What to Store During an Office Move (And What to Move Straight Away)
The question of what to store during an office move and what to move straight to the new premises is one that most businesses do not spend enough time on.
Deciding early and getting that decision right can cut the cost of the physical move, reduce the volume arriving at your new site on day one, and give your team a much cleaner start in the new space.
Get it wrong, and you end up with a new office that is immediately cluttered with items nobody uses, while the things people actually need are stuck in boxes or delayed in transit.
This guide sets out a practical framework for making those decisions, covering the main categories of office contents and the questions worth asking before anything gets packed.
Table of Contents
Why the Storage Decision Matters More Than Most Businesses Realise
The default approach to an office move is to pack everything and move it all. It is the path of least resistance, but it is rarely the most sensible one.
Moving more than you need to costs more: more boxes, more vehicle space, more time loading and unloading, and more time sorting out the new premises once everything has arrived.
There is also a less obvious cost. A new office is an opportunity to set up a workspace that works properly, with everything in the right place from the start.
That opportunity is much harder to take when the space is immediately full of items that were not properly sorted before the move.
Using commercial storage as part of a planned office relocation solves both problems. Items that are not immediately needed at the new premises are held securely until required, which reduces the volume of the move and keeps the new site manageable from day one. For businesses in Poole, Bournemouth, and across Dorset, Maidmans provides secure commercial storage as a fully integrated part of its office removals service, meaning storage can be arranged, managed, and coordinated through a single point of contact.
Moving only what you immediately need to the new premises, and storing the rest, is one of the most effective ways to reduce both the cost and the disruption of an office relocation.
The Two Questions to Ask About Everything in Your Office
Before categorising any item, two questions make the decision straightforward in most cases:
- Will we need this within the first four weeks at the new premises?
- Does this item earn its space at the new site, or is it there out of habit?
If the answer to the first question is no, storage is almost certainly the right choice. If the answer to the second question is also no, the item probably should not be making the journey at all, either it should be stored pending a proper review, or it should be disposed of, donated, or destroyed before the move takes place.
This two-question test is simple, but applying it consistently across every department and every category of office contents is where the value lies. The sections below break the main categories down in detail.
At a Glance: What to Store and What to Move
| Put into storage | Move straight to the new premises |
| Archive files and records you are required to keep but rarely access | Workstations, monitors, and keyboards are needed on day one |
| Surplus furniture is not needed at the new site immediately | Active client files and current project documentation |
| Seasonal or infrequently used equipment | Phones, headsets, and telecoms hardware |
| Bulk stationery, promotional materials, and branded stock | Servers, networking equipment, and IT infrastructure |
| Items awaiting fit-out of specific rooms or areas | Staff personal effects and day-to-day desk equipment |
| Furniture from areas not yet ready at the new premises | Essential plant, machinery, or operational equipment |
| Documents scheduled for shredding but not yet destroyed | Finance and HR records in active use |
Archive Files and Business Records
What most offices get wrong
Archive files are one of the most common sources of unnecessary move volume. Most businesses are legally required to retain certain records; HMRC requires most financial records to be kept for six years, for example, but being required to keep something is not the same as needing it accessible on a daily basis. A box of VAT returns from three years ago does not need to be at your primary work address. It needs to be somewhere safe.
What to store
Archive records that are kept for compliance purposes but are not in active use should go straight into storage rather than travelling to the new premises.
This includes historical financial records, old HR files, superseded contracts, and any documentation subject to a retention obligation that has not been accessed in the past six to twelve months. Maidmans offers sequential packing for document archives, which means records arrive in the same order they left and can be accessed quickly if needed. The company’s secure storage facility in Poole is part of a wider nationwide network and holds items under managed conditions.
What to move straight away
Active client files, current project documentation, and any records that staff need regular access to should travel directly to the new premises with the main move. These should be clearly labelled and packed in a sequence that allows them to be placed directly into the filing system at the new site, rather than sitting in boxes waiting to be sorted.
What to shred
An office move is the right moment to clear out records that have passed their retention period and no longer need to be kept.
