Storage Services in Northern Virginia, Washington DC & Maryland
Short-term holds, long-term storage, residential or commercial — packed, marked, inventoried, and secured by the same crew that moves you.
At Call The Movers, storage isn’t a separate transaction — it’s an extension of the move. We pack your belongings, mark and inventory every box, transport everything to a secure climate-controlled facility, and bring it back when you’re ready. One crew, one inventory, one invoice. Whether you need a few days between closings, a few months while you renovate, or a few years while you decide what’s next, we serve families and businesses across the Greater Washington region — see the Areas We Serve section below for the full coverage map.
Storage With a Moving Company vs. Self-Storage — What’s the Difference?
The real choice between self-storage and full-service storage with a moving company comes down to one question: how often will you need to access your belongings? Self-storage is the right call when you want full, on-demand access — driving over on a Saturday to pull out the bike, swap winter and summer clothes, or grab a tool you forgot you owned. You hold the gate code, you control the trips, you handle the loading and unloading yourself.
Storage with a full-service mover is different. We handle the whole chain:
- Packing — fragile items crated, furniture wrapped, electronics protected for long-term storage (which needs more protection than short-term — humidity, settling, dust).
- Inventory — every box labeled and listed. You get a copy.
- Transport — our truck, our crew, our insurance. You never lift a box.
- Storage — climate-controlled, no self-access.
- Retrieval — partial or full, delivered to your new address.
Note on self-storage: When frequent self-access is what you actually need, we’ll be honest and point you to reputable local self-storage facilities — better cost, faster access, no waiting on us to schedule a retrieval. Ask during your estimate; we’ll tell you which model fits your situation.
Our Storage Services — Every Use Case Covered
Short-Term Storage
Short-term storage is the most common request we see. Typical situations:
- Between closings — your sale closed Friday, your purchase doesn’t close until Tuesday. We hold everything four days, deliver Tuesday morning.
- Renovation delays — contractor said two weeks, it’s been six. We hold your furniture until the floors are done.
- Staging — your realtor wants the house emptied for photos and showings. Items return after sale.
- Job relocation overlap — you’re moving cross-country in three weeks but the lease is up tomorrow.
We also offer overnight on-truck storage for moves that span more than one calendar day — your belongings stay loaded and sealed. No double handling, no second pickup fee.
Long-Term Storage
Long-term storage takes more preparation than short-term. Items sit longer, and small problems compound:
- Wood furniture needs climate control — Virginia humidity warps anything stored in an unconditioned unit.
- Electronics need silica packs and original packaging where possible.
- Upholstery needs breathable covers, not plastic — plastic traps moisture and grows mildew.
- Mattresses go in mattress bags, stored flat or stood up, never bent.
Our packing specialists prepare items for the actual length you’re storing them. We don’t pack a sofa for six months the same way we pack it for six days.
Common long-term storage situations:
- Downsizing — selling the family home, moving to a smaller place, keeping family pieces for adult children who don’t have room yet.
- Estate transitions — a parent passes, the house is sold, and the family needs time to sort through belongings. See our dedicated estate dirstibution page → /estate-distribution/
- Relocation abroad — international assignment, military deployment, sabbatical. Furniture stays here, you go.
- Building or buying — your custom build is 18 months out. Sell the current house, store everything, rent until the new house closes.
Residential Storage
Whatever’s in your home, we can pack and store: furniture, kitchenware, electronics, books, artwork, instruments, holiday decorations, sentimental items. For families across the DMV, residential storage typically goes together with one of the situations above — between moves, during renovations, or as part of a downsizing transition.
What clients ask about most:
- Climate control — yes, on everything. We don’t have non-climate units for residential clients.
- Insurance — included up to a per-pound basis under our standard valuation. Higher coverage available as an add-on.
- Access — partial retrieval is fine; we just need 48 hours notice. There’s a handling fee for retrieval visits.
Commercial & Office Storage
Businesses across the DMV use our storage for:
- Office relocations — file cabinets, desks, monitors, server racks held between leases.
- Renovations — restaurant, retail or office build-outs where the space has to clear out for 30–90 days.
- Inventory & document storage — seasonal inventory, archived files, equipment.
- Trade show / event gear — booths, displays, marketing materials between shows.
We coordinate with building management on COIs (certificates of insurance), elevator reservations, and after-hours access — critical for office buildings in Crystal City, Tysons, K Street DC, and Bethesda.
Home Staging & Renovation Storage
Staging works when the house feels open and neutral. That usually means moving most of the family’s stuff off-site for the duration of the listing — not just shoving it in the garage where photos will catch it.
How it works:
- We come out, take stager’s or realtor’s instructions on what goes and what stays.
- We pack, inventory, and move what’s leaving to our storage facility.
- House gets staged, photographed, listed, shown.
- After closing — or after the renovation finishes — we deliver everything to the new address (or back to the same house, post-renovation).
If you’re staging while also moving long-distance, even simpler: we pack and store everything here while the house is on the market, then move it cross-country once it closes. No second packing job, no second crew. One inventory from start to finish.
Packing for Storage — Full Service or Self-Pack with Materials
Storage packing is not the same as moving packing. For storage we add a protection layer most movers skip — extra padding on edges, mattress bags, silica for electronics, breathable furniture covers.
