Packing a storage unit
Researched and written by Ashley Davis · Reviewed by Emily Johnson · Last reviewed August 2026
Loading a storage unit is done in one order and reversing it costs a day. Large furniture and appliances go to the back wall first, boxes build forward in columns with the heaviest at the floor, anything you may want during the stay goes nearest the door, and a two-foot aisle down the middle is worth its floor area on any unit deeper than ten feet. Label the box faces that point at the aisle, not the tops.
What goes into a storage unit first?
The largest and least wanted items, against the back wall. Appliances, wardrobes, sofas and mattress sets are the pieces that dictate the floor plan, and they are also the ones least likely to be retrieved mid-stay. Everything else fits around them. Loading in the reverse order is the commonest mistake, because it puts the immovable objects in front of the door.
How should boxes be stacked?
In columns rather than a single sloping heap, with the heaviest boxes on the floor and the lightest at the top. A column of uniform box sizes is stable to seven feet; a mixed pile is not stable at three. Keep the top of each column below your reach, since a box lifted down from above shoulder height is the one that gets dropped.
Should you leave an aisle?
On anything deeper than ten feet, yes. A two-foot walkway down the centre costs a fifth of the floor and converts the unit from a sealed block into something you can use. On a single-load, single-unload stay you can skip it and pack wall to wall, but decide that before you start rather than halfway through.
How should boxes be labelled for storage?
On the vertical face that will be visible, not on the top, because in a stack every top is covered. Write the room and the contents rather than a number, since a numbered box needs an index and the index is always in the other box. A photograph of each wall once the unit is loaded is a better index than any list.
Should anything be left uncovered?
Leave a gap of a few inches between the load and the walls so air can move behind it, and cover the top of the load with breathable sheeting against dust falling from the ceiling. Sealed plastic over a whole load traps whatever moisture was in the room when you closed the door, which is the opposite of what it looks like it is doing.