Right, so your closing date has moved. Again.
You’re out of the old place on the 12th and you can’t get into the new one until the 30th. That’s eighteen days where you technically live nowhere, and everything you own — the couch, the beds, the good delph your mother gave you, that box of cables you’ll never open — has to go somewhere that isn’t your sitting room.
If that’s where you’re at right now, take a breath. This happens constantly in Dublin. It’s annoying, it’s stressful, and it’s also completely solvable. We deal with it most weeks, and there’s a well-worn path through it.
Here’s what your options actually are, what each one costs you in hassle, and how to get through the gap without losing the head.
Why closing dates slip so often in Dublin
It’s rarely one person’s fault. It’s usually just a chain of small delays that stack up.
- Property chains. Your seller is buying too, and their seller is buying too. One solicitor waiting on one document and the whole thing shunts back a fortnight.
- Mortgage drawdown timing. Loan offers, valuations, final approvals — any of these can add days you didn’t plan for.
- New builds. Handover dates on new developments are famously flexible. “End of the month” can quietly become “end of next month”.
- Renting in between. Plenty of people sell, rent for six months, then buy. That’s two moves and a gap in the middle by design.
- Going abroad. If you’re heading off for a job or a stint away, your stuff needs a home long before you know where you’re landing.
The point is, if your dates have gone sideways, you’re not disorganised. You’re just in Dublin.
Your options, honestly compared
There are basically four ways people handle the gap. None of them is wrong, but they’re not equal either.
1. A self-storage unit you load yourself
You rent a unit, hire a van, and shift everything in yourself over a weekend.
Works if: you’ve got a small amount of stuff, a couple of strong friends who owe you a favour, and time on your hands.
Doesn’t work if: you’re moving a full house. Here’s the bit people underestimate — you’re handling every single item twice. Once into the unit, once out of it. Then there’s the van hire, the fuel, the fact that most self-storage units are up a lift and down a corridor, and the small matter of whether you can actually get a three-seater sofa through the door on your own.
I’ve watched people budget a Saturday for this and still be at it on Sunday night.
2. Removals and storage handled by the one company
The movers collect from your old place, take everything to their warehouse, hold it for as long as you need, and deliver it into the new house when you’re ready.
Works if: you’re moving a proper household and you’d like to spend the gap doing literally anything else.
Doesn’t work if: you need to get at your things during the storage period. Warehouse storage isn’t drop-in access — you arrange it in advance rather than swinging by on a Tuesday evening for a jumper.
This is the one most families end up choosing, and we’ll get into why in a minute.
3. Splitting it across family and friends
Beds in your sister’s spare room, boxes in your dad’s garage, the good furniture in a mate’s shed.
Works if: the gap is genuinely short — a week, maybe two — and you’re not moving much.
Doesn’t work if: it drags on. Garages leak. Sheds get damp. Nobody’s spare room is insured for your furniture. And there’s a real social cost to the phrase “any chance the wardrobe could stay another month?”
4. Short-let plus storage anyway
You move into a furnished short-term rental with a couple of suitcases and everything else goes into storage.
Works if: the gap is long — a month or more — or you’re between selling and building.
Doesn’t work if: you try to squeeze your own furniture into an already-furnished let. You’ll end up storing it anyway, just after paying to move it twice.
Why one company for both usually works out better
We’d say this, obviously. But there are actual mechanical reasons rather than just sales patter.
Your things get handled less. With a combined removals and storage job, your furniture is wrapped once at your old house and stays wrapped until it lands in the new one. Every extra handling is another chance for a scratch, a dent, or a mystery missing screw from the bed frame.
There’s one inventory. Everything’s listed when it’s collected and checked off when it’s delivered. If you’ve spread things across a self-storage unit, a garage and a sister’s box room, good luck knowing what you’ve actually got.
No van hire, no lifting. You’re not driving a Luton around the M50 on a wet Saturday hoping you can reverse it. That’s worth more than people think.
One conversation when dates move again. And they might. If your new closing date shifts a second time, you ring one number and change the delivery date. You’re not negotiating with a storage company, a van hire company and three relatives.
Our storage facility in Dublin is set up for exactly this — temperature controlled, monitored around the clock, and built to hold household contents properly rather than just stack them in a corner. You can have a look at inside the facility if you’d rather see it than take our word for it.
What to look for in a storage facility
Not all storage is the same, and the differences matter more over three months than over three days. Here’s what’s worth asking about before you commit.
Temperature and damp control
This is the big one for household goods. Irish weather being what it is, an unheated shed or a cold metal container will sweat. That’s how you get musty sofas, warped timber and mould on mattresses. A temperature-controlled warehouse doesn’t have that problem.
Security
Ask what monitoring is actually in place. Twenty-four hour security monitoring, controlled access, and a facility that’s staffed during working hours is a different proposition to a row of roller shutters in an industrial estate with a code on the gate.
Cover and insurance
Find out what level of cover applies while your things are in storage and whether you need to declare anything high-value separately. Don’t assume. Ask, and get the answer in writing.
Access arrangements
Warehouse storage generally means arranged access rather than drop-in access. That’s fine — you just need to know it upfront so you’re not caught out. Pack accordingly, which we’ll come to.
Notice periods and flexibility
Ask how much notice you need to give for delivery, and what happens if your date moves again. Given how often these things shift, flexibility is genuinely one of the most valuable things you’re buying.
Inventory records
You want a written list of what went in. It sounds obvious. It’s astonishing how often it’s skipped.
