The Mizzou Student's Guide to Renting Storage in Columbia
If you've ever tried to fit a full dorm's worth of stuff into a hatchback the morning of move-out, you know the exact moment college teaches you about spatial awareness. Rooms at Mizzou aren't designed to hold the "maybe I'll need this" pile that quietly builds up over a semester. Textbooks multiply, winter coats and summer clothes refuse to peacefully share closet space, and that mini-fridge starts feeling less cute when you're trying to cram it into the backseat with your bedding and a rogue George Foreman grill.
Welcome to a college rite of passage. Every Tiger eventually runs into the same question: where do I put all this stuff when I'm not actively living with it? Maybe you're heading home to St. Louis or KC for the summer, moving from the dorms to a house on East Campus, or packing up for a semester abroad in Spain.
This guide is here to help you figure out student storage without losing your mind (or your Mizzou hoodie). We'll cover how close storage can be to campus, when you might actually need a unit, how to pick the right size, and some genuinely useful tips that will save you money and headaches.
How Close Is Southside Storage to Campus?
Southside Storage sits at 3100 Chinaberry Dr in Columbia, which is about a four-minute drive from the University of Missouri campus. If you're living in the dorms, in an apartment near Stadium Boulevard, or off-campus in the East Campus area, it's one of the closest storage options you can actually reach without adding a road trip to your to-do list. You can drop off a load of boxes and still make it back in time for your 2 p.m. class.
Pro tip: Find a storage facility close to school. A four-minute drive is easy to bum off a roommate, a friend with a truck, or a rideshare when you're moving stuff in or out. You're not asking anyone to spend half their Saturday helping you, which is the kind of favor that actually gets accepted.
When You Might Actually Need a Unit
Storage doesn't usually cross your mind until it suddenly becomes a full-blown problem. One day you're cruising through midterms, and the next you're staring at a pile of stuff in your dorm wondering how any of it is supposed to fit in your mom's SUV. If you're a freshman or sophomore living on campus, this moment is coming for you in May whether you're ready or not.
Summer's the big one. If you're from out of state or just far enough from Columbia that a round trip is a pain, dragging your entire life home for three months (only to drag it all back in August) starts feeling ridiculous fast. A unit near campus lets you pack once, leave what you don't need, and grab it again when you move into your next place. Same logic if you're heading abroad for a semester through Mizzou Study Abroad: a unit back in Columbia beats shipping half your life across the country.
The other big one is the dorm-to-apartment move. Your lease on that East Campus house doesn't start until August, but you have to be out of your residence hall by mid-May. That's a three-month gap with nowhere to put your stuff, and crashing at a friend's place with seven boxes of textbooks in their living room is a quick way to lose a friend. A storage unit bridges the gap cleanly, and you avoid the couch-surfing apology tour in July.
Seven Practical Tips for Storing Your Stuff Like a Pro
1. Be Honest About What Deserves a Unit
You don't need to store the decorative beanbag chair you sat on twice. Before you rent, sort your stuff into three piles: keep, toss, donate. Be a little ruthless. The smaller the pile, the smaller (and cheaper) the unit you'll need.
2. Clear Plastic Bins Are Your Best Friend
Cardboard boxes are fine until they're stacked under something heavier, get a little damp, and collapse like a soufflé. Clear plastic bins stack cleanly, keep dust and moisture out, and let you see what's inside without opening every single one. Hit up Target or Walmart on Nifong and grab a stack. Future-you will send a thank-you note.
3. Label Like You're Leaving Instructions for Someone Else
"Clothes" is not a label. "Winter coats, flannels, and boots" is a label. When you come back in August after three months of forgetting what you own, specific labels are the difference between finding your phone charger in 10 seconds and tearing through six bins at 11 p.m. the night before class.
4. Split a Unit With Roommates
A 10x10 split three ways is almost always cheaper than three separate small units. Find a couple of friends who also need summer storage, agree on who's paying and when, and divide up the space with painter's tape lines on the floor. Just make sure everyone grabs their stuff before the lease ends, or you'll be the one getting the awkward text in October.
5. Rent Before the Move-Out Rush
Every May, every student in Columbia seems to realize on the same Tuesday that they need storage. If you can lock in a unit a few weeks before finals, you'll have a better pick of sizes and avoid racing a thousand other Tigers for the same spot. Most facilities offer month-to-month leases, so you're not committing to anything long-term.