Rather than moving them to storage or the new premises, documents that can be disposed of should be securely destroyed before the move.
Maidmans provides a fully managed commercial shredding service that can run alongside the relocation, with certificates of destruction available on request.
This is particularly important for any documents containing personal data, where ICO guidance requires that disposal is handled securely and in line with GDPR obligations.
Office Furniture
The furniture problem
Furniture is heavy, awkward, and expensive to move. It is also the category where businesses are most likely to move things they do not actually need, because it feels easier to take everything than to make decisions about individual pieces under the time pressure of an imminent move.
The new premises will have a layout that is almost certainly different from the one you are leaving.
Furniture that fitted the old space well may not work at the new address. Before any furniture is moved, it is worth producing a floor plan of the new site and working out which pieces actually fit and serve a purpose there.
What to store
Surplus desks, chairs, and storage units that do not have a confirmed place at the new premises should be stored rather than transported on move day.
This is particularly true if any rooms or areas at the new site are not yet ready; a meeting room that is being fitted out, for example, does not need its furniture on the day the rest of the office moves in.
Storing surplus furniture also keeps options open. If the business grows and takes on additional space, or if the layout of the new premises changes, the furniture is available without having to be purchased again.
What to move straight away
Every workstation, desk, and chair with a confirmed occupant and position at the new site should be moved on move day.
Maidmans can produce a CAD-based space plan for the new premises as part of its commercial relocation service, which means furniture can be placed in the correct position from the moment it arrives rather than requiring secondary moves once staff are in.
A floor plan of the new premises, produced before move day, is one of the most effective ways to avoid moving furniture that does not have a confirmed home in the new space.
IT and Telecoms Equipment
Move everything that the staff need on day one
There is very little IT or telecoms equipment that belongs in storage rather than at the new premises. Workstations, monitors, keyboards, phones, headsets, servers, networking hardware, and specialist technical equipment all need to be operational at the new site as quickly as possible. The only exceptions are equipment that is genuinely surplus, hardware that is no longer in use, legacy machines kept for occasional reference, or spare units that are not part of the active operation.
How IT equipment should be handled
The physical protection and sequencing of IT equipment during an office move is critical. Maidmans uses heavy-gauge anti-static bubble wrap for all ICT equipment and places servers and sensitive hardware in dedicated mobile security cages during transit. Equipment is packed in a sequence that allows IT teams to begin reconnection at the new premises immediately upon arrival, rather than sorting through unlabelled boxes.
Legacy or surplus IT equipment that is not making the journey should be disposed of responsibly. Data-bearing devices require secure data destruction before disposal; this is an obligation under GDPR, not a recommendation. Maidmans can advise on secure disposal as part of the move planning process.
Promotional Materials, Branded Stock, and Bulk Stationery
This category sits somewhere between archive files and furniture in how most businesses handle it, often moved without much thought and usually taking up more space than it justifies.
Branded promotional materials, exhibition stock, bulk stationery, and similar items should be assessed honestly before the move. If they have not been used in the past twelve months, the question of whether they are worth moving at all is a fair one. Items that are kept should be stored rather than occupying space at the new premises until they are actually needed.
This is a straightforward storage call. These items are not time-sensitive; they do not need to be accessible on day one, and storing them keeps the new office uncluttered during the critical settling-in period.
Items That Should Not Move at All
Not everything in an office should make the journey to the new premises, either directly or via storage. An office move is a natural time to dispose of things that have accumulated over time but serve no purpose.
- Broken or end-of-life equipment that has not been repaired or replaced
- Duplicate furniture or equipment where the business now has more than it needs
- Outdated branded materials that reference the old address, old branding, or discontinued products
- Physical media that has been superseded, old CDs, tapes, or backup drives from discontinued systems
- Office supplies that are past their useful life or unlikely to be used
Deciding to dispose of these items before the move rather than after reduces the volume of the move, saves on storage costs, and avoids the common outcome of items being moved to a new location and then sitting unused for another three years.
