What a storage unit cleanout costs in Baltimore

The short answer, by unit size

Storage units price by volume, and the sizes map reasonably predictably:

The full ladder: quarter $241, three eighths $338, half $431, five eighths $513, three quarters $587, seven eighths $661, full $732. Visit minimum $75.

Where units are packed floor to ceiling, which storage units usually are, expect the higher end of each band. A 10x10 packed properly holds considerably more than a 10x10 with a walkway down the middle.

Do the arithmetic that actually matters

Before anything else, work out what the unit is costing you to keep. Monthly rent multiplied by the months you have already had it, then multiplied again by the months you realistically will.

The pattern is consistent: a unit rented during a move "for a few months" is still rented four years later, and the contents are a sofa, a mattress set, some boxes and a treadmill. A sofa is $126, a queen mattress and box spring set is $143, and a treadmill is $115. One clear-out ends the rent permanently.

Be honest about a second thing too: if you have not opened a box in three years, you are not going to. The boxes are the volume, and the volume is the price.

The facility rules that catch people

The unit is easy. The site is where the planning goes.

• Gate hours. Access hours and office hours are different, and they are not always the same as the hours a removal crew can work. Check both.
• Elevators. Multi-story facilities have one or two lifts shared by everyone, and on a Saturday you queue. A ground-floor drive-up unit is a completely different job from a third-floor interior one.
• Carts. Interior units mean long pushes down corridors. Facilities have a limited number of flat carts and they disappear at the weekend.
• Loading bay space. Some sites have one bay. If a crew cannot park near the door, everything is a long carry.
• Authorisation. Facilities will not release a unit's contents to someone who is not on the account. If you are not the renter, sort that out with the office days ahead.
• Padlock. Bring the key. It sounds obvious. It is the single most common wasted visit.

Baltimore-specific access notes

The storage facilities serving this city sit in two very different settings, and it changes the day.

Urban and near-urban sites, in and around the Highlandtown, Pigtown, Hampden and Port Covington corridors and along the older industrial edges, tend to be multi-story conversions with tight yards, one loading bay and awkward truck access. Morning windows are much easier.

County sites, out toward Towson, Catonsville, Rosedale and Pikesville, are usually the modern drive-up layout with wide aisles. Those are straightforward and quick.

Also worth knowing: if your unit is in the city, the crew is often going from a rowhouse job to a storage job in the same run, and a morning slot avoids both the parking problem and the weekend cart shortage.

What is actually in these units

The inventory is remarkably consistent, and it prices like this:

• Sofa $126, loveseat $119, armchair $77
• Mattress and box spring set $143
• Dresser $126, nightstand $57
• Dining table 2-4 seat $103, dining chairs $45 each
• Bookcase, particleboard $100
• Treadmill $115, weight bench $69
• Box of books $45, bag of clothes $35, box of electronics $77
• TV under 42 inches $62

A common small unit: sofa, mattress set and a treadmill, $126 + $143 + $115 = $384. At that point the half-truck tier at $431 usually covers the boxes too.

Sort before, not during

If anything in the unit is being kept, take it out before the removal window. Sorting inside a packed unit in a corridor with a queue for the lift is the slowest possible way to make decisions.

Two things worth looking for specifically, because storage units in this region hold a lot of both: documents in furniture drawers, and anything that has been damaged by damp. Storage units are not climate sealed by default, and Baltimore summers are humid. Upholstery, mattresses, cardboard and paper that have sat through several summers are frequently mold-damaged, which decides the donation question for you.

Auctions and past-due units

If you bought the contents of a unit at auction, you usually have a short window to clear it, sometimes measured in days, and the facility expects it swept.

That is a straightforward volume job. Take what has value, book a tier for the rest, and do it early in the window rather than on the last day. Facilities are stricter about this than people expect, and being late has consequences with that site and sometimes with the operator's other sites.

Booking it

Give us the unit size, the floor, whether it is drive-up or interior, and the facility's access hours. Bring the key and make sure the office knows the clear-out is happening.

A tier is quoted before the visit, and disposal and donation routing are included.

Frequently asked questions