Storage Countdown: Get Your Container Ready, Step by Step
Portable storage runs on schedule. Forget to schedule an event, and your entire storage or moving sequence may suffer. This countdown offers some suggested timelines for the events that are part of your storage journey. Follow these timelines to ensure a smooth storage experience. Grab the printable checklist (PDF) and check things off as you go.
I want to:
5 Days Before Delivery – Decide where the container will go▼
Where the container sits sets your whole pace, so settle this before you schedule anything.
☐On your property: check the path and the spot. The forklift carries the container in, so the path to the spot needs about 8.5 feet wide by 8.5 feet tall of clear room — watch for gates, side yards, low branches, and overhangs. The spot itself needs to be flat, firm, and level, with room for the container and its doors; match it to the size on the storage container sizes page. It can sit here, so you load at your own pace — and the spot has to hold it the whole time you store on your property.
☐On a public street: plan for a tight window. The storage container can’t sit on the street for long, so be packed and ready before it arrives, load quickly, and have it picked up. Holding the spot is a night-before job — see the next step.
Your storage container sits right on your driveway, so you can load it at your own pace.
3 Days Before Delivery – Schedule your empty container delivery▼
Once you know where it’s going, get on the calendar.
☐Schedule delivery at least 3 business days ahead. That’s the notice we need to bring an empty storage container to your address.
☐The night before, hold a street spot. If it’s going on the street, park a car on the spot the evening before so it’s clear when we arrive. In tight city or apartment areas, posting no-parking permission from your city or building helps.
Delivery Day – Load it, record it, lock it▼
Pack ahead of time so loading day is just loading: box up what you can, take big furniture apart and bag the hardware to the piece, and wrap anything fragile. Keep liquids, food, flammable or hazardous items, and firearms or ammunition out of the storage container entirely — see the full prohibited items list before you pack.
☐Load it, following the loading guide. Once the storage container is on your spot, the loading guide walks you through doing it right so nothing shifts.
☐Fill in your inventory sheet and take photos as you load. Use our inventory sheets for a running list of what you pack, and photograph each wall of the loaded storage container and anything valuable — your record of what you stored and the shape it was in.
☐Put your own padlock on it. The storage container is yours the moment we deliver it — your lock, your only key, no copy kept.
☐Storing at our facility? Get it ready for pickup. Before we pick up the loaded storage container, make sure it’s fully loaded, the load is secure, the padlock is on, and the path to it is clear — move cars, open gates.
While It’s Stored – Facility access by appointment▼
If the storage container is on your property, just open it whenever you want — nothing to schedule. Only facility storage needs an appointment.
☐Storing at our facility and need something mid-storage? Schedule a visit. Facility access is by appointment — book it by noon the business day before. It’s ground-level, drive-up, at no extra charge.
10 Days Before Return – Schedule your return▼
This is the event most people leave too late.
☐Schedule your return at least 10 business days ahead. On your property: schedule us to pick up the empty storage container when you’re ready. At our facility: schedule us to bring the loaded storage container to wherever you want it — your same address or a new one.
☐Getting a loaded container delivered back? Ready the spot again. Same as the first delivery: check the path and the spot at the return address, and if it’s on a street, hold it the night before.
The container can go beyond the driveway — onto a patio or yard — wherever the path and the spot allow.
After Return – Unload and return the empty▼
☐Unload, following the unloading guide. The unloading guide walks you through emptying it.
☐Before the empty pickup, get it ready. Take everything out, remove your padlock, make sure it’s clean, and clear the path so we can reach it — move cars, open gates.
What Our Customers Think
Judy S.
Kelly N.
Janice H.
Print it and check it off
This page is also a printable one-page checklist — the same dates and steps above, condensed so you can carry it around, tick things off by hand, and keep your storage on schedule.
Plans change. You can reschedule or cancel a delivery or pickup at no cost up to 2:00 PM the business day before — just call us, since voicemail and email don’t count. After that, a fee may apply. See our service policies for the details.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much notice do you need to deliver or pick up my container?
Plan on at least 3 business days to deliver an empty storage container. For the return — picking up the empty from your property, or bringing your loaded storage container to where you want it — schedule about 10 business days ahead. Scheduling early is the easiest way to get the day you want.
Can I get to my things while they’re in storage?
Yes. If the storage container is on your property, just open it whenever you like. If it’s at our facility, schedule a visit by noon the business day before — access is ground-level and drive-up, at no extra charge.
Do I need my own lock?
Yes. You put your own padlock on the storage container, and it’s the only key — we don’t keep a copy.
What can’t I store?
No liquids, no food or perishables, no flammable or hazardous items, and no firearms or ammunition — and everything should go in clean and fully dry. The full prohibited items list has the complete rundown before you pack.
GET A CUSTOM QUOTE
"*" indicates required fields
Cookie Settings
By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use. We use cookies and similar technologies for best browsing experience and to customize relevant offers. See our Cookie Policy and Privacy Policy.
☎ Accessibility Help: 877-269-6461
Functional
Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes.The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
