Absolutely no last-minute or hidden charges.

BEST MOVE — The Better Movers
(805) 375-0765
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Since 1985

Storage Packing & Container Loading in Simi Valley and Ventura County

You rent the container. We pack the boxes, and we professionally load your container.

Get a packing and loading quote (805) 375-0765
A storage unit loaded by BEST MOVE, contents stacked tight to the walls with a walkway left clear

Why customers trust BEST MOVE

4.7

We do not run a storage warehouse any more, and we will not sell you one that does not exist. What we do is the part of storage that actually decides whether your furniture comes out the way it went in.

That is two separate jobs, and it is worth being exact about which is which, because they are quoted separately and people assume one covers the other. PACKING is your loose items going into boxes — the kitchen, the dishes, the shelves of knickknacks nobody wants to think about. LOADING is furniture and boxes going into the container, wrapped, stacked and strapped. You can book either one on its own.

Portable containers — PODS, U-Pack, 1-800-PACK-RAT and the rest — are genuinely the cheapest way to store or ship a household. But they are sold empty and self-loaded, and that is where they go wrong. A container is not a room. It gets lifted by a crane, set down on a lot, sat through summer heat, and then trucked. Anything not loaded for that treatment arrives scratched, shifted or broken, and the container company’s liability for how you loaded it is nil.

You handle the container rental and the storage bill, which is what keeps the price low. We do the packing, the loading, and the unload and rebuild when it comes back.

Service one

Packing for storage

Packing is loose items into boxes. It is the kitchen, the dishes, the glassware, the bookshelves and the drawers full of things that have no obvious box — and it is the part of a move people most often start and then abandon at eleven at night.

Storage packing is not the same as packing for a move across town, either. Something that will sit on a lot through a Ventura County summer needs more paper, fewer half-empty cartons, and nothing left in a drawer that can leak, melt or attract anything. We pack for the wait, not just for the trip.

  • Kitchens — dishes, glassware and stemware in dish-pack cartons with dividers
  • Knickknacks, shelves, cabinets and the drawers nobody wants to face
  • Boxes, paper, tape and wrap brought to you — you do not buy materials
  • Wardrobe boxes so clothes hang rather than crease for months
  • Mattress bags, so beds are not sitting exposed in a sealed container
  • Every carton labelled by room, so the unload is not a guessing game
  • Full pack, partial pack, or just the fragile things — your choice
A BEST MOVE packer’s hands wrapping a glazed dinner plate in clean packing paper

Service two

Professionally loading your container

Loading is furniture and boxes going into the container. It is a different skill from packing and it is the one that decides what comes out the other end, because a container is handled in ways a room never is: lifted by a crane, set down on gravel, and then driven.

Loading is also where the money is, and it runs the other way from what people expect. A tightly loaded container is the difference between renting one and renting two — and one extra container of rental plus six months of storage costs far more than the extra hour of crew time that avoided it.

  • Pad-wrapping every piece of furniture before it goes in
  • Disassembly of beds, tables and anything that will not clear the container door
  • Loaded heavy-low and tight to the walls, so there is nowhere for anything to move
  • Every tier blocked and strapped before the next one starts
  • Loaded tight and high, so you rent fewer containers
  • Half-loaded container? We will redo what needs redoing, and say so before we start
  • Unloading on return, rebuilding what we took apart, into the room it belongs in
A BEST MOVE mover pulling a strap tight across a stacked tier of clothing wardrobe boxes inside the truck

What comes with either service

  • An honest container count before you order, so you are not paying for empty air
  • All materials brought to you — boxes, paper, tape, wrap, wardrobe boxes, mattress bags
  • Pad-wrapping on furniture, and dish-pack cartons on the breakables
  • Blocking and strapping so nothing shifts in transit or on the lift
  • Disassembly of anything that will not clear the container door
  • Unloading on return, and rebuilding what we took apart
  • Placement in the room it belongs in, not stacked in the garage
  • Packing and loading quoted separately, so you can book either one alone

Step by step

How it actually goes

  1. Tell us what is going in, and for how long

    A six-week escrow gap and a two-year storage run are packed differently. Long storage means more paper, fewer things left in drawers, and nothing that can leak, melt or attract anything.

  2. You book the container, we tell you what size

    We will tell you honestly how many containers a house your size needs before you order, so you are not paying for empty air or scrambling for a second one on the day. Have it dropped where a crane can reach it and a crew can walk to it.

  3. Packing: loose items into boxes

    The kitchen, the glassware, the shelves and the drawers. Dish-pack cartons on the breakables, everything labelled by room. If you are packing yourself, skip this step and we will start at the wrapping.

  4. Loading: furniture and boxes into the container

    Pad-wrapping first, then heavy-low and tight to the walls, everything filled in so there is nowhere to move, and each tier strapped before the next one starts. A container that is going to be lifted has to be loaded like a truck that is going to be driven.

  5. Unload and rebuild when it comes back

    Same company, same standard. Beds go back together, boxes go to the rooms they belong in, and the packing material leaves with us.

Questions

Storage Packing & Container Loading questions we get asked

Not the one you needed? The full FAQ covers pricing, moving day and what we will and will not move — or just call and ask.

What is the difference between packing and loading?

They are two different services and we quote them separately. Packing is your loose items going into boxes — the kitchen, the dishes, the knickknacks. Loading is furniture and boxes going into the container: wrapped, stacked, blocked and strapped. Plenty of customers pack their own boxes and have us professionally load the container, and that is