What To Remember When Choosing A Storage Unit Size
Choosing a storage space can be a bit tricky for a few reasons. One is that, in your head, the size of the unit can often expand. So what you think is the size of a 5x8 unit is a lot larger in your imagination than it is in real life. The other is that you often forget that it's not just stuff that has to be in the unit. While some people might be OK cramming everything into the storage space, you're better off organizing what goes into the unit -- but that requires more space than you realized.
Room to Move
You're going to have to have enough space to not only hold your belongings but also to let you move around and access those belongings. You should leave pathways that allow you to reach items in back and along the sides. If you cram everything in and then find that you have to get something from one of the stacks of boxes at the back, you'd have to remove everything in front, get the item, and replace all of the boxes. If you leave room for aisles, you can walk down one, move maybe a few boxes, and be able to access the item you need. But that also means that you might have to rent a unit that is larger than you thought you needed at first.
Shelving
If you plan to place items on shelving units in the storage space, you may need even more room inside. While most of the extra space required by shelving units is vertical, each unit will take up a few more inches on the sides and front and back because the shelves are likely to be a little bigger than each box. So by adding a shelf unit, you need more horizontal space in the unit.
Orientation
Most storage units are deeper than they are wide. Occasionally you'll find a unit, though, where the width is longer than the depth. These units usually have two access doors, one at each end, and they make it a lot easier to access your belongings. If you get one of these units, you might not have to worry so much about leaving an aisle, though you'll have the center of the unit sort of blocked from view if you don't.
The staff at the storage facility can tell you what they've noticed works best for people with different amounts of belongings to store. Remember that it's better to overestimate the space you'll need because if you underestimate, you're left with a lot of stuff that has no place to go.