Renovations are exciting for about a week. Then you’re eating dinner off a box, the sofa lives in the hallway, and there’s a fine layer of plaster dust on everything you own.
The rooms being worked on are rarely the problem. It’s where everything from those rooms goes.
Why “just move it to another room” stops working
It works for a small job. For anything bigger, it quietly ruins the whole experience:
- The rooms you’re still living in become storage
- Furniture gets knocked and scuffed being shuffled about
- Dust gets everywhere anyway — plaster and brick dust travels far further than people expect, and it’s abrasive
- Trades work slower when they’re navigating your belongings
If the work will take more than a couple of weeks, getting things properly out of the way usually pays for itself in sanity alone.
What’s worth storing
Furniture from the rooms being worked on. Sofas, wardrobes, tables, beds — the bulky things that can’t be protected easily in place.
Anything upholstered. Fabric holds dust and smells, and it’s hard to get out afterwards.
Rugs and curtains. Same reason. Take them out before the work starts, not after.
Electronics and anything with vents. Dust in a TV or a computer is genuinely damaging.
Anything you can’t replace. Artwork, mirrors, heirlooms. One knocked ladder is all it takes.
Boxes of things you’re not using anyway. Books, decorations, seasonal items. Getting them out gives the trades room to work.
What to keep at home
Daily essentials, obviously — clothes, kitchen basics, whatever the family actually uses each week.
Rule of thumb: if you’ll want it before the work finishes, keep it. Nothing is more annoying than driving to a storage unit for a saucepan.
Protecting what stays
For things that can’t move:
- Cover with proper dust sheets, not old bedsheets — dust goes straight through thin fabric
- Tape sheets down at the edges, or dust finds its way underneath
- Seal doorways to rooms you’re not working in
- Take pictures and mirrors off the walls, even in adjoining rooms — vibration from drilling travels
When to book
Book storage for a week before the work starts, so you’re clearing calmly rather than the night before the builders arrive.
And here’s the honest advice from anyone who’s renovated: budget more time than the quoted schedule. Projects overrun; it’s normal. Flexible storage with no long tie-in is much better than a fixed term that ends before your kitchen does.
The easier version
If the thought of hiring a van and carrying a sofa out is the last thing you need mid-renovation, it doesn’t have to be your job. We can collect everything from the house, store it safely while the work happens, and bring it back when the dust has settled — literally.
Then you get to do the good part: putting a finished room back together.
FAQ
Should I put furniture in storage during a renovation? If the work will take more than a couple of weeks, usually yes. It protects furniture from dust and damage and gives trades room to work properly.
How do I protect furniture I can’t move? Use proper dust sheets rather than thin fabric, tape them down at the edges, and seal doorways to rooms that aren’t being worked on.
How long should I book storage for a renovation? Book from a week before work starts, and choose flexible terms — renovation projects commonly overrun, so avoid a fixed term that ends too early.