The short answer
| Unit size | Price |
|---|---|
| Storage Unit (5×5) | $226 |
| Storage Unit (5×10) | $397 |
| Storage Unit (5×15) | $539 |
| Storage Unit (10×10) | $587 |
| Storage Unit (10×15) | $880 |
| Storage Unit (10×20) | $1174 |
| Storage Unit (10×25) | $1463 |
| Storage Unit (10×30) | $1757 |
That is the full-unit price: emptied, loaded and disposed of. If the unit is only part full, per-item or truck-fraction pricing is usually cheaper — a quarter truck is $241 and a half truck is $431. The minimum for a visit is $75.
Why Denver has so many of these units
Two reasons stacked on top of each other, and they are specific to this metro.
The transplant pattern. People arrive on the Front Range, rent a small apartment in Capitol Hill or along Havana in Aurora while they work out where they actually want to be, and put the rest in a unit off Santa Fe, Federal, Colorado Boulevard or one of the dozens along I-25 and I-70. "A few months" becomes four years. Most of what is in there has not been seen since the move.
The gear problem. Denver households own more bulky recreational equipment than almost anywhere. Skis, boards, bikes, kayaks, camping kit, roof boxes, a truck bed cover. If the house does not have a garage — and central Denver's bungalows have small detached ones at best — the overflow goes to a unit.
The third, quieter reason is the mountain-town move. Someone leaves Denver for Summit or Eagle County, keeps a unit here because mountain storage is scarce, and then never comes back for it.
What is actually in a Denver unit
Predictable, once you have opened a few hundred.
- Furniture from a previous apartment. Flat-pack that has already been taken apart once, which means the hardware is shot and it will not go back together. A Bookcase — Particleboard / Flat-pack is $100 and a Wardrobe — Flat-pack / Particleboard is $143.
- A mattress set. Nearly every unit has one. A Mattress — Queen is $103 and a Box Spring (Any Size) is $92.
- Boxes that were never unpacked. A Moving Box is $31 and a Box of Books is $45, though a unit's worth is better priced by volume.
- Gear. Sports Equipment (Golf Clubs / Skis / Misc) is $33, a Bicycle is $37, a Kayak / Canoe / Paddleboard is $71.
- An exercise machine. A Treadmill is $115, a Home Gym / Multi-Station is $241.
A half-full 5×10 with a sofa in it is often cheaper priced piecemeal: a quarter truck and a sofa is $241 + $126 = $367, against $397 for the full-unit rate.
What Colorado storage does to your things
Most units in this metro are unheated and uncooled, which has good and bad consequences.
The good: low humidity. Paper, textiles, books and wood survive far better here than in a coastal or Midwestern unit. Things that would have grown mold elsewhere come out dry and intact, which means genuinely more of a Denver unit is donatable.
The bad: the temperature swing and the sun. A unit can run below freezing in January and well over a hundred against a west-facing metal door in July. That cycle cracks vinyl and leatherette, warps records and candles, delaminates veneer, kills batteries, and dries the glue out of flat-pack joints until the furniture racks. Anything electronic that spent five years in that range is a coin flip.
The other bad: mice, in ground-floor units near open lots. Check boxes before you plan to keep them.
Making the day work at the facility
- Check the access hours and tell us. Gate codes, elevator hours and loading-bay access vary by facility and some are considerably tighter than the advertised hours.
- Book the loading bay if there is one. Multi-story facilities along I-25 and in the northern suburbs have a shared bay and a single freight elevator, and on a Saturday in June there is a queue.
- Ask whether the facility needs a certificate of insurance. Some do. We supply them.
- Go through it first if you are going to. Not on the day. Standing in a unit deciding about a box you have not opened in four years, with a crew waiting, is how people end up paying rent for another year.
- Pull the genuinely valuable gear. Front Range recreational equipment holds real resale value. Skis, boards, bikes and camping kit in good condition are worth selling or donating before the truck comes.
The arithmetic that usually decides it
Most people are not really deciding whether to clear the unit. They are deciding whether to keep paying rent on it. Work out what you have paid so far, then what another year costs, then compare that against the one-off clearance number — a 10×10 at $587 or a 5×10 at $397.
For a unit holding a mattress set, some flat-pack and unopened boxes, that comparison tends to settle itself quickly. A 10×10 cleared with the mattress named separately is $587 + $103 = $690, once, and then it stops.
Auctions, defaults and inherited units
Two situations come up often enough to name. If a unit is heading for default, clearing it yourself is almost always better than letting it go to auction, because you keep control of what happens to the contents and you end the liability cleanly. Talk to the facility about timing before you book.
If you have inherited a unit — common here, where an out-of-state heir is dealing with a Denver estate from another time zone — we can work from photographs and a written scope, with a family member, an agent or the facility handling access. Nothing leaves that has not been agreed. It is the same job as a house cleanout, just in a smaller box with better lighting.
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to clear out a storage unit in Denver?
$226 for a 5×5, $397 for a 5×10, $587 for a 10×10, $880 for a 10×15 and $1174 for a 10×20. That is the full-unit rate including loading and disposal. If the unit is only part full, a quarter truck at $241 or a half at $431 is usually cheaper.
Is it cheaper to price by item or by unit size?
Whichever is lower, and you can compare both. A half-empty 5×10 often prices better as a quarter truck plus a named sofa: $241 + $126 = $367, against the $397 unit rate. A packed unit is simpler at the unit rate.
Will my things be in good condition after years in a Denver unit?
Better than you would expect on the damp front — low humidity here preserves paper, textiles and wood far better than a humid climate. Worse on the temperature front. Units swing from below freezing to well over a hundred, which cracks vinyl, warps veneer, kills batteries and dries flat-pack joints loose.
Do you need facility access arrangements?
Yes, and it is worth sorting before the day. Gate codes, elevator hours and loading-bay bookings vary, some multi-story facilities have one shared freight elevator, and a few require a certificate of insurance. We can supply the certificate.
Can you clear a unit I inherited from out of state?
Yes. Photographs and a written scope set the job, and a family member, agent or the facility handles access. You approve the price before anything moves, and nothing leaves that has not been agreed.