6. Go Climate Controlled for the Stuff You Actually Care About
Missouri summers get genuinely humid, and heat plus humidity is rough on laptops, TVs, musical instruments, and anything with sentimental value. If you're storing electronics or anything that would make you sad to lose, grab a climate controlled unit. Southside Storage has interior climate controlled units that stay at a steady temperature year-round, so your stuff isn't sweating through July.
7. Measure Before You Rent
You don't need a 10x20 to store "a few boxes and a bookshelf." Most storage facilities publish size guides with visual examples, and Southside Storage has size videos on its website to help you picture the space. Renting the right size is one of the simplest ways to save real money.
Storage Unit Sizes: What Actually Fits
If you've never rented before, the numbers can look meaningless. Storage sizes are measured in feet, so a 5x5 unit is 5 feet wide and 5 feet deep. You can also stack vertically, so don't just think in floor space. Here's how the three most popular student sizes break down.
5x5 Storage Unit (25 square feet)
A 5x5 is roughly the size of a small closet and usually fits 10 to 15 boxes plus a few small items like a desk chair, floor lamp, or mini-fridge. It's a solid pick if you're heading home for summer and only need room for dorm essentials like bedding, clothes, and textbooks. If your whole life fits in a hatchback, a 5x5 is probably your size.
5x10 Storage Unit (50 square feet)
A 5x10 is about the size of a walk-in closet and can easily hold the contents of a typical dorm room. Think mattress, box spring, 20 to 30 boxes, a few pieces of small furniture, and even your bike. Students moving from the dorms to an apartment on East Campus or North Central often land on this size, and it's a reasonable choice for two roommates splitting the cost.
10x10 Storage Unit (100 square feet)
A 10x10 is basically the size of a small bedroom, with room for a full bedroom set, a couch, appliances, and 30 to 50 boxes. It's the favorite for off-campus students packing up an entire apartment between leases, or for three roommates splitting one big unit for the summer. On a per-square-foot basis, it's almost always the best deal.
How to Keep Student Storage Affordable
College isn't exactly overflowing with disposable income, so keeping storage costs down is a real skill. The easiest move is splitting a unit with friends. Three people sharing a 10x10 pay a fraction of what three separate 5x5s would cost, and you all end up with more space than you would have on your own. Just put the payment arrangement in writing so nobody ends up chasing a Venmo in July.
Timing helps too. Renting a few weeks before the May rush gets you a better selection and avoids the panic-rent scramble. Pick the smallest unit that actually fits your stuff, since half of an empty 10x15 is money you're lighting on fire. Take advantage of referral perks when you can, too. Southside Storage runs a $25 referral reward, so if a friend signs up after you, you both come out a little ahead.
What Mizzou Students Typically Store
Most student units end up holding a pretty predictable mix. Dorm furniture like mattress toppers, lofts, mini-fridges, and microwaves are common, along with seasonal clothes, boots, and coats that nobody wants to haul home and back. Add in bikes, kayaks, climbing gear for weekend trips to the Ozarks, and the occasional random find (a drum kit, a full-size inflatable dinosaur, an espresso machine), and you get a decent sense of what a Mizzou unit looks like. If you're studying abroad or spending the summer somewhere far from Columbia, a unit can hold literally everything you own, which beats the heck out of taking over your parents' attic.
Why Southside Storage Makes Sense for Tigers
When you've only got a week between finals and the flight home, the last thing you want is storage two towns over. Southside Storage at 3100 Chinaberry Dr puts you four minutes from campus, with a full range of unit sizes from small lockers up to 10x30 spaces, so you can rent exactly what you need instead of paying for empty air. They have drive-up units for the days you want to back a truck straight up to the door, and interior climate controlled units for the stuff you actually care about keeping safe through a Missouri summer. Prices start around $89, leases are month-to-month, and you can sign up entirely online through the Touchless Rentals system without setting foot in an office during finals week.
For Mizzou students juggling move-out dates, study abroad plans, or the jump from dorms to a first real apartment, having a storage option this close to campus takes one thing off a very long list. You can reserve a unit at Southside Storage online, swing by at 3100 Chinaberry Dr, or call (573) 488-5070 with questions before you commit. Then you can get back to the parts of college that actually matter, like passing finals and surviving move-out.
