Self-Storage Unit Inventory

Who this is for

What went into storage, in which box, in which unit, and what you have declared it is worth. The totals give you the figure a storage insurer asks for and the list you need when you want one thing back without emptying the unit.

Anyone renting a storage unit — between houses, after a bereavement, for a business overflow — who would struggle to say from memory what is in there or what it would cost to replace.

What this helps you track

• What is in each numbered box or on each pallet, in enough detail to find it again
• Which unit and which part of it holds each box, where more than one is rented
• The value you have declared for each item, and the total for the whole unit
• The room or source each box was packed from, so unpacking has an order
• The date each item went in, and a note of anything taken out again

How to use it

1. Fill the header: your name, the facility, the unit number or numbers and the date the list was made.
2. Number every box as you pack it and write that number on at least two sides. The number in the first column is what makes the rest of the sheet work.
3. Describe the contents in enough detail to be worth reading — 'kitchen: pans, small appliances, crockery' rather than 'kitchen'.
4. Enter a value for each line on the basis your storage insurance uses, and say which basis that is in the notes. The sheet supplies no values; it totals yours.
5. The line and column totals and the summary are worked out in the browser and the workbook; on paper, multiply across each line and add the column up.
6. Keep one copy at home and one in the unit, and strike through a line when something comes out permanently.

Formats

• Printable PDF (A4 and US Letter)
• Fillable PDF with form fields
• Fill in online, saved in your browser
• Excel / Google Sheets workbook

The printable is laid out inside a box that fits both A4 and US Letter, so the two files are identical and neither one is scaled. The fillable PDF has real form fields. The workbook uses plain formulas only — SUM, IF, COUNTIF and the like — so it opens in Excel, LibreOffice and Google Sheets without anything breaking, and every calculated cell is grey so you can see which figures it worked out.

How to print

Download the A4 or US Letter file to match the paper in your printer, open it in a PDF reader and print at 100% — not "fit to page", which shrinks the writing space. Both files leave a 14 mm margin, which clears the unprintable edge on home printers. To print the online version with your entries in it, use the Print this sheet button, which prints only the sheet and none of the page around it. More on printing.

Questions

Why does the insurer want a total?

Storage cover is usually arranged against a declared value for the contents of the unit. The total on this sheet is that figure, built from lines you can point at rather than a guess made at the counter.

Should I list every single item?

Rarely worth it. List by box, with the contents summarised, and give individual lines to anything valuable, fragile or likely to be wanted back early. A photograph of the packed box against its number saves a lot of writing.

What if I rent more than one unit?

The unit column takes the unit number for each line, so one sheet covers them all and the summary still totals the lot. Sort or filter by that column in the spreadsheet to see a single unit.

Does this work for a move rather than storage?

It does, though a moving inventory is usually organised by room rather than by box number. Use whichever matches how you are packing.