What fits in an 8ft storage container?

The numbers first

Our 8ft container is 8ft long by 6ft 6in wide - about 52 sq ft of floor space with over 7ft of headroom. Think of it as a large, dry, steel garden shed with a proper lockable door. It won't take a whole house, but because you can stack to the ceiling there's far more usable volume than the footprint suggests - and it's our most affordable unit, at under £100 a month.

What actually fits

• A one-bed flat, packed well: a sofa stood on end, a double mattress and frame, a wardrobe's contents in boxes, a chest of drawers and a TV unit
• Boxes: 30-40 standard packing boxes if you stack floor to ceiling - a loft's or garage's entire contents
• White goods: a fridge freezer and washing machine side by side, with boxes stacked above and around
• Garden and seasonal kit: patio set, BBQ, mower, tools, bikes and the Christmas decorations - the classic "shed overflow"
• Trade tools and stock: a secure lock-up for power tools, materials and small stock, minutes from your jobs around Batley and Dewsbury

What it's best for

The 8ft suits people storing some things, not everything: decluttering before selling a house, storing a student's kit over summer, keeping tools safe overnight, or holding overflow stock for a small business. If the pile you're storing would fit in a single garden shed or half a garage, the 8ft is your size.

What doesn't fit

Be realistic: a full house move won't go in. Three-piece suites, multiple beds, and a family kitchen's worth of appliances need our 20ft container - about three times the floor space. If you're borderline, take the 20ft: the most common thing customers tell us is that they underestimated, not overestimated.

Three packing tips for a small space

• Height is free: stack boxes to the ceiling, heaviest at the bottom, and stand furniture on end
• Fill the gaps: soft items like bedding and clothes squash into wardrobes, drawers and the spaces between furniture
• Door-end essentials: put anything you might come back for - tools, paperwork, the pram - right by the door

Where to get one

8ft containers are available at our Batley site - the only one of our yards that offers them - with the same 24/7 phone-entry access, CCTV and included padlock as every MB Storage unit. See the full 8ft size guide for dimensions and photos.