Storage Services

Storage services exist because property dates almost never line up. A transfer slips by a week, a lease ends before the new one starts, or a renovation runs late — and suddenly your furniture needs somewhere to be that is not a friend’s garage.

We store household and office goods in secure, insured facilities, and because we also do the moving, your goods are collected, stored and delivered by the same company on one set of paperwork. There is no second contractor and no second handling fee.

When storage is the cheaper option

People tend to treat storage as an admission that the move went wrong. Usually it is the cheaper path. If your dates are three weeks apart, the alternatives are a short-term rental, a double move into and out of temporary accommodation, or paying to hold a property you are not living in. Storage plus a single onward delivery is normally well below all three, and it is the only option that involves handling your furniture once rather than twice.

Short-term and transitional storage

The most common request is a few days to a few weeks, bridging a transfer date. We collect on your move-out date, hold the goods, and deliver when the new property is available. Because we are already handling the move, collection is part of the job rather than a separate call-out. If your dates are uncertain, say so when you book — we would rather build in flexibility than reschedule a truck.

Long-term storage

For emigration, extended work postings, estates or downsizing, goods can be stored for months or years. Long-term storage is priced monthly and drops on longer commitments. It is worth being selective about what goes in: storing furniture you will not want when you return costs more over two years than replacing it. Anything you are unsure about is usually better handled through furniture disposal before it goes into the unit.

What should not go into storage

Nothing perishable, nothing flammable, no gas bottles, no paint or solvents, and no batteries left in appliances or electronics — they leak and destroy whatever they are inside. Anything damp will develop mildew within a fortnight in a sealed space, so garden equipment, fridges and washing machines must be fully dry, with fridge doors left ajar. Documents, photographs and artwork should not sit in an unventilated space long-term.

Insurance while in storage

Goods in Transit cover applies while your goods are moving; storage cover is separate and applies while they are held. We arrange both so there is no gap between the two, which is the point where self-arranged storage most often goes wrong. Tell us about anything of unusual value before it goes in, so it is declared rather than discovered at claim stage.

Getting things out again

Storage should not be a one-way trip. Tell us at intake if you expect to need particular items before the rest — a desk, a bed, seasonal equipment — and we will place them for access rather than at the back. Partial retrievals are possible; they are just considerably easier and cheaper when planned at the start.

What storage costs

Storage is priced on the space your goods occupy and how long you need it:

Discounted when combined with a move. Collection and delivery quoted with your removal. For an accurate price use our Inventory Hub.

Preparing goods for storage

A few hours of preparation prevents most storage damage:

• Everything bone dry. Fridges, washing machines and garden equipment especially — leave appliance doors ajar.
• Dismantle what dismantles. Beds and tables take a fraction of the space in pieces, and you pay for space.
• Remove batteries. From remotes, clocks, toys and tools. Leaking cells ruin whatever they sit in.
• Keep an inventory. A list and a few photos at intake settles any question later, and helps us find things.

If your dates might move, tell us upfront. Storage arranged at the quoting stage costs a fraction of storage arranged mid-move with a loaded truck waiting.

Where we store

Our storage serves the whole of Gauteng — Johannesburg, Sandton, Midrand, Randburg, Roodepoort, Pretoria, Centurion, Alberton, Benoni and the East and West Rand — with collection and delivery built into your move. On long-distance relocations we can hold goods at either the Gauteng end or the destination end, which is what makes a slipped transfer date manageable rather than a crisis.

Why choose Careful Movers

The cheapest quote is very often the most expensive outcome. An unusually low price generally means no Goods in Transit cover, a casual crew hired that morning, or a figure that grows once your goods are already loaded. We run our own branded fleet with trained permanent crews, we publish our prices, and we quote in writing so the figure agreed is the figure charged. The warning signs are set out in how to avoid moving scams.