Storage for an office move

A small office of six to ten desks typically needs a 10x15 or 10x20 storage unit. Office inventories are denser than household ones — filing cabinets, desks and archive boxes weigh far more per cubic foot than furniture — so the weight matters as much as the volume.

  • 736 cu ft
  • Fits a 10×15 storage unit
  • $125–$240 / month

What size storage unit for an office move?

Key attributes
Estimated volume736 cubic feet (cu ft)
Estimated weight4,850 lb
Items counted98
Minimum unit that fits10×15 storage unit at 72% full
Recommended10×15 storage unit at 72% full
Typical monthly cost$125–$240

Volume is computed item by item from our published dataset, not estimated from floor area. Your own list will differ — the calculator lets you edit it.

The recommended 10×15, loaded.
Scaled floor plan of a 10 by 15 foot storage unit A 10 ft by 15 ft unit is 150 square feet of floor space, shown next to the 6 ft by 15 ft footprint of a mid-size car for scale. door 10×15 150 sq ft car 6×15
Floor plan drawn to scale. A 10 ft × 15 ft unit gives 150 square feet (sq ft) of floor space, shown beside a mid-size car for reference.

The inventory behind that number

Offices are the one case where people usually over-estimate volume and under-estimate weight. Desks break down flat, chairs stack, and the real bulk is paper.

A typical inventory for an office move
ItemQtyVolumeWeight
Desk, executive / L-shaped6210 cu ft960 lb
Office chair880 cu ft320 lb
Medium box (3.0 cu ft)2575 cu ft1,000 lb
Filing cabinet, 4-drawer460 cu ft400 lb
Office shelving unit460 cu ft240 lb
Filing cabinet, 2-drawer648 cu ft330 lb
Desktop computer + monitor848 cu ft280 lb
Bookcase, 4+ shelves240 cu ft180 lb
Plastic storage tote1040 cu ft250 lb
Utility shelving unit230 cu ft110 lb
Small box (1.5 cu ft, "book box")2030 cu ft600 lb
Printer / scanner210 cu ft60 lb
Safe, small15 cu ft120 lb

Volumes and weights come from packed volumes for 110+ household items.

When to size up

  • You are storing server or network equipment that needs climate control
  • Records have a retention requirement and will need retrieving
  • Desks cannot be disassembled

What is different about this case

Two things specific to offices. Weight: archive boxes run near 20 lb per cubic foot against a household average of 7, so a unit that looks half empty can still be at the floor loading limit — spread filing cabinets rather than stacking them. Records: if anything has a legal retention period, keep it in the front third and index the boxes, because "somewhere in the back" is not a retrieval plan.

Check it against your own list

What size storage unit do I need for an office move?

A 10×15 storage unit for a typical case of about 736 cubic feet, filling roughly 72% of the usable space.

How much does storage for an office move cost?

A 10×15 storage unit runs $125–$240 per month standard, or $155–$300 climate-controlled. See the cost overview for what moves the price in your market.

How long will I need it?

Longer than you plan. Rentals are month-to-month, so the risk is not committing too long — it is choosing a unit you cannot get back into. If the project may run past a couple of months, keep an access aisle and accept the 15% capacity cost.