Student storage: the summer survival guide

Every June the same ritual: a parent drives 200 miles with an empty car, everything you own goes home to a spare room, and in September it all comes back. Storage near campus breaks the cycle — usually for less than the petrol.

A standard uni room — clothes, books, kitchen kit, a desk chair, maybe a TV — fits comfortably in a 15 or 25 sq ft unit. If you're sharing with housemates (allowed, and sensible), a 35 sq ft unit swallows two or three rooms' worth and splits the cost to a few pounds a week each.

Boxes stack; furniture doesn't. Break down anything flat-packable, put heavy boxes at the bottom, and leave a walkway so September-you can reach the winter coat that's inevitably at the back.

At our stores near campuses — Guildford, Reading, Kingston and more — a 25 sq ft unit runs about £23–£33 a week, before the 20% student summer discount. Split three ways over a 12-week summer, that's about the price of one takeaway each per week. No deposit, and you stop paying the week you empty it.

One: leaving it until results week — units near campus genuinely sell out in June. Book when you book your summer travel. Two: storing the mini-fridge without defrosting and drying it; September mould is a rite of passage nobody needs. Three: packing your passport, laptop or anything you'll want mid-summer. Keep a 'stays with me' bag and be ruthless about it.

Bring a padlock, your student ID for the discount, and a housemate with a car. Done in an hour.