How to Use Storage to Phase the Move Itself
For businesses that cannot vacate the old premises and occupy the new ones simultaneously, which is more common than most people assume, storage provides a practical bridge.
Items can be removed from the departure site and held in storage while the new premises are finished, fitted out, or made ready. When the new site is ready, items are released from storage in a planned sequence rather than all at once.
This phased approach is also useful for larger businesses moving multiple departments over several weekends. Departments that are not moving in the first phase can store non-essential items ahead of their move date, reducing the volume and complexity of each phase.
Maidmans’ commercial storage in Poole operates on flexible terms and is designed to accommodate such a phased relocation.
Storage capacity scales with requirements, and items can be retrieved at any point during the storage period. For businesses planning a complex relocation across Dorset, contact the Maidmans team early in the process to discuss how storage can be integrated into the overall move plan.
A phased move, where storage bridges the gap between vacating the old premises and settling into the new ones, is one of the most effective ways to manage a complex relocation without disrupting the business.
Why the Quality of Storage Matters
Not all commercial storage is equal. The conditions in which items are held, the security of the facility, and the management of access all vary considerably between providers. For business-critical records, office equipment, and high-value furniture, the quality of the storage environment matters.
Maidmans holds the BSI BS8522 Commercial Moving Services certificate and is a member of the British Association of Removers. The company was the first in the UK to attain all three BSI quality standards covering house removals, overseas removals, and commercial office removals, a combination that reflects the consistency of its operational standards across every part of the service, including storage.
For businesses in Poole, Bournemouth, Christchurch, Weymouth, and across Dorset, Maidmans provides commercial storage as part of a fully integrated relocation service. That means the same team managing the move is managing the storage, which removes the coordination overhead of working with separate providers and ensures that items move into and out of storage in a controlled, planned way.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long can I keep items in commercial storage during an office move?
There is no fixed limit. Commercial storage with Maidmans operates on flexible terms, and items can be held for as long as required. Some businesses use storage for a matter of weeks to bridge the gap between vacating and occupying premises.
Others use it for months while a fit-out is completed or a phased relocation is carried out. Terms can be adjusted as requirements change.
Is commercial storage suitable for IT equipment and servers?
Yes, providing the storage environment is appropriate. Servers and sensitive IT hardware require a controlled environment, consistent temperature, low humidity, and security. Before placing IT equipment into storage, confirm with the storage provider that the facility meets the requirements for the specific equipment to be stored. Maidmans can advise on suitability as part of the move planning process.
What should I do with documents that need to be destroyed before the move?
Documents that have passed their retention period or are no longer required should be securely destroyed before the move rather than being moved or stored unnecessarily. Maidmans provides commercial paper-shredding service from its Poole depot, with collection available for larger volumes. Certificates of destruction are provided, which are important for GDPR compliance when disposing of documents containing personal data.
Can Maidmans manage both the storage and the physical move?
Yes. Maidmans provides commercial storage as an integrated part of its office relocation service. Rather than coordinating with a separate storage provider, businesses can manage the entire move, including what goes into storage, when it goes in, and when it comes out, through a single point of contact. To discuss your specific requirements, contact the Maidmans team in Poole or call 01202 069537.
How do I know what size storage unit I need for an office move?
This is best assessed during a pre-move survey rather than estimated from a floor plan. The volume of items going into storage depends on what is being moved and what is being held back, which will vary from business to business. Maidmans carries out a full survey of both the departure and new premises as part of the move planning process, which gives an accurate picture of storage requirements alongside the overall move volume.
Plan Your Office Move With Maidmans
Maidmans Moving & Storage has been carrying out commercial relocations across Dorset since 1979.
As holders of the BSI BS8522 Commercial Moving Services certificate, members of the British Association of Removers, and runners-up at the BAR Commercial Mover of the Year Awards 2019, Maidmans provides the full range of commercial relocation services, including project management, IT relocation, space planning, document storage, and secure shredding, through a single coordinated service.
To discuss your office move or arrange a free survey, contact the Maidmans team.