Stay Organized In NYC

How to Organize Storage Unit

Posted on 07/15/201802/25/2025 by BigApple

Individuals often utilize spaces such as storage units or any available space within their residence as a means of concealing infrequently used possessions. Nevertheless, it is imperative to maintain a sense of order and control over these items and spaces. Despite the infrequency of use, it is essential to ensure that the items stored within the designated storage space are properly organized.

The reason is very simple. The time you actually need something from the storage unit, it shouldn’t be hard to find that item. Also, items stored properly can’t get damaged easily and are going to be safe, no matter how long you need to store them for. First of all, learn how to choose the right size storage unit. And then, use our tips and organize your storage unit once for all.

Before You Pack

The key to an organized unit is knowing your items. That’s why you need to make a list of the items you are about to store in your storage unit. It would be also great to label the boxes clearly. Write down what is inside each box, especially if it contains fragile items.

Please be advised that boxes containing valuable and fragile items should be placed on top of other boxes to prevent any potential damage. It is recommended to create a layout or map of your storage unit and label the location of each box accordingly. Additionally, it is advisable to display both the list and map on a visible wall or door upon entering the unit.

Pack Smartly

Sometimes, throwing items into plastic bags and putting them in a storage box is not enough. To organize your storage unit the right way, the items inside need to be packed smartly. Here are some of the packing rules you can try out:

Don’t use plastic bags – even though plastic bags seem like the best and easiest idea, it’s not really like that. Items you store in plastic bags can’t be organized properly, it is often messy and mildew is a common guest, too;
Use similar-sized boxes – in order to save space, and organize your storage unit properly, it is best to use the same (or similar) size cardboard moving boxes and bins. The reason is that if your boxes are of a similar size, you can easily stack them and keep them organized; If you don’t know where to find good moving/storage boxes check with the storage professionals in NYC.
Label, label, label – no way to stress this enough. Even though labeling seems like an extra, unnecessary step in packing, you will thank yourself a thousand times you did it once you can find something easily later on.

Use Shelves to Organize Your Storage Unit

Shelving units can serve as an effective means of organizing your storage space. In the event that your storage unit lacks shelving, consider installing wall-mounted shelves or purchasing pre-constructed storage shelves. Placing boxes, particularly those containing delicate items, on these shelves can significantly enhance the organization of your space. This will result in improved visibility and clarity, thereby facilitating ease of use.

Stack the Boxes Carefully

When putting the boxes one on top of each other, there is a way to sort out things in your storage unit, too. First of all, think about how often you use items in all the boxes. Therefore you can stack the boxes in order of how frequently you use them.

The items you use often should be put close to the door or in the front. This way it will be easy to find and reach them whenever you need them. You need to think about the weight, too. Heavy boxes should be put on the bottom, followed by lighter ones.

If you stack your boxes correctly, you will avoid them falling on you when you need them. Furthermore, you will not risk damaging the items inside if the boxes are not sturdy enough.

Protect Fragile Items

It is very important to pay special attention when you are packing breakables or valuable items. If you are relocating, NYC moving companies will help you pack those items professionally, so make sure to hire them when moving.

However, if you plan on packing those items by yourself to organize your storage unit, be sure to do the following. Protect the fragile items with pieces of bubble wrap, packing paper, or simply old towels and clothes. Again, label the boxes and use special stickers that show that those boxes contain fragile items.

Have a Space to Walk Through

The aforementioned packing recommendations are rendered futile if access to the boxes is impeded. It is imperative to create aisles between the stacked boxes to facilitate movement and accessibility. This ensures that all boxes can be reached with ease at any given time.

Additionally, it is crucial to allocate some vacant space within the storage unit to allow for proper air circulation and ventilation, thereby enabling the items to remain fresh.

Raise the Boxes

Having your boxes a couple of inches above the ground will help with many storage problems. Mildew, water leakage, ants, rats, etc. Before you put the boxes inside, clear the unit and cover the floor with wooden palettes. They are cheap and provide a great support to the boxes and raise them from the floor.

