Home › Guides › What size storage unit do I need?

What size storage unit do I need?

Last updated: November 12, 2026. An Omaha size guide — we're a guide, not a storage facility.

Pick a size by measuring what you actually have, not by the nickname on a website ("one-bedroom unit"). A 10×10 is 100 square feet. That's a useful box for the packed contents of many one-bedroom apartments, and a tight box if you want an aisle and you don't want to stack. When in doubt, measure the couch first.

Video coming soon

A short Omaha Storage video on how to pick a unit size will go here, walking through the table below with furniture examples. This is a placeholder, not a broken player.

Standard storage unit sizes and what typically fits

The descriptions below are the usual industry shorthand — the "closet / garage / bedroom" language you'll hear at most facilities. They are not a promise that your furniture will fit. Ceiling height is often about eight feet; ask, because that decides how high you can stack.

Floor areas are width × depth. "What typically fits" is a rule of thumb for densely packed household goods, not a guarantee. For Omaha prices by size, see the cost guide.
Unit size	Floor area	Rough comparison	What typically fits
5×5	25 sq ft	Small closet	Boxes, bins, seasonal decorations, a few small pieces. Usually not the right place for a mattress plus much else.
5×10	50 sq ft	Walk-in closet	A mattress and box spring stood on edge, a dresser, a bicycle, and boxes. Common for studio overflow and for summer student storage.
10×10	100 sq ft	Half a one-car garage	Furniture and boxes from many one-bedroom apartments: bed, dresser, a sofa (measure it), a table, and stacked boxes, with a narrow aisle if you pack carefully.
10×12	120 sq ft	A 10×10 plus a little	The same as a 10×10 with more walking room or one extra large piece. Not every Omaha facility has this size; a 10×15 is the more common step up.
10×15	150 sq ft	A large one-car garage	Often enough for a two-bedroom apartment's furniture and boxes, or a one-bedroom with room to reach things later.
10×20	200 sq ft	A single-car garage	Often enough for a three-bedroom house, or a smaller household plus a vehicle if the facility allows it. Ask about length, height, drip pans, and insurance before you plan to park a car inside.
10×30	300 sq ft	A long garage	A larger house, or household goods plus a vehicle. Sometimes used when a 20×20 isn't available.
20×20	400 sq ft	A two-car garage footprint	A full house with room to spare, or household goods and a vehicle. Less common than 10×20 or 10×30. Ask; don't assume it's on the lot.

Why a 10×10 is not "the size of a one-bedroom apartment"

This is the comparison that confuses people most. StorageCafe's Omaha market page (October 2026) lists an average Omaha apartment at 905 square feet and an average Omaha home at 1,361 square feet. A 10×10 is 100 square feet of floor — about a ninth of that average apartment, before you count wall height. The "one-bedroom" shorthand still gets used because a move packs things: beds come apart, boxes stack, chairs go on tables, and you leave the rooms behind. If you tried to recreate your apartment inside the unit, it would not fit. If you pack the way a mover packs a truck, it often will.

Use bedroom counts only as a first cut, then adjust. Size up if you need a clear aisle, will visit often, have a sectional, a piano, or long sofas, or cannot stack. You may be able to size down if you're storing mostly boxes, you'll disassemble beds and tables, and you won't need the back wall for months. Two smaller units can make sense when one person needs regular access and the rest can stay packed, though you'll pay for two locks and maybe two protection plans. Compare that with one larger unit on the cost guide.

How to measure before you rent

Spend twenty minutes on this and you'll save a month of paying for the wrong size.

List every large piece: sofas, mattresses, dressers, dining tables, desks, bookcases, TVs, appliances, bikes, lawn mowers, tubs of tools. Write down length, width, and height, in inches. A tape measure is better than a guess.
Count boxes. Use similar box sizes so they stack safely. Books need stronger boxes, and they shouldn't be stacked so high that the bottoms fail.
Sketch the unit to scale — a 10×10 is a square; a 5×10 is a rectangle. Place the longest items on the long wall first. A sofa that's 86 inches will not go across an 80-inch doorway, and it may not sit nicely on a 5-foot wall.
Leave a walkway if you will need anything other than the boxes at the front. A unit you can't enter without unloading is a cheaper unit you'll regret.
Ask the facility for the interior dimensions and the door size, not only the marketing name. Posts, sloped ceilings, and door swings eat space. Ask about ceiling height if you plan to stack.

For a typical Omaha move — a 905-square-foot apartment or a 1,361-square-foot house — start with the bedroom-count guide, then size up if you need an aisle. Students at Creighton or UNO storing a dorm or a lightly furnished apartment for the summer often do well with a 5×5 or 5×10; a furnished off-campus one-bedroom is more often a 10×10.

Special cases: cars, climate, and short-term moves

A car, boat, or RV is usually a parking space or vehicle bay, not a 10×10 locker. Length, height, and indoor vs. covered vs. open matter more than bedroom counts. See RV storage in Omaha. If you're storing wood furniture, electronics, photos, documents, or an instrument through an Omaha summer or winter, read climate-controlled storage before you lock in a cheaper standard unit. If the unit is only for a gap between keys, rent the dates you need and time the reservation from the moving checklist. Empty days are easy to pay for.

Frequently asked questions

What are the standard storage unit sizes?

The sizes you'll see most often in Omaha are 5×5, 5×10, 10×10, 10×15, 10×20, and 10×30 (25 to 300 square feet). Some facilities also have a 5×15, a 10×12, or a vehicle bay. Confirm the actual floor dimensions and the ceiling height, which is often around eight feet but is not something you should assume.

What fits in a 10×10, a 10×12, or a 20×20?

A 10×10 (100 square feet) is commonly described as the packed furniture and boxes from a one-bedroom apartment. A 10×12 (120 square feet) is less common — a 10×10 with a bit more room. A 20×20 is 400 square feet and not every facility has one; ask about a 10×30 or two units. Measure the largest pieces first. None of these descriptions is a guarantee.

What's the difference between a 5×5 and a 5×10?

A 5×5 is 25 square feet, about a small closet: boxes, seasonal decorations, a few small pieces. A 5×10 is 50 square feet, more like a walk-in closet, and will usually take a mattress stood on edge, a dresser, a bicycle, and boxes. That's why it's a common choice for studio overflow and summer student storage.