What a storage unit cleanout costs in Seattle

The prices, by unit size

That is the unit emptied to the walls and swept out, with disposal included, so the keys can go back and the billing can stop. Minimum visit $95.

If the unit is only part full, per-item or truck-fill pricing may be cheaper — a quarter truck is $241 and a half is $431. Ask for both numbers and take the lower.

Run the arithmetic that actually matters

The number to compare against is not the cleanout price. It is what you are still paying every month, multiplied by how long you will realistically leave it.

Look up what the unit costs you, and be honest about the timeline. Most people who have had a unit for more than two years are not about to empty it next month. If the rent has been going out by direct debit since a move you barely remember, the cleanout pays for itself faster than any of the mental arithmetic you have been avoiding.

And the contents are rarely the argument people think. Very little of what is in a long-term storage unit has held its value. What it has held is the decision you did not make at the time.

Why Seattle fills storage units

Three local reasons, all of them common.

The gap between leases. This city's rental market turns over hard at the end of summer, and plenty of people end up with a few weeks between places. The unit is rented as a stopgap, and the stopgap becomes an arrangement.

Relocation churn. People come here for a job, and when the role changes they take a position in another city with the intention of coming back. The furniture goes into storage rather than being sold. Frequently they do not come back, and the unit keeps billing.

Small housing, large hobbies. A one-bed in Capitol Hill or a micro-unit in the U District has nowhere to put a kayak, a set of skis, camping gear, a bike and a road bike. So it goes in a unit — and stays there long after the last trip.

That last category is the one worth sorting before the truck comes, because outdoor gear genuinely rehomes here. A kayak is $71 to dispose of and quite possibly worth something to somebody on a neighborhood group.

What condition to expect

Two kinds of unit in this region and they are very different jobs.

Interior, climate-controlled units are usually fine. Contents come out much as they went in.

Drive-up units — the row of roller doors you park in front of — are unheated and take in moisture from the slab and through the door seal. In this climate that is enough. Cardboard boxes stacked directly on the concrete wick from underneath and tear when lifted, so what looked like thirty sealed boxes becomes loose contents. Particleboard furniture swells. Upholstery sitting against an exterior wall mildews. Anything with fabric smells.

This is worth knowing before the day, because it changes what you plan to keep. People arrive expecting to sort and rescue, and find that the bottom layer made the decision for them.

How to do it in one visit

1. Go and look first, with a torch, and photograph the whole unit including the back.
2. Pull out anything you definitely want and take it with you that day. Do not plan to identify it during the clearance.
3. Post the good outdoor gear and solid furniture to a neighborhood group with a deadline.
4. Check the facility's access rules — gate hours, whether a lift or trolley is needed for an upper-floor unit, and whether they require notice for a removal vehicle.
5. Book one visit for the whole unit. Splitting it means paying the $95 minimum twice and paying another month's rent besides.
6. Close the account on the day, with the receipt.

The things that turn up in Seattle units

A half-empty 5×10 with a sofa and a mattress in it: priced by item that is $126 + $103 = $229, which beats the $397 unit rate. Priced as a quarter truck it is $241.

A full 10×10 from a house move is the $587 unit price, and it will genuinely be full.

Two things people regret

Not looking before booking. A photo of the unit with the door up gets you an accurate price. A description from memory of what you put in three years ago does not.

Emptying it onto the forecourt. Do not drag everything out into the aisle to sort it, particularly at a drive-up facility. Half the year that means rain on it within the hour, and facilities are not fond of it either. Sort inside the unit, or take what you are keeping and let the rest go.

Frequently asked questions