Save Some Space

There are several effective methods for optimizing storage space within a unit. One such approach involves disassembling furniture items such as tables and shelves. Additionally, utilizing the vacant areas within furniture pieces, such as sofa boxes or the interior of a fridge, can also increase storage capacity. It is important to maintain a record of the location of stored items to facilitate easy retrieval in the future.

As you can see, in order to make a good organization of your storage facility you should include a couple of steps. However, it is absolutely worth it. The moment you finish packing and organizing, you will be happy that you did it. All the boxes will be easy to reach, and you will know exactly where your items are. Good luck!

Tips for buying a home in Park Slope

Posted on 06/29/201804/02/2026 by BigApple

If you have had enough of renting a place in NYC, you must be pondering what to do next. All sorts of questions must be popping up in your head, and they, for the most part, include finances. However, you should know that there are some neighborhoods across the five NYC boroughs which are rather affordable. The trick is knowing how to find them. Park Slope, for example, is one of the aforementioned neighborhoods. Did you know that buying a home in Park Slope will not leave you broke at the end of the day? If we got you interested, keep on reading. Here are some valuable tips on how to buy a home in Park Slope! Continue reading “Tips for buying a home in Park Slope”

How to Pick the Right Size Storage Unit (and When You Don’t Have To)

Posted on 06/18/201809/22/2026 by BigApple

In New York, start one size smaller than the national charts suggest. The average NYC one-bedroom is 697 square feet — about 200 square feet under the U.S. average apartment — so its contents typically fit a 5×10 unit (50 square feet, 400 cubic feet, roughly 20 large boxes plus two big furniture pieces), and the most-rented unit size in the city is the smallest one, the 5×5. Measure by what you own, not by your bedroom count. And if the storage is part of a move — a lease gap, a renovation, a delayed closing — you can skip the sizing question entirely: a full-service mover like Big Apple Moving, moving New Yorkers since 1979, prices storage on your inventory’s actual cubic feet, not on a unit you guessed.

Choosing storage space is a volume problem that gets sold as a floor-plan problem. Units are priced by footprint — 5×5, 5×10, 10×10 — but what you are buying is cubic feet under a standard 8-foot ceiling, and what you own is measured in boxes and furniture, not floor tiles. This guide translates between the two: real dimensions, honest capacity figures, and the New York adjustments the national charts leave out.

Size is half the decision. What the space costs is the other half — current NYC figures live in our guide to self-storage unit costs — and how you pack decides how much of the unit you actually use; see how to organize a storage unit for that part.

The size ladder

Storage Unit Sizes, Measured in Boxes

Every major operator publishes the same ladder of sizes, and the dimensions are standard enough to rely on. What the brochures undersell is capacity in the unit that matters on moving day — large boxes — so this table says it in boxes.

Unit size	Floor space	Capacity	What it typically holds
5×5	25 sq ft	200 cu ft	About 10 large boxes, or a twin mattress, a small dresser and a bicycle — a closet’s worth
5×10	50 sq ft	400 cu ft	About 20 large boxes plus two big furniture pieces — a studio’s worth
5×15	75 sq ft	600 cu ft	About 30 large boxes plus a full bedroom set
10×10	100 sq ft	800 cu ft	About 40 large boxes plus two bedrooms’ furniture
10×15	150 sq ft	1,200 cu ft	About 60 large boxes — a two-bedroom home
10×20	200 sq ft	1,600 cu ft	About 80 large boxes — a three-bedroom house, or one car

Dimensions and capacities as published in storage operators’ own size guides; ceilings are typically 8 feet.

The New York adjustment

NYC Apartments Are Smaller — Size Down Accordingly

National size guides assume American homes: 908 square feet on average, usually with a garage and an attic feeding the storage pile. New York apartments average roughly 200 square feet less, and the right unit shrinks with them. The average NYC studio is 487 square feet; a one-bedroom, 697; a two-bedroom, 963; a three-bedroom, 1,228. Set those against the table above and the pattern holds: a New York household usually needs one unit size smaller than a national chart recommends for the same bedroom count — a studio into a 5×5 or 5×10, a one-bedroom into a 5×10, a two-bedroom into a 5×15 or 10×10.

