Summer storage for Lincoln students: what to do with your stuff over the break
Leaving your Lincoln flat for summer? How to store your things over the break, what size unit four flatmates need, and what it costs to share one.
Published
If you are leaving a Lincoln flat over summer and coming back in February, storing your things is usually cheaper than moving them home and back. Our closest facility is at 856 Jones Road, Rolleston, about sixteen minutes from Lincoln. A small 7.5 square metre unit is $147 a month, and split between four flatmates for three months that is about $110 each for the whole summer. The minimum rental is one month, then month to month, and there is no admin fee.
Key takeaways
- Storing your things over summer usually costs less than hiring a van to take them home and bring them back.
- Our nearest facility to Lincoln is Jones Road in Rolleston, about sixteen minutes away.
- A small unit is $147 a month. Shared between four flatmates for three months, that is about $110 each.
- The minimum is one month, then month to month, so you only pay for the summer you use.
- Book before the end of exams. November is when everyone wants a unit at once.
- Label every box with its owner's name. Future you, in February, will be grateful.
The problem every Lincoln flat has in November
The academic year ends, the lease ends with it, and you have a room full of stuff and nowhere to put it until February. Some of it goes home in the car. The rest (the desk, the mattress, the bike, the twelve boxes of things you swore you would sort through) has nowhere to go.
You can drive it all home, wherever home is, and drive it all back in three months. Or you can put it in a unit down the road and pick it up on the way to your new flat.
For most students the second option is cheaper, especially when the cost is split.
What it actually costs
Our Rolleston facility charges by unit size and nothing else. There is no admin fee, no insurance bundled in and no long contract: the minimum rental is one month, then it runs month to month until you move out.
| Unit | Size | Per month | Three months | Split four ways |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Small | 7.5 square metres, 3.0m x 2.5m | $147 | $441 | About $110 each |
| Medium | 14 square metres, 5.6m x 2.5m | $238 | $714 | About $179 each |
For comparison, hiring a van or trailer for a day each way, plus fuel, plus a friend's patience, adds up quickly. And that is before the drive itself.
What size do four flatmates need?
A small unit holds about what a one-bedroom flat holds: a bed, a couch, a fridge and around twenty boxes. For four students storing boxes, bikes, a couple of desks and a chair or two, a small unit is usually enough.
If everyone is storing a bed, or there is a couch and a fridge from the flat as well, step up to a medium. Our guide to what fits in each unit size goes through it in detail.
When you are stuck between two sizes, take the bigger one. Squeezing the last mattress into a unit that is slightly too small is a miserable way to finish the year.
Getting there from Lincoln
Our Rolleston facility is at 856 Jones Road, about 12.9 kilometres from Lincoln, or roughly sixteen minutes across Weedons Road. Units are drive-up, so you park at the door and unload straight in, without trolleys or lifts.
Access is 24 hours with a swipe card, so if your last exam finishes at 5pm and you are packing the car at 9pm, that works.
How to pack a shared unit
A shared unit works well right up until February, when four people need four different things out of it on four different days. A little planning now saves the arguments.
- Label every box with a name and a room. "Sam, desk stuff" beats "misc" every time.
- Give each person a corner: back left, back right, front left, front right.
- Load whatever nobody needs until the new flat is ready first, so it ends up at the back.
- Keep a list of what went in and whose it is, pinned in the flat group chat.
- Stand mattresses on their side and cover them. A unit that stays shut for three months can still pick up dust and the odd bit of condensation.
Our guide on how to pack a storage unit has more on stacking and protecting things.
When to book
Book before exams finish. Every flat in Lincoln is trying to move out in the same few weeks, and the small units go first.
You can book online and choose a start date, so there is no reason to leave it to the last weekend.
FAQ
- How much does student storage cost near Lincoln?
- At our Rolleston facility a small 7.5 square metre unit is $147 a month and a medium 14 square metre unit is $238 a month. Split between four flatmates over a three month summer, a small unit works out at about $110 each.
- Is there a minimum rental period?
- One month. After that it is month to month, so you can move out in February without paying for time you do not need.
- How far is the storage facility from Lincoln?
- Our Rolleston facility at 856 Jones Road is about 12.9 kilometres from Lincoln, roughly sixteen minutes across Weedons Road.
- Can we share one unit between flatmates?
- Yes, and it is the cheapest way to do it. One person books the unit, and the flat splits the cost between themselves.
- What size unit do I need for a student flat?
- For four people's boxes, bikes and a couple of desks, a small 7.5 square metre unit is usually enough. If everyone is storing a bed, or you have a couch and a fridge as well, go for a medium.
- Can I get to my things over summer?
- Yes. Unit holders have 24 hour access with a swipe card, so you can drop in any time if you need something before February.
Need a unit?
Five Christchurch facilities with 24/7 access, month to month, from $20 a week.
