Moving an office is expensive enough already.
Then the storage invoice arrives and you discover that you’ve been paying for 200 square feet of NOTHING since day ONE of the move. This happens ALL THE TIME. And it’s nearly NEVER a price issue – It’s a sizing issue.
Here’s the good news:
Unit sizing isn’t difficult. You simply need to know what is in the office, how it stacks, and what unit moves it without dead space.
Get that right and you’ll:
- Cut the monthly rate straight away
- Avoid renting a panicked second unit mid-move
- Keep everything reachable instead of buried
Here’s how to do it…
What you’ll walk away with:
- Why Office Moves Wreck Storage Budgets
- How To Inventory Before Booking Anything
- A Storage Unit Size Guide For Office Contents
- The Cheapest Ways To Stop Overpaying
Why Office Moves Wreck Storage Budgets
Most companies reserve storage how they reserve a moving truck — by instinct. And instinct is usually wrong one way: too large.
Your best storage unit size guide discusses square footage, ceiling height and unit dimensions BEFORE you sign anything. Even if you know you need something small, check out large unit sizes as well. It never hurts to know, right? This squarefoot comparison illustrates just how much storage space you get with a 10×30 storage unit. Believe it or not, most people will NEVER accumulate 300 cubic feet of stuff…..especially when you compare those dimensions to a mid-size office. Compare those unit dimensions to a 10×10 or a 10×20 and you’ll stop over-paying tomorrow.
Timing is important as well. Office vacancy nationwide hit 21% earlier in 2026 — another record high. Businesses are continually disposing of square footage. Where do you put all those desks, cabinets and meeting room furniture while you figure out your lease options?
That “somewhere” is usually a storage unit that was picked in a hurry.
Inventory First, Book Second
You cannot size a unit for an office you haven’t counted.
Begin by making a basic list. Take a tape measure and walk the floor writing down everything that you will be putting into storage. Break up the list into four sections:
- Desks and tables — note whether the legs come off
- Chairs — count them, they stack better than you think
- Filing cabinets and shelving — measure height as well as footprint
- Boxes and equipment — monitors, servers, archive files, kitchen bits
Now measure the largest, bulkiest items. A boardroom table or tall cabinet determines your unit width and door size before total volume factors in.
ROUGH WORKING FIGURE : A typical desk and associated chair will occupy 15 to 20 square feet of space when in storage. File cabinets require approximately 4 square feet each. Boxes can be stacked, so measure by pallet-load instead of individually.
Add it all up and add 20% for walkways. That’s your real number.
Pretty simple, right?
The Storage Unit Size Guide For Office Contents
Matching to a unit after the inventory is complete is simple. Here’s a listing of standard sizes for office contents.
5×10 (50 sq ft)
Little guy. Fits archive boxes, a couple chairs, a printer and maybe one flat broken desk.
This is great for a home office or small satellite space. Any larger than that it’s like a game of Tetris nobody can win.
10×10 (100 sq ft)
The Storage Unit Size Guide workhorse. Also the size most businesses go with by default.
It fits a small office comfortably, about 4-6 desks/chairs, some cabinets, and a good stack of boxes. If your staff is under ten people, this should be your goal.
10×15 (150 sq ft)
The awkward middle child, and often the smartest choice.
Say you buy a 10×10 that leaves furniture on the curb but a 10×20 seems excessive. That’s where the savings comes in. Fits 8-12 desks plus meeting room furniture.
10×20 (200 sq ft)
Now you’re getting into office furniture. 15-20 workstations, reception sets, cabinetry and some hardware.
Roughly the size of a single-car garage. Most 20-person offices fit comfortably.
10×30 (300 sq ft)
THE BIG ONE. This will fit an entire floor of office furniture and is ideal for larger moves, long term storage of excess inventory, or when you need everything accessible.
BIG WORD OF CAUTION: Do not rent this size out of fear. It is a significant increase in price and many companies rent this when a 10×20 would have sufficed.
Simple Ways To Stop Overpaying
Choosing an appropriately sized plant is 50% of the fight. Here’s how to keep costs low after that.
Stack Vertically
Storage is priced by floor area, but you also pay for the height of the ceiling. Most units have an 8 foot ceiling and most customers use about half of that.
Stack boxes on shelving. Stack boxes on desks. Place chairs on tables. Packing your unit correctly can save you an entire size bracket. That’s dollars and dollars every month.
Break Everything Down
Disassemble tables. Remove leg from tables. Remove divider panels from desks. Empty filing cabinets and box up files.
A standing boardroom table occupies only a small percentage of space when not laid out. Deconstructing the table can be tedious labor. However it’s the lowest cost square footage you’ll ever purchase.
Only Pay For Climate Control When It’s Needed
Climate-controlled units are more expensive. Here’s why – servers, paper files and electronics require protection.
Offices, furniture and metal shelving don’t. Sometimes it’s less expensive to split your load between a small climate controlled unit and a larger non-climate controlled one than it is to use just the pricey space.
Plan For Longer Than You Think
Office moves go wrong. Leases get pushed back, fit-outs overrun, and the “six weeks” of storage suddenly becomes six months.
That’s standard, not special — leases of six months or longer made up ~60% of self-storage revenue during calendar 2025. Ask how long those discounted rates last and make sure you know if your rate is fixed or increases after the introductory period. This one question will save you more money than any other on this list.
Bringing It All Together
Determining what size office storage unit you will need is all about three factors. Inventory what you have to store, know what the sizes truly hold and how to pack it once you get there.
Skip the counting step and you’ll overpay every single month of the rental.
To recap the process:
- Inventory the office and measure the awkward items
- Add 20% for walkways
- Match the total to a unit size using a storage unit size guide
- Stack vertically and break furniture down
- Confirm long-term pricing before signing
Then that’s one less thing to stress about on moving day. Do this and your storage unit is the only aspect of your office move that doesn’t break your budget.