Two local wrinkles are worth money. The most-rented unit size in New York is the 5×5 — this city stores overflow, not households. And New York facilities commonly list reduced-height units: the same footprint under a lower ceiling at a lower monthly rate. If your list is boxes rather than wardrobes, a reduced-height 5×10 can beat a full-height 5×5 on both space and price.

Padded furniture being placed into a wooden storage vault in a climate-controlled New York warehouse

The method

How to Estimate the Size You Need in Four Steps

1List everything

Walk the apartment with your phone and list what is going in: furniture by piece, everything else in box counts. The list is the estimate — every other method is a guess wearing math.

2Count in boxes

Operators size their own units in large boxes: about 10 fill a 5×5, 20 a 5×10, 40 a 10×10, 80 a 10×20. Count your packed boxes against that ladder — our guide to labeling moving boxes makes the count reusable on delivery day.

3Add the furniture

Furniture eats space in awkward footprints, not neat stacks. Count each large piece — sofa, mattress set, dresser, table — as displacing two to four boxes’ worth of room, then round up, not down.

4Use the truck as a ruler

A 10-foot rental truck holds 402 cubic feet — loaded full, it fills a 5×10 with room to spare. A 15-footer (764 cu ft) maps to a 10×10, a 20-footer (1,016 cu ft) to a 10×15, a 26-footer (1,682 cu ft) overfills a 10×20. The truck runs about one size larger than the unit you need.

Where it goes wrong

Six Sizing Mistakes That Cost Real Money

Paying for air

The classic mistake is renting a bedroom’s worth of space for a closet’s worth of things. Every unused square foot bills monthly, and in New York the jump from a 5×5 to a 10×10 takes the average bill from under $90 to $271 a month.

Stacking to the ceiling

A unit that is too small forces floor-to-ceiling stacking. That is how box towers crush, sofa legs snap, and upholstery spends a season with no air around it.

Forgetting the third dimension

Footprints get all the attention, but the 8-foot ceiling is where a small unit earns its keep: mattresses on edge, sofas on end, boxes in stacks of four. In NYC, ask about reduced-height units too — lower ceiling, lower rate.

Losing the walkway

Pack a unit solid and reaching anything at the back means unloading everything in front of it. A one-box-wide aisle costs about a tenth of the space and saves the whole afternoon.

Sizing by bedroom count

National charts map bedrooms to units for 908-square-foot homes. A New York two-bedroom at 963 square feet holds a lot less than a suburban one — size from your inventory list, not the floor-plan label.

Ignoring the visit schedule

Weekly access needs loose packing and an aisle — go one size up. No access until move-in day? Then a unit may be the wrong product entirely; sealed mover’s storage is built for exactly that.

The size-free option

Storing Between Moves? There’s No Size to Pick

Movers carrying wrapped furniture from a truck into a New York apartment building after a storage stay

A whole category of storage removes the sizing decision. When belongings are stored between two addresses — the old lease ends before the new one starts, a closing slips, a renovation runs long — a full-service moving company loads them once, holds them in its own warehouse, and delivers them when the new place is ready. The crew inventories what you actually own, measures it in cubic feet, and that measurement is the price. A guessed-at unit standing two-thirds empty stops being a possibility, because there is no unit.

That model is how Big Apple Moving has stored New Yorkers’ belongings since 1979: climate control as standard, furniture padded and sealed on load day, the building’s certificate of insurance handled before delivery. The trade-off is honest — sealed storage is not for things you need weekly. For a gap measured in days to weeks, see short-term storage; for open-ended stays, long-term storage; for the complete pick-up-and-return service, full-service storage. Comparing product types first? Start with the types of storage solutions.

Item by item

Will It Fit? Common Items and Their Units

A queen mattress set

A 5×10 is the honest minimum — the mattress rides on edge along the 10-foot wall with the box spring beside it. A 5×5 technically takes a queen alone, but nothing else fits after it.

A sofa

A loveseat fits a 5×5 standing on end; a three-seater needs a 5×10; a sectional is a 10×10 job. Wrap the arms — upholstery corners take the worst of a tight unit.

A dresser and 20 boxes

The classic studio clear-out is a 5×10: dresser as the stack base, boxes in rows of four, aisle down the middle.

