If you have already decided that vault storage is the right call, the next question is practical: what actually goes in one, and what has to stay out. This is a packing-list article rather than an explainer. If you are still weighing vault storage against a self-storage unit, start with what wooden vault storage is and whether it is worth it, then come back here. Everything below assumes you are past that point and planning an inventory with Brown Box Movers.

How Much a Vault Actually Holds

A wooden storage vault is a large, sealed crate, typically somewhere around five feet by seven feet by seven feet, which works out near 245 cubic feet. Dimensions vary between companies, so confirm the exact figures for your vaults before you plan an inventory down to the box.

As a working rule, one vault holds roughly the contents of a single furnished room, or about a bedroom’s worth of furniture plus boxes. A one-bedroom apartment usually needs two. A three-bedroom house is commonly five to seven, depending on how much furniture is involved and how efficiently it packs.

That matters because vaults are priced per vault. Packing well is not fussiness; it is the difference between six vaults and eight. Our storage service includes the crew doing that work, which is usually where the efficiency comes from.

What Goes In Without Any Fuss

The majority of a normal household is straightforward. Upholstered furniture, sofas, armchairs, headboards and mattresses all store well once wrapped. Wood furniture such as dressers, tables, bookcases and bed frames is ideal, and the enclosed crate protects it from exactly the dust and humidity swings that damage wood in open storage.

Boxed household goods are the easiest category of all: books, kitchenware, linens, clothing, toys, decorative items. Rugs store well rolled rather than folded. Artwork and mirrors are fine when crated or properly padded, and benefit considerably from being inside a sealed vault rather than leaning against a wall in a unit.

Outdoor furniture, bicycles, exercise equipment and tools all store without difficulty provided they are clean and dry when they go in. Anything that goes in damp will be a problem when it comes out, regardless of how good the storage is.

What Goes In, But Only With Preparation

A second group of items is perfectly storable but will cause problems if they go in as-is.

Major appliances must be completely drained, defrosted and dried. A refrigerator or freezer that goes into a sealed crate with any moisture inside will grow mould, and the smell permeates everything around it. Doors should be left slightly ajar if the appliance is stored upright. Our guide to preparing a refrigerator for moving covers the full sequence, and washing machines need their drums secured and hoses drained.

Electronics store well but prefer their original boxes or properly padded substitutes, and cables should be labelled now rather than guessed at later. Mattresses need proper covers, not bin liners, which trap condensation. Upholstery and leather should be clean before storage, because stains set permanently over months.

Anything with fuel or batteries needs attention. Lawnmowers, trimmers and generators must be fully drained of petrol and oil. Remove batteries from anything that takes them, because leaking cells ruin whatever they are sitting in. Our guide to preparing items for long term storage goes through this in more detail, and it is worth reading if the storage period will run past a couple of months.

What Should Never Go In a Vault

Some of this is law, some is insurance, and some is simply hard experience. None of it is negotiable.

Anything flammable, corrosive or explosive. Petrol, propane tanks, paint and solvents, aerosols, pool chemicals, fertiliser, fireworks, ammunition, charcoal and lighter fluid. These are prohibited by carriers generally, not just by us, and a sealed wooden crate in a Texas warehouse is close to the worst place for them.

Perishables and anything that was once alive. No food, including tinned and dry goods, which attract pests regardless of packaging. No plants, which will not survive and will introduce moisture and insects. No animals, which should not need saying but occasionally does.

Irreplaceable documents and valuables. Passports, birth certificates, deeds, wills, cash, jewellery and medication should travel with you, not in a crate you cannot open on a Sunday. This is about access as much as security: once a vault is sealed and warehoused, retrieving one envelope is not a five-minute job.

Wet or damp anything. A sealed crate has no airflow. Damp towels, a barely-dry tent or a recently washed rug will mildew and spread.

Our broader guide to what not to put in storage covers the same ground for self-storage units, where several of these rules apply with equal force.

The Grey Area: Things That Fit But Probably Should Not Go

A few categories are allowed but frequently regretted.

Wine and spirits are not prohibited, but a warehouse is not a cellar and temperature variation will flatten anything worth keeping. Candles and anything wax-based will deform in a North Texas summer. Vinyl records warp for the same reason. Musical instruments, particularly anything with a glued wooden body such as a guitar or violin, are better off coming with you unless they are professionally cased.

The honest test is simple: if an item is both valuable and sensitive to months of temperature change, ask before you commit it to a vault rather than assuming.

Loading a Vault So You Do Not Waste One

Because you pay per vault, how things are loaded has a direct effect on the bill. Heavy, square items go at the bottom, which means boxed books, appliances and solid furniture carcasses. Dressers and wardrobes can be filled with linens and clothing rather than shipped empty, which is free volume most people leave on the table.

Dismantle what dismantles. Bed frames, table legs and shelving units take a fraction of the space apart, and keeping the fixings bagged and taped to the piece saves an hour at the other end. Mirrors and artwork slot vertically against the walls of the crate. Soft items fill the gaps.

If you would rather not think about any of this, that is what the crew is for. Our packing service exists partly because professional loading routinely saves a vault or two against a self-packed inventory, and residential moves with storage built in get handled as one job rather than two.

Not Sure About Something on Your List?

Most inventories contain two or three items nobody is quite sure about. Ask rather than guess, because the cost of getting it wrong is usually borne by everything stored next to it.

Tell us what you are storing and for how long, and we will tell you what goes in a vault, what needs preparing first, and what should travel with you instead. Request a free quote to get started.