Packing for storage isn’t the same as packing for a move
When you’re moving straight from A to B, a slightly dodgy box is fine — it only has to survive one afternoon. When things are sitting for weeks, it’s different.
Use proper boxes and fill them. Half-empty boxes collapse when stacked. Overfull ones burst. Fill to the top with something soft if you’re short.
Wrap furniture properly. Not just a blanket thrown over it. Upholstery needs covering, timber needs protecting, and anything with a glass panel needs padding.
Take the beds apart. Dismantled beds and tables store far better and you’re not paying to store fresh air. Put the screws and fittings in a labelled bag and tape it to the frame. Tape it. Don’t put it in “a safe place”. Nobody has ever found the safe place.
Label on the side, not the top. When things are stacked, top labels are invisible.
Number your boxes and keep a list. Even a rough note on your phone: box 14, kitchen, pots and baking stuff. Future you will be delighted.
Keep an “arrival week” bag with you. Kettle, mugs, a couple of changes of clothes, chargers, medication, kids’ bits, the good scissors. Anything you’d panic without goes in the car, not the warehouse.
If you’d rather not do any of this yourself, packing is usually available as part of a house move, and honestly it’s the bit most people are happiest to hand over.
What shouldn’t go into storage at all
A quick list, because people ask this constantly:
- Food. Anything perishable, obviously, but also tins and dry goods. They attract exactly what you’d expect.
- Anything flammable or pressurised. Gas canisters, petrol for the mower, paint, solvents, aerosols.
- Plants. They won’t make it. Rehome them.
- Important documents. Passports, birth certs, deeds, insurance paperwork — keep these on you. Businesses with archive boxes are a different story and there’s proper document storage for that.
- Jewellery and small valuables. Not because anything will happen to them, but because you’ll want them and they’re easy to bring with you.
- Damp anything. Never store a washing machine without draining it, and don’t store anything that’s still even slightly wet.
Your dates just slipped. What to do this week.
Here’s the running order that keeps things calm.
Day one — get the real dates. Ring the solicitor and ask for the realistic date, not the hopeful one. You can’t plan around a number nobody believes.
Day one — ring a removals company. Before you book anything else. If you’re moving in Dublin during the summer or at the end of a month, the good slots go quickly. Tell them the dates might move — that’s normal, and it’s better said upfront.
Day two — get a survey done. Someone comes out, looks at what you’ve got, and gives you a proper figure for the move and the storage rather than a guess over the phone. It takes about half an hour and it’s the difference between a real quote and a rough one.
That week — start decluttering. This is the silver lining of the whole mess. You’re about to pay to store everything you own, so it’s a great moment to be honest about the exercise bike. Less to store means a smaller bill. Charity shop, marketplace, skip, in that order.
Two weeks out — sort your arrival bag. Everything you’ll need between the old house and the new one.
One week out — confirm access at both ends. Parking, lifts, narrow stairwells, apartment loading bays. If access is tight at the new place, mention it early — sometimes a hoist is the answer for getting big pieces through a window rather than up an impossible staircase.
Whenever the date firms up — ring and book the delivery. That’s it. That’s the whole job.
What about part-moves?
Worth mentioning, because a lot of people don’t realise this is an option. You don’t always have to store everything.
Some families move the essentials into a temporary rental and store the bulk — the good furniture, the garden stuff, the boxes of things they won’t need for a few weeks. That splits into a smaller furniture removal job and a smaller storage volume, which usually costs less than storing the lot.
It’s also the same approach that works during building work, which we covered in a bit more detail in our piece on removals and storage during home renovations.
Frequently asked questions
How much does storage between house moves cost in Dublin?
It depends on how much you’re storing and for how long, so there’s no single figure that’s honest. Volume is the main driver, followed by duration. The most accurate way to find out is a quick survey — someone sees what you’ve got and gives you a real number rather than a guess.
How long can I leave my furniture in storage?
As long as you need. Most people between house moves are looking at anywhere from a couple of weeks to a few months, but longer arrangements are common too, particularly for people who’ve gone abroad or are waiting on a build.
Can I get access to my things while they’re in storage?
Warehouse storage is arranged access rather than drop-in, so you’d give notice rather than calling in unannounced. It’s one of the reasons we push the “arrival bag” so hard — keep anything you’ll actually need out of the warehouse in the first place.
Is my furniture insured while it’s in storage?
Cover arrangements vary, so ask specifically what applies to your job and whether any high-value items need to be declared separately. Get the answer in writing before your things are collected. That goes for any storage provider, not just us.
Will my things get damp or musty in storage?
Not in a temperature-controlled facility. The problems people hear about — musty sofas, mould on mattresses, warped timber — nearly always come from unheated containers, garages or sheds where condensation builds up. Ask what climate control is in place before you book anywhere.
What if my closing date moves again?
Then you ring and change the delivery date. It happens all the time and it’s not a drama. This is one of the practical advantages of having the same company do the move and the storage — one phone call instead of three.
Do I have to pack everything myself?
No. Packing can be included as part of the move, and for a full house going into storage it’s often worth it, because packing for storage has to be a bit more robust than packing for a straight A-to-B move.
Right, that’s the lot
Look, a gap between closing dates is a nuisance. It’s not a disaster. Once your things are somewhere warm, dry and monitored, and someone else is handling the lifting, it turns from a crisis into a date in the diary.
If your dates have gone sideways and you want to know what it’d cost to bridge the gap, give us a shout on (+353) 1 451 3299 or request a quote and we’ll sort you out. Even if you just want a rough steer before you talk to your solicitor again, that’s fine too.
Best of luck with the new place. You’ll be in before you know it.
