Self Storage in Manchester
Storage with collection and redelivery, arranged by the same company that moves you.
- Tell us what needs storing and roughly how long for
Our customers' reviews
The advantage is not having to arrange two things
Most people who need storage need it because of a move.
The sale completes before the purchase. The new place is not ready. A tenancy ends on the fifteenth and the next one starts at the end of the month. Something has to go somewhere for a few weeks, and it cannot stay in a hallway.
The usual version of this involves two companies: a removals firm for the move and a storage company for the gap, with you in the middle coordinating dates, access and two sets of paperwork.
We do both parts. We collect, we store, and we bring things back when you are ready. It is one conversation, one quote, one set of dates to agree.
That is the whole point of arranging storage through a removals company rather than separately, and it matters most in exactly the situation where storage is usually needed: when the dates are moving and nobody is quite sure yet how long the gap will be.
How much space do you actually need?
The most common mistake is guessing, in both directions. Too little and things do not fit. Too much and you pay for air.
Volume is not obvious from a room count, and it is even less obvious once things are boxed, because packing changes the shape of everything. A three-bed house is not three times a one-bed flat.
Rather than asking you to estimate it, tell us what is going in and we will work it out. The useful things to say are the big items, roughly how many boxes you expect, and whether anything is unusually bulky or awkward.
If you genuinely do not know yet, that is normal. A rough description is enough to start with, and it can be refined before anything is collected.
How long is it for?
Worth thinking about, because short and long storage are different problems.
Bridging a gap between two dates
The priority is access and timing, not preservation. Things go in, things come out, nothing much changes in between.
While something gets decided or built
Here what goes in matters more. Anything that could be damaged by time rather than handling is worth thinking about before it goes into a box: mattresses, upholstered furniture, anything with a fabric or leather finish, electricals, and anything you might actually want during the period.
Say so
It is the most common answer and it does not need resolving before you get in touch.
Get a storage quote
Tell us roughly what needs storing, when it needs collecting, and how long you think it will be. If the dates are uncertain, say so. Most people’s are.
Pack for storage, not just for the journey
Packing for a move and packing for storage are not the same job, and this is where most storage regret comes from.
For a move, things need to survive a van and a day. For storage, they need to survive being stationary in a box for months.
Three things that make the difference:
Label for retrieval, not just for the room
“Kitchen” works when everything is unpacked the same week. It does not work when you need the slow cooker in February and there are forty boxes. A written list of what is in each numbered box takes half an hour and saves considerably more.
Keep out what you will want
People routinely store documents, tools, seasonal clothes and children’s things they then need before the storage ends. Have a think before it goes in.
Do not store anything damp
Anything that goes in slightly wet stays that way. Garden furniture, camping gear, anything that has been in a shed.
What cannot go into storage
Some things cannot be stored, by law or under our terms. Better to know now than at the door:
- Anything flammable: paint, fuels, oils, gas bottles, aerosols
- Firearms and ammunition
- Jewellery, watches, precious metals and stones, cash, deeds and securities
- Perishable food, and anything needing a controlled environment
- Plants, and any animals, birds, fish or reptiles
- Anything hazardous, unhygienic or likely to attract pests
- Goods requiring an export or import licence
The one that catches people out is the third group. Valuables and documents should stay with you, not go into storage. That is standard across the industry, not just here.
Standard storage, and the arrangements that are not
Most storage fits a straightforward pattern: collected, held, returned. For that, one of our standard arrangements is usually the simplest way to book.
Some do not fit. Part of a household stored while the rest goes into a new place. Two collections on different dates going into the same storage. Something needed back partway through rather than at the end. A business storing stock or equipment rather than a household.
Say so and we will tell you what can be arranged around it.
The quickest route is the form. Give us the outline, we will call you, and it is usually a short conversation.
Getting things back
Worth saying, because it is the part people ask about least and think about most.
Tell us roughly when you expect to want things returned, even if the date is not fixed. Redelivery is arranged the same way as the collection, and the more notice there is, the more choice you have over the day.
If you only need part of it back, say that too. It changes what makes sense at the point things go into storage, which is why it is worth mentioning at the start rather than at the end.
Storage often comes up alongside a move. There is more on how the moving side works on our man and van in Manchester page.
Questions people ask
How much space will I need?
Tell us what is going in and we will work it out. Guessing is the most common way people end up paying for space they do not use.
How long can things stay?
As long as you need. Tell us roughly how long you expect, even if it is uncertain, because it affects how things are best packed.
Can you collect and bring things back?
Yes. Collection, storage and redelivery are all part of the same arrangement, which is the main reason people arrange storage through us rather than separately.
Can I get something out partway through?
Tell us at the start if that is likely. It changes how things are best organised going in.
What can I not store?
Anything flammable, valuables and documents, perishables, plants and animals. The full list is above and it is standard across the industry.
Do I need to pack differently for storage?
Yes, and it is worth ten minutes of thought. Label for retrieval rather than by room, keep out anything you might want, and do not store anything damp.
How do I get a price?
Send the form with a rough idea of what is going in and how long for, and we will come back to you.
Get a storage quote
Tell us roughly what needs storing, when it needs collecting, and how long you think it will be. If the dates are uncertain, say so. Most people’s are.
RCM Removals
20 Swan Street, Manchester M4 5JW
Telephone: 0161 768 2056
Email: info@removalscompanymanchester.co.uk