Six sizes at Roseberry Mini Storage in Hattiesburg, MS, from a walk-in closet to a double garage. Here is what actually fits in each one.
The smallest unit we rent, and the one most people underestimate. Fifty square feet with eight-foot ceilings holds considerably more than it looks like from the doorway, provided you stack properly and stand furniture on end.
Students storing a dorm or apartment room over summer, clearing one room for a renovation, or keeping the overflow that has taken over a spare bedroom.
Half as much again as a 5x10, and the extra five feet of depth matters more than the number suggests — it is the difference between stacking to the door and keeping a walkway to the back.
A one-bedroom move, or anyone who wants to reach their things without unpacking the unit first. A common upgrade from a 5x10 once people see the space.
The size most people end up in, and a sensible default if you are genuinely unsure. A hundred square feet takes a flat or small house without forcing you to choose what to leave behind.
Moving between homes, a long trip or deployment, or a business keeping stock and records somewhere dry and reachable.
Our most common unit. Room for a whole household with space left to walk in, which is the part people value once they have lived with a unit packed wall to wall.
A full-house move, an extended renovation, or storing a home while you decide what happens next.
Two hundred square feet is a garage, and it behaves like one. Enough for a sizeable house or a vehicle with belongings packed around it.
A whole-house move, vehicle storage, or a trade keeping tools and stock in one place.
The largest we have, and we only have a couple. Three hundred square feet for when nothing smaller will do.
Large households and commercial storage. Worth calling ahead — these come up rarely.
A month of the next size up costs less than renting a second unit, and far less than discovering on moving day that everything does not fit while a van sits outside. The extra floor space also lets you leave a walkway, which is what makes a unit usable rather than just full.
Sofas, appliances, mattresses and dining tables decide your size; boxes fill the gaps around them. Write down the footprint of your five largest items and work from there rather than guessing from the number of rooms.
Our units have eight-foot ceilings. Stacking boxes properly, standing mattresses and table tops on end, and putting lighter things on top can be the difference between a 5x10 and a 10x10. Heaviest at the bottom, nothing you need soon buried at the back.
Almost everyone comes back for one specific thing. A walkway down the middle, with labels facing out, turns a ten-minute search into a thirty-second one. Plan for it when you choose the size.