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How to Load Your Storage Container & Prepare For Pickup

 
The next part of your journey with us depends on the service you reserved. Three paths meet here:

• Containers — for all customers using our portable storage container, whether stored at our facility or on-site, moved to a new location, loaded by you or by a third-party service crew.
• A la Carte Valet — our student, by-the-box storage service, where a crew comes to the dorm room to pick up the belongings.
• Full Service Moving — a professional moving partner we coordinate with packs, loads, transports, and unloads your belongings between your old and new homes.

Pick yours below — the section for each covers what to expect, what you do, and what Box-n-Go handles.

Containers

Delivery

Our truck brings your storage container (or containers) out, and we use a forklift to set it down exactly where you want it — there’s no ramp and nothing for you to drive. Your delivery date is the one you chose when you booked.

A little thought about placement makes loading easier:

• As close to your door as you can manage. Every step you save is a step you’re not repeating with something heavy in your arms.
• On your own property, on fairly level ground, and clear of anything you’ll need open — a driveway, a walkway, or a gate.
• With an open path in. To bring the storage container in and set it down with the forklift, we need about 8.5 feet wide by 8.5 feet tall of clearance along the way — much less than most companies, so tight driveways and slopes usually work fine.

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Prepare

A few minutes of setup before the first box is loaded makes the whole load go faster and come out tighter. The sorting, cleaning, appliance prep, and packing all happen before this — the getting started and packing and protecting guides cover those. This is just the loading-day setup.

• Sketch your plan. Print the inventory form that matches your size and use the grid on page one to rough out where things will go. Page two is for listing what’s inside — handy later when you’re trying to remember which storage container holds the kitchen.
   
  • 8 ft × 5 ft — Flex — print the inventory form (PDF)
  • 8 ft × 8 ft — Small — print the inventory form (PDF)
  • 12 ft × 8 ft — Medium — print the inventory form (PDF)
  • 16 ft × 8 ft — Large — print the inventory form (PDF)
  • 20 ft × 8 ft — Extra Large (on-site storage only) — print the inventory form (PDF)

   

• Still deciding how much you have or which size fits? Our storage calculator can work through your inventory and estimate the volume, the right storage container size, and about how much it’ll weigh.
• Line up the loading aids. A hand truck (for stacks of boxes and small appliances) and an appliance truck (for the heavy uprights — refrigerator, washer, dryer) are easy on your back; you can rent both from Box-n-Go and have them brought out with your storage container, or reserve them ahead of time. Quilted moving blankets protect wood, glass, and leather — most people loading their own storage container buy them on the supplies page, since rentals are mainly for short-term, crew-loaded jobs.
• Have wrapping and disassembly done. Fragile and large pieces should already be wrapped, and anything that comes apart already broken down with its hardware bagged, before loading day — the packing and protecting guide covers both.
• Clear the area. Prop the door so it stays open while you work, keep kids and pets away from the loading area, and set aside anything you’re not loading so it doesn’t end up in the storage container by accident. Have your padlock on hand for the end of the day.

• Save 50% on move-in
• No truck rental
• Ground level

• Save 50% on move-in
• No truck rental
• Ground level

Box-n-Go Portable Storage Unit Sizes

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Load

However the loading gets done, the same techniques below apply — what changes is whose hands are doing the lifting. If you’d rather have a crew handle it, our loading help page covers the options. Either way, you direct the load: you prepped everything, so you’re the one who knows what’s inside each box, what’s wrapped, and what’s been taken apart. The loaders don’t — so stay on site and call the shots.

With the door open and your sketch in hand, the approach that works best is to build from the back of the storage container toward the door in leaning tiers, heaviest things first. Box-n-Go’s own rule of thumb says it simply: heavier items at the bottom and closer to the center, with the lighter items spread out on top and toward the sides, back, and front.

Box-n-Go Storage & Moving - as Easy as 1-2-3

1

We Deliver

2

We Pick Up

3

We Store or Move

Store on your driveway or inside our secure facility. Load/unload only once. Ground level access.

A sequence that holds up well:

• Mattresses first, in a bag, standing on edge against the back wall — they make a soft buffer for everything that follows.
• Heavy furniture and appliances next — refrigerator, washer, dryer, dressers, tables, bookcases. Tape drawers shut first, and lean on the appliance truck for the uprights. Once the refrigerator is in place, take its shelves out and load the inside — it’s easy-to-miss space.
• Heavy boxes — books, dishes, tools — tucked into the gaps and onto flat, sturdy surfaces like the tops of dressers.
• Medium boxes building up the middle of each tier.
• Light boxes on top, cushioning the load up toward the ceiling.
• Awkward items — bikes, tall lamps, garment racks — after the main tiers, so they have a wall to lean against.
• Fragile items in the front, resting on something soft, where you’ll see them first when the door opens.
• A catch wall at the door — flat cardboard, a folded blanket, or a rolled rug — to hold back anything that settles in transit so it doesn’t tumble out.