Three ways to handle it:
- Full packing for storage — our crew packs everything, labels and inventories every box, loads, transports, and stores. Most popular for long-term and full-house storage.
- Partial packing — we pack the fragile and high-value items (artwork, china, electronics, instruments), you pack the rest. Common for short-term storage on a tighter budget.
- Self-pack with material delivery — you pack, we deliver boxes, tape, paper, wraps, mattress bags, dish kits, picture cartons. Free delivery in the DMV; you pay only for what you actually use. Unused materials go back on the truck on move day at no charge. We’ll also give you a free packing consultation by phone or in person — especially helpful for first-time storage clients.
Student Summer Storage
Students from George Mason, Georgetown, George Washington, American, Howard, UMD College Park, Catholic, Marymount, and area boarding schools use our summer storage program every May–August.
- Pickup at the dorm — we come to you. No truck rental, no parent flying in to help.
- Stored climate-controlled through the summer.
- Delivered back in August in time for move-in day.
- Flat seasonal pricing — quoted up front, no surprises.
International students with parents abroad, students transferring for fall semester, summer interns in DC — student storage is one of our most established service lines. See our dedicated student storage page → /student-storage/
Our Storage Process — Six Steps
- Free estimate — in-home, online, or virtual. We see what you have, we tell you the volume, the climate-control requirement, and the price up front.
- Pack & inventory — our crew packs to storage-grade standards. Every box gets a label and goes on a digital inventory you receive at the end.
- Transport — our crew, our truck, our insurance. Loaded once at your address, unloaded once at our facility.
- Store — climate-controlled, no shared bays with other customers’ loose items.
- Hold or partial retrieval — need that one box of paperwork mid-storage? 48 hours notice and we’ll have it for pickup or deliver it for a handling fee.
- Delivery & placement — when you’re ready, we deliver to your new address. Furniture is placed and reassembled. We take all our packing materials back with us.
Areas We Serve
Northern Virginia
Fairfax County (Alexandria, Arlington, Fairfax, Falls Church, McLean, Tysons, Vienna, Reston, Herndon, Burke, Springfield, Annandale, Great Falls), Loudoun County (Leesburg, Ashburn, Sterling), Prince William County (Manassas, Woodbridge), Stafford and Fauquier.
Washington, DC
All quadrants. Building COIs handled — required for most condos and offices in NW, downtown, Navy Yard, and the Wharf.
Maryland
Montgomery County (Bethesda, Chevy Chase, Silver Spring, Rockville, Potomac, North Potomac, Gaithersburg, Germantown), Prince George’s County, parts of Howard and Anne Arundel.
Why DMV Families and Businesses Choose Call The Movers for Storage
- One crew, one chain of custody. Same team packs, transports, stores and delivers. Nothing handed off to a stranger.
- Real climate control. Not an unconditioned warehouse.
- Full inventory. Labeled, sent to you. You know what’s there.
- Honest about self-storage. When self-storage is cheaper for your situation, we’ll tell you and coordinate with a local facility.
- No hidden charges. Quoted up front. No surprise fuel surcharges, no ‘long carry’ fees invented on move day.
- Licensed & insured. Building COIs handled.
- 20+ years in the DMV. We know the buildings, the elevators, the loading docks, the parking rules, and the gate codes.
Frequently Asked Questions — Storage Services
How much does storage with a moving company cost in the DMV?
Storage cost depends on the volume of belongings, how long you’ll store them, and whether we handle the pack-out. After a free in-home or virtual walkthrough, we provide a written estimate with a flat monthly rate — what’s on the quote is what you pay each month, no surprises.
How is full-service storage different from self-storage?
Self-storage is a room you rent — you drive your own truck, load and unload yourself, remember your access code, and manage your inventory. Full-service storage is a logistics service — we pack, transport, inventory, store, and deliver. Full-service storage with us is the better fit when you know you won’t need frequent access — your belongings go in, stay safe, and come out when you’re ready for them. If something does come up mid-storage and you need an item brought out, we can deliver it as a separate retrieval service — but if you expect to drop in every few weeks, self-storage will be faster and cheaper for you.
Can I access my items while they’re in storage?
No self-access — and this is an important distinction. Our facility isn’t open to clients for drop-in pickups; you don’t have a key, a gate code, or a way to drive over and grab something yourself. If you need an item mid-storage, we retrieve and deliver it to you as a separate service, with 48 hours notice and a handling fee. If you anticipate needing frequent access to your own belongings, self-storage is the better fit.
How long can I store my belongings?
As long as you need. Short-term and long-term are packed differently — long-term needs more protection — so it helps to tell us up front roughly how long you expect to store.
What about insurance — are my belongings covered?
Yes. Our standard valuation covers items by weight while in our care (packing, transport, storage, delivery). Higher declared-value coverage is available as an add-on, recommended for high-value art, antiques, or instruments. We’ll walk you through both options during the estimate.
Do you offer storage between two long-distance moves?
Yes — this is one of our most common long-distance scenarios. We pack and store at our DMV facility, then transport cross-country (or internationally) when you’re ready. One crew, one inventory, one contact — instead of three companies and three handoffs.
Ready to Store With Confidence?
Get a free estimate — in-home, online, or virtual. We’ll quote the exact monthly cost, the packing requirement, and the move-in date in writing. No obligation, no surprises.
