Downsizing is rarely a furniture problem. It is a decision problem. The four-bed in Heswall holds thirty years of a family. The two-bed in West Kirby does not, and the difference has to be resolved by completion day whether or not anyone is ready to resolve it. Most of the pressure in a downsizing move comes from being asked to make permanent decisions in the fortnight when you have the least time to make them.
Splitting the move solves that. What fits goes to the new house. What does not goes into storage, and gets decided later, when there is time.
A typical job of this kind
| Move type | House removal with self storage |
| Route | Heswall to West Kirby, or anywhere across the Wirral |
| Property | Four-bed detached to two-bed bungalow |
| Services used | Pre-move survey, removal, placement at the new home, self storage |
| Storage sizes | 35 sq ft up to 3,000 sq ft |
| Access | At short notice, with units laid out for large items |
The survey does the sorting
A surveyor visits and measures both ends. The point is not just volume, it is fit. Which rooms in the new house take which furniture, what physically will not go through the door, and what is left over once those two questions are answered.
That leftover pile is the storage list, and it is usually smaller than people fear. Seeing it written down is often the most useful part of the whole process.
One move, two destinations
On the day the load is split. Items for the new house are delivered and placed where you want them, reassembled where they were taken apart. Everything else goes to the depot on the same run rather than needing a second job booked for a fortnight later.
What the storage looks like
Self storage units run from 35 square feet up to 3,000, so the space matches the pile rather than the pile matching the space. The units are set out so that getting large and awkward items in and out stays straightforward, which is the failing of most self storage aimed at people storing boxes.
Loose and difficult items go into steel container storage. Rolled carpets, garden tools, ladders, a sofa nobody can face parting with yet. All of it is behind 24-hour CCTV, a secure perimeter fence and an alarm system, and the units are fully insured.
Getting back in
You can access your items at very little notice, which is the whole point of using self storage rather than sealed container storage for a downsizing move. Grandchildren visit and the spare bed comes out. A room gets decorated and the good furniture goes back in. The pile shrinks over months rather than in one weekend.
Short term or long
Longer storage costs less per week, and there is no requirement to commit to a length at the start. Take a few weeks while the new house settles, or a year while you work out what the next stage looks like.
Why it works better than deciding in advance
Nothing gets thrown out under time pressure. Furniture that turns out to fit comes back. Furniture that does not can be sold or passed on from storage without ever going into the new house and back out again. The move stops being a deadline for decisions and goes back to being a move.
Accreditations
- Member of the British Association of Removers
- Certified to BS EN 12522, the European standard for household furniture removal
- Which? Trusted Trader, with independently verified reviews
- Established 1972, and part of Britannia Movers International, a network of 49 family-run removal companies
Book a free survey
Tell us both addresses and we will arrange a surveyor to visit and work out what fits. Call 01244 521 950, email sales@britanniacestrian.co.uk, or use the quote form. The office is open Monday to Friday, 8.30am to 5pm.
Related pages
Self Storage | Removals Wirral | House Removals | Storage in Chester
