If you’ve got a family, a busy household, or simply a lot going on, you’ll know how quickly space runs out. Whether you’re moving house, renovating, downsizing, sending children off to university, or just trying to make room for everyday life, finding somewhere for all your belongings can be a real challenge.

Boxes stacked in the hallway, bags filling the car, and furniture squeezed into every corner can make a home feel more like a storage unit. Traditional storage can help, but it often comes at a high cost and with plenty of hassle.

That’s why more people are turning to a smarter alternative that’s affordable, flexible, and designed to fit around real life: storage by the box.

The Problem With Traditional Storage

Traditional self-storage is fine in theory, but in practice, it’s not always the best fit for how most of us live.

First, it’s expensive. A small storage unit (about 50 square feet) can cost anywhere from £80 to £160+ per month, depending on where you are in the UK. And that’s before you factor in petrol, van hire, time off work or childcare if you need a free day to get it sorted.

Then there’s the effort. You have to drive everything to a facility, load it all yourself, and you usually end up paying for space you don’t fully use. It works if you’ve got a whole house to store, but what about when you just need to tuck a few boxes away?

Introducing: Storage by the Box

That’s where storage by the box comes in, and honestly, I wish I’d known about it sooner, especially when we were struggling to find a self-serve storage unit for some of our belongings while we were renovating!

Instead of paying for a big, expensive unit, storage by the box companies let you store individual boxes. They deliver the boxes to your door, you pack what you need, and they collect it. 

You can also use your own boxes, provided they’re the right size for the company’s requirements and aren’t overfilled or too heavy.

Your things are stored in a secure facility, and you can get them back whenever you want, for a return fee (which we’ll cover later).

It’s perfect if you’re storing smaller amounts, such as seasonal clothes, university gear, books, baby items, decorations, or paperwork you don’t need every day but don’t want to throw away. 

It’s also a practical option during a home renovation when you need to keep belongings safely out of the way for a few months. 

And if you live in a flat or apartment without access to a garage, loft, or spare room, this kind of storage can be a real lifesaver when space is at a premium.

It Fits Around Real Life

This kind of service is ideal if you’re in a transition phase, moving house, renovating a small house, or helping your child move in or out of university. It’s also great if you’re just trying to get a handle on the clutter without getting rid of things you still want to keep.

For example, during a house refresh, storage by the box can make it easier to move furniture and clear space without feeling like you’re living in a storage unit at home with boxes piled everywhere. Instead of cluttering the lounge or making repeated trips to a warehouse, everything is collected in one go and kept safely out of sight, helping the home feel calmer straight away.

The Cost Savings Are Worth Noting

What really caught my attention was the price. The Box Co. is one example of a company that offers this, with prices sitting at less than £4 per box per month. That’s less than a weekly coffee and so much cheaper than a storage unit you might only half-fill.

You only pay for what you actually use. No contracts, no paying for extra space, and no need to hire a van or take a day off work to get it done. Just simple, affordable storage that fits around your life, not the other way around.

For someone who’s trying to keep an eye on monthly outgoings (and who isn’t?), it’s a practical solution that doesn’t eat into the budget.

While the monthly storage cost is impressively low at around £3.56 per box, it’s worth noting that there is a £14.95 return fee per box when you want your items back. Although this may seem high compared to the storage fee, it reflects the convenience of having each box delivered straight to your door without the need for van hire or heavy lifting.

For those planning to store items for several months, the savings on monthly costs often outweigh the one-off return fee. It can also be more practical than driving to a storage facility and managing everything yourself. This type of service is best suited to people who value convenience and flexibility, especially if they only need to retrieve certain boxes rather than everything in storage at once.

Pricing Comparison: How It Stacks Up Against a Storage Unit

To put the costs into perspective, let’s say you want to store around ten small boxes for a year. The lowest price of around £3.56 per month applies to the smallest storage box, which measures 45 × 30 × 30 cm and can hold up to 20 kg. This makes it ideal for items such as books, seasonal clothes, paperwork, or decorations.

With storage by the box, that would work out at just over £35 per month in storage fees, or about £427 for the year. When it’s time to have your boxes returned, there’s a one-off delivery cost of £14.95 per box, which brings the total for the year to around £577.

By comparison, a small 50-square-foot storage unit in the UK typically costs between £80 and £160 per month, which adds up to £960–£1,920 a year. And that doesn’t include petrol, van hire, or the time it takes to drive everything back and forth yourself.

Option	Monthly Cost	Annual Cost	Return Fee	Extra Costs	Total (10 boxes, 1 year)
Storage by the box	£35.60 (£3.56 × 10)	£427.20	£149.50 (£14.95 × 10)	None (collection & delivery included)	£576.70
Self-storage unit (50 sq ft)	£80–£160	£960–£1,920	£0 (collect yourself)	Petrol, van hire, time	£960–£1,920+

Even with the return fee included, storage by the box usually works out 40–70% cheaper if you only have a handful of boxes and need to store them for one year. It’s a service that makes sense when you don’t need an entire unit, but still want a safe, secure, and convenient place for your belongings.

The box service makes more sense once you store items for longer periods (3+ months), as the low monthly fees offset the one-off return charge. The box model is also more convenient if you don’t drive, can’t hire a van, or don’t want to move everything yourself.  

For much shorter-term storage, it could still be worth hiring a storage unit, so you’ll have to do the calculations.

Final Word

Finding extra space at home doesn’t have to mean renting a large storage unit or spending weekends hauling boxes to and from a facility. Storage by the box offers a simpler and more affordable alternative that fits around everyday life. It’s especially cost-effective for longer-term storage of smaller items and ideal for anyone who values convenience over the hassle of transport and logistics.

Whether you’re moving house, renovating, or just trying to cut down on clutter without parting with the things you want to keep, this type of service can make the process far easier. It’s a practical way to reclaim space and enjoy a calmer home, without adding extra stress or unnecessary expense.