A bicycle and season gear

Skis, the AC unit, holiday boxes and the bike hang together in a 5×5 — the unit size most of New York actually rents.

A dining table for six

Legs off and blanket-wrapped, tabletop on edge: 5×10. Legs on, it commandeers the middle of a 10×10.

Washer, dryer and appliances

Full-size appliances travel with two-bedroom contents into a 10×15 — doors propped open against mildew, and never stacked under boxes.

Questions

Storage Unit Sizes — Frequently Asked Questions

What size storage unit do I need for a one-bedroom apartment?+

In New York, usually a 5×10 — 50 square feet and 400 cubic feet, enough for about 20 large boxes plus a couch, a mattress set and a dresser. National guides often say 5×15 or 10×10, but they assume a 900-square-foot home; the average NYC one-bedroom is 697 square feet with no garage feeding the pile. If everything you own is going in — not just the overflow — size up to a 5×15.

How big is a 10×10 storage unit?+

100 square feet of floor and, under the standard 8-foot ceiling, 800 cubic feet of capacity — about half a one-car garage. Operators rate it at roughly 40 large boxes plus two bedrooms’ furniture. In New York it is often the largest unit a household ever needs: the average two-bedroom apartment here is 963 square feet, and its contents fit with an aisle to spare.

How big is a 5×10 storage unit?+

A strip 5 feet wide and 10 feet deep — 50 square feet, 400 cubic feet under an 8-foot ceiling, about the size of a large walk-in closet. It takes around 20 large boxes plus two big furniture pieces, or a queen mattress set, a dresser and a TV. It is the workhorse size for New York studios and one-bedrooms.

What can fit in a 5×5 storage unit?+

A 5×5 is 25 square feet and 200 cubic feet — a large closet. It holds about 10 large boxes, or a twin mattress, a small dresser, a bicycle, ski gear and a few suitcases. It is also the most-rented unit size in New York City, which says something about how this city stores: overflow, not whole households.

What size storage unit fits a studio apartment?+

A 5×10 takes a full NYC studio — the average studio here measures 487 square feet, and its furniture plus 15 to 20 boxes fit inside 400 cubic feet. If you are clearing seasonal gear and a few boxes rather than emptying the apartment, a 5×5 does the job at roughly half the monthly rate.

What is the smallest storage unit you can rent?+

Lockers. Below the 5×5, many facilities rent reduced-height lockers from about 4 square feet — a pantry-sized box for documents, a seasonal wardrobe or a few cartons. New York facilities in particular list reduced-height units at lower prices than full-height ones on the same footprint, so ask about height, not just floor size.

Is it better to rent a unit that’s too big or too small?+

Neither mistake is free. Too big and you pay monthly for air — in New York the step between common sizes runs well over $100 a month. Too small and you stack to the ceiling, which is how boxes crush and furniture scars, and you lose the walkway, so reaching anything means unloading. Inventory first, then rent what the list needs with one box-row of slack.

Do I need to pick a unit size if movers store my things between apartments?+

No. When storage is part of the move — loaded at the old address, held, delivered to the new one — a full-service mover measures the cubic feet of your actual inventory, and that measurement is the price. Nobody rounds you up to the next unit. Big Apple Moving has run storage this way since 1979: one written estimate covering the move out, the climate-controlled stay and the move in.

Before You Pack

Pack Smartly

Use Shelves to Organize Your Storage Unit

Stack the Boxes Carefully

Protect Fragile Items

Have a Space to Walk Through

Raise the Boxes

Save Some Space

Storage Unit Sizes, Measured in Boxes

NYC Apartments Are Smaller — Size Down Accordingly

How to Estimate the Size You Need in Four Steps

Six Sizing Mistakes That Cost Real Money

Paying for air

Stacking to the ceiling

Forgetting the third dimension

Losing the walkway

Sizing by bedroom count

Ignoring the visit schedule

Storing Between Moves? There’s No Size to Pick

Will It Fit? Common Items and Their Units

A queen mattress set

A sofa

A dresser and 20 boxes

A bicycle and season gear

A dining table for six

Washer, dryer and appliances

Storing Between Two Apartments?

Storage Unit Sizes — Frequently Asked Questions

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