Fill the gaps as you go with soft things — pillows, towels, cushions, rolled rugs — so nothing has room to shift, and try not to leave anything free-standing or leaning toward the door; if an odd piece has to lean, lean it back into the tier behind it. Before you close up, take a few photos — a simple record of what’s inside and how it’s packed.

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Secure

Box-n-Go storage containers have tie-down rings built into the inside walls. It’s easiest to strap each tier to them as you build it rather than after the load is finished — once a wall of boxes is in, the back is hard to reach. Tall items like bikes, lamps, and narrow bookcases can be tied straight to the wall rings so they aren’t relying on anything to lean on.

Three strap patterns cover most loads: a strap straight across the front of a tier (the everyday one), two straps crossing in an X for a tall tier that might tip forward, and a vertical strap up and over a tall item from one floor ring to another.

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Lock

When everything’s in, close the door. On a Flex, that’s two butterfly latches plus a hasp for your padlock; on the larger sizes, it’s a spring-loaded latch your padlock sets right onto. We’ll send you a short video of this, and it’ll be posted here too.

Then put your padlock on — you hold the only key. What to look for is in the getting started guide. If your storage container is coming to our warehouse, a basic padlock is all you need — it’s just a seal, and the warehouse is secured and watched. If your storage container is staying on your property, go with something sturdier, since it’ll be out in the open the whole time.

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Return the loading aids

If you rented a hand truck or appliance truck, don’t lock it inside the storage container — if it gets shut in, the daily rental keeps running until we can get it back.

Each one comes with a chain lock that works like a bike lock; use it to secure the truck to the storage container’s door handle, on the outside, and we’ll collect it when we pick up the storage container. Any rented blankets go back to our office, or you can hand them to the driver. There’s a short video for this, posted here too.

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Pickup

How this last step goes depends on where your storage container is headed.

If it’s coming to our warehouse for storage, or going on to a new address, your pickup is already set — you chose the date when you booked and we confirmed it. By that window, the storage container just needs to be loaded, locked, and ready.

You don’t need to be there for the pickup — just make sure we have a clear, unobstructed path to the storage container that day: nothing parked in the way, and any gates open. If you need to move the date, a quick call to 877-269-6461 is the fastest way; the dispatcher can often fit you into routes the online view doesn’t show.

If you’re keeping the storage container on your own property — on-site storage — there’s no pickup. It stays right where we placed it for as long as you need it.

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After pickup

From here, everything is managed in your account at boxngo.com. That’s where you add authorized agents, update your address or payment card, make payments, and — when your storage container is in storage — schedule its redelivery or arrange access to your things. Access works two ways: by appointment at our facility, or by having your storage container brought back to you. Our access page walks through both.
 

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A la Carte Valet

A la Carte Valet is our hands-off student service: our crew comes to your room and does all the lifting, so there’s no storage container for you to load. Your part is simply having everything packed and ready before pickup day.

Before pickup day

Pack at your own pace — there’s no rush before the crew comes. Your box kit (five Box-n-Go U Boxes, tape, and a marker) is mailed to your campus address ahead of time; if you need more boxes or different sizes, just ask, or use your own.

You’re not limited to boxes, either. A la Carte can store almost anything — furniture, a mini-fridge, a bike, oversized gear — so set aside whatever you’d like to keep. If a mini-fridge is going into storage, empty and defrost it first so it doesn’t leak.

One thing to keep out of your boxes: liquids. Shampoo, detergent, drinks, cleaning supplies — anything that can spill. Your things go into storage after we pick them up, and liquids aren’t allowed there for good reason: a bottle that leaks inside a sealed box ruins everything packed with it, and because the crew picks up your boxes already sealed, there’s no way for anyone to catch it. Take liquids with you, or use them up before pickup day.

Before pickup day, we’ll reach out to find out how many boxes and pieces you’re storing, so we bring the right number of bar-code labels — one for each item.

On pickup day

Be reachable on pickup day — or, if you’re buried in finals, designate an authorized agent to stand in for you. You (or your agent) will escort our crew to your room. The crew labels and scans each item into your account at boxngo.com, does all the lifting, and carries everything out to the truck. You don’t lift a box.

After pickup

From here, everything is managed in your account at boxngo.com — where you add authorized agents, update your address or payment card, make payments, and schedule access or delivery of your stored items. Access works two ways: by appointment at our facility, or by having your items redelivered to you. Our access page has the details.
 

