What fits in a 20ft storage container?

The numbers first

A 20ft container is 20ft long by 8ft wide - about 160 sq ft of floor space, with roughly 8ft 6in of headroom. That's the footprint of a single garage, but because you can stack to the ceiling, the usable volume is over 1,100 cubic feet. In removal-industry terms, that's more than most 3.5-tonne Luton van loads twice over.

Room by room

Here's what customers typically fit from a 2-3 bedroom house - all at the same time:

• Living room: two or three sofas (stood on end to save floor), TV unit, coffee table, bookcases
• Kitchen: fridge freezer, washing machine, dishwasher, tumble dryer and boxed smallware
• Bedrooms: two or three double beds and mattresses, wardrobes, chests of drawers, bedside tables
• Boxes: 80-100 standard packing boxes stacked along one side and on top of flat furniture
• The extras: bikes, garden tools, the lawnmower, ladders and that exercise bike everyone owns

And for businesses

The same space takes serious stock: shelving racks down both walls with a centre aisle, pallets of boxed product, tools and site materials, or an office's worth of desks and chairs during a refit. Many of our business customers run a container exactly like a mini warehouse - drive up, load the van, go.

Five packing tips that make the difference

• Heaviest at the back, boxes on top: load appliances and furniture first, then build upwards with boxes
• Stand sofas and mattresses on end - floor space is your scarcest resource, height is free
• Keep an aisle if you'll visit often: a 2ft gap down one side means nothing is ever buried
• Label the side of boxes, not the top - it's the side you'll see once they're stacked
• Last in, first out: load the things you'll want soonest (kettle, tools, paperwork) at the door end

Not sure you need the full 20ft?

Our 8ft container (~52 sq ft, at Batley) suits a one-bed flat's worth of furniture or seasonal overflow. But if you're borderline, take the 20ft - the most common thing customers tell us is that they underestimated, not overestimated. See the full 20ft size guide for dimensions and photos.