Small-load storage is the market's blind spot. Units price by floor area, so the system punishes anyone storing less than a room's worth. Three ways to do it:
1. The smallest unit going
A 10 sq ft locker at the UK average is £27.40 a month including VAT. Add store cover (about £7 per 1,000 GBP a month), a padlock, and transport both ways. Fine if you live next door to the store and own a big car.
2. Per-box collection (our own service)
BoxSpeed charges £7.95 a box a month (£6.95 from the 11th box, £5.95 from the 21st), with a £29 monthly minimum, £39 collection and £39 return. Prepay 4 months and collection is free; prepay 9 and both stops are free. Everything is stored in Oxfordshire and returned to any mainland address on your postcode's collection day. For 8 boxes over 3 months that is £63.60 a month plus the two stops: £268.80 all in, no van, no lifting.
3. A friend's loft
Free, and worth it for things you could stand to lose. Not worth it for anything you would claim on insurance for, because a borrowed loft has none.
The honest crossover: with van hire, a collection service is cheaper up to about 100 boxes on a 3 month stay. Past that, the unit starts winning on money, though never on time.