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Full Service Moving

Full Service Moving is the hands-off option: the move is carried out by a professional third-party moving partner that we coordinate with on your behalf. They pack, load, transport, and unload everything, so you don’t lift a thing. It works for local and long-distance moves alike.

How it works

The crew comes to your home — or to our warehouse, if your belongings are already in storage — packs and loads everything, transports it, and unloads it inside your new place, with furniture set where you want it and boxes in the right rooms.

What’s included, and what’s extra

Whether your move is local or long-distance, a few things are worth knowing up front:

• Packing is an added service. The crew can pack everything for you, but packing costs extra — on many moves, especially local ones, customers pack their own boxes (and unpack at the other end) to keep costs down.
• Appliance service. Appliances need to be disconnected before the move, and reconnected afterward, by a professional — the moving crew doesn’t do this. It’s called appliance service.
• Floor and door protection. This is a paid add-on — it takes materials on top of the crew’s labor. The main thing is to ask for it ahead of time, so the crew arrives prepared with the right materials.

If your move is local

Local moves are charged by the hour, and they’re usually a straight move — the crew delivers the same day it picks up. Because it’s hourly, anything that makes the job take longer — lots of stairs, or a long carry to the truck — simply adds time and cost rather than a separate charge. Payment is collected when the move is complete, since the total depends on the hours worked and the boxes used (the crew may ask for payment before they unload).

If your move is long-distance

A long-distance move has more moving parts:

• Your move is quoted up front from a verbal estimate of what you’re shipping, so it helps to walk through every room before you give it — people often forget items, or plan to sell things that don’t end up selling. The crew confirms the actual volume on pickup day, and your price is adjusted if it has changed.
• Because a long-distance move isn’t billed by the hour, stairs, a long carry, or a shuttle (a smaller truck used when the full-size truck can’t reach your door) are added as specific charges.
• After pickup, your belongings go to a warehouse (not always ours) to be consolidated with other shipments. Because most moves don’t fill a whole truck, this step is standard — it can take about 3 to 4 weeks before your shipment leaves for its destination.
• Payment is staged: about 30–35% of your quote when you place the order, a further portion once it ships after consolidation, and the balance before delivery.

Before moving day

The general prep — sorting, cleaning, getting appliances ready, and setting aside the valuables and first-night kit you keep with you — is the same as any move; our getting started guide walks through all of it. A few things matter especially when a crew is packing for you:

• Keep aside what you’re moving yourself. Valuables, important papers, medications, your food, and your first-night essentials are all things to set apart and ask the crew plainly not to pack — once they start, they pack fast, and they pack everything.
• Photograph your valuables. A few photos of furniture and high-value items from all sides, before the crew handles them, give you a clear record if anything turns up damaged.
• Get hazardous items out of the house. A crew can’t take anything flammable, pressurized, or corrosive — the getting started guide lists what’s prohibited and how to dispose of it.
• Move firearms and ammunition yourself. The crew can’t take ammunition — it’s a combustible hazard — and firearms shouldn’t ride with the movers either. Transport them yourself, following ATF and state law: firearms unloaded and in a locked case, ammunition carried separately, kept with you. For a long-distance move you can’t drive, a licensed FFL dealer can ship firearms for you.
• Be careful with liquids. We don’t allow liquids in our storage containers at all, because a leak ruins everything around it. A full-service move is different — the crew can take household liquids — but the danger is still real: even a sealed bottle inside a sealed box can be crushed under a loaded truck and soak into your belongings. Seal anything that’s coming, keep it well away from what matters, and move anything you’d hate to lose to a spill yourself. A valuable wine collection is the one liquid worth the trouble of moving, but a moving truck isn’t temperature-controlled — heat cooks wine and freezing can push the cork — so move it yourself in a climate-controlled vehicle, or use a specialty wine shipper for a large or rare collection.
• Clear the way. Open the path the crew will use, and measure large pieces against doorways and stairwells if you’re not sure they’ll fit. If your street or building needs a parking permit or an elevator reservation, arrange it ahead.
• Plan for pets and kids. A sitter or another room keeps everyone safe while the crew works.

Our Services

Personal & Business Storage

Student Storage

Local & Nationwide Moving

Packing & Loading Help

Moving Boxes & Supplies

On moving day

Plan to be there — or have another adult there — to point the crew to what’s going and answer questions. It helps to have water, a usable restroom, and, if you’d like to tip, some cash on hand. Before the truck pulls away, walk the home room by room, checking drawers and closets so nothing’s left behind.

Box-n-Go delivers, picks up, and moves across Southern California. Here’s our service area:

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