sofas, beds, wardrobes, dining table and chairs, white goods and around 200 boxes
- A four-bedroom house packed tightly, if you are storing rather than dipping in and out
- A full house plus garden machinery, mower, bikes and garden furniture
- A builder's working store, tools, materials and consumables with an aisle to walk along
- Exhibition, events or catering kit that needs loading and unloading on a regular cycle
- Office contents including desks, chairs, cabinets and archive boxes on shelving
What doesn't fit in a 20ft container?
A five-bedroom house is beyond it, and so is anything longer than twenty feet. Standard 2440mm sheet materials will not stand on end in a standard 20ft, they need the extra headroom of a high cube. If your list goes past a full family home, the 40ft container gives you double the space.
20ft or 20ft high cube?
Both give you the same 160 sq ft of floor, so the choice is about height, not area. A standard 20ft is the right pick for household furniture and boxes, where you are limited by floor space rather than ceiling. The 20ft high cube adds roughly a foot of headroom, which matters if you are standing sheet materials on end, or adding another layer to racking. For a house move, the standard 20ft is almost always the sensible choice.
Getting your things in and out
The doors open the full width of the container, so wardrobes, sofas, mattresses and appliances go straight in without turning them on edge or taking the legs off.
There is room on site for a removal lorry to reverse to your door and turn afterwards, which is not something every storage site can offer. Everything happens at ground level, no lift to book, no loading bay to share, no time limit on the day. Access 24 hours a day, every day of the year.
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20ft storage container — common questions
Is a 20ft container big enough for a three-bedroom house? Yes, comfortably, with a walkway left down the middle. A four-bed will go in if packed tightly, but you lose the ability to get at things easily.
Can a removals lorry get right up to the container? Yes. The approach is hard-surfaced and there is space to reverse in and turn around.
Can I get to my belongings while they are in storage? Yes, at any hour on any day. If you expect to visit regularly, pack with a central walkway and put the things you will want at the front.
How does it compare to indoor self storage of the same size? You drive to your own door instead of trolleying along a corridor, and there are no access hours to work around. Container storage is also usually cheaper per square foot than an indoor unit of the same size.
What are the terms? One month minimum, no deposit, no long contract, and free cancellation up to 24 hours before your move-in date.