You need to move your belongings into storage ASAP, so you’re scouring the internet to read everything you can about storage units—and to find the best deal possible.
Let us help you cross something off your list. We’ve crunched the numbers in a few of our major markets to give you the true cost of storing your belongings.
You might think that a full-service storage company—one that will send a team of professionals and a truck to pick up your belongings, take them to a private vault and then deliver them back to you when you need them—is more expensive than the do-it-yourself, self-storage option.
But when you add up the cost of administrative costs, fees, unit insurance, renting a moving truck, labor, and the most valuable thing of all—your time—you might be surprised at what going the self-storage route actually costs.
Storage Unit Rental
Traditional self storage
Average monthly rent on a basic 10-foot by 10-foot unit: Starting at $165 per month, no matter how much space you use in the unit.
With self-storage, you’re paying for dead space. Air. Nothingness. No matter how full your unit is, you’ve still got to fork over the same amount.
Closetbox
Monthly rent on a 10-foot by 10-foot unit: $172 per month, but probably less.
Closetbox only charges you for what you store, so if you actually only fill 60 percent of the space, the price comes down, too.
“With us, you don’t pay for wasted space,” said Ryan Evans, Closetbox director of operations. “You only pay for the items that you store, so if you don’t take up all the space, you’re not going to pay for it.”
Labor
Traditional Self Storage:
$400 for movers.
But if you want to go to the complete DIY route, consider it this way: $50 for pizza and beer for the two friends you could actually convince to come over to your house to help you move. Plus you might tack on another $400 for your own time, which, let’s be honest, is actually priceless.
Oh, and add on top of that a bill from the chiropractor because you strained your lower back trying to move your leather couch.
“A lot of people remember moving themselves back in the day,” says Dustin Montgomery of Shippers Supplies. “It is easy to forget you are not as in shape now as you were then and you run the risk of injury.”
Closetbox
For typical pickups, you pay $0 for licensed, bonded and insured professional storage movers.
Insurance
Traditional self storage
$11 to $15 a month. Unlike with Closetbox, self-storage companies require insurance so you’ve got no choice but to pay up.
Closetbox
$10 a month, though it’s optional because with Closetbox you get a limited level of coverage at no extra cost.
Unlike self-storage, Closetbox doesn’t require insurance for you to store your belongings in a private vault. You’re already provided with Closetbox Cares Coverage, which includes up to $200 worth of coverage a no cost. If you want additional peace of mind, you can purchase extra insurance.
Moving truck
Traditional self storage
$250 if you get a good deal.
Remember: You’ve got to rent the truck twice. Once to move your belongings into storage, and once to take them out of storage. You might want to throw another $50 on here for when you back over your neighbor kid’s bike.
Closetbox
Currently, we are offering $99 pick up for your first storage pickup in March.
Return fee: Varies. When the Closetbox team picks up your belongings and stores them in a private vault, you don’t pay a dime. Then whenever you’re ready for them to return your items, you’ll pay a return fee that’s dependent on the belongings you are having returned and how long they have been stored.
The best part? You’re not wasting any of your previous time running back and forth between a storage unit.
Moving truck insurance
Traditional self storage
$20. Two insurance charges for two trips.
Closetbox
$0
Moving dolly
Traditional self storage
$20 rental. You’ll need it twice. Starting to see a pattern here?
Closetbox:
$0
Administrative fee
Traditional Storage
$25 a month. Wait, what is this even for?
Closetbox:
$0
Lock
Traditional Storage
$20. Don’t forget the fact that you’ll need to buy a lock for your self-storage unit.
Closetbox:
$0.
The choice is easy. Ready to use Closetbox? Get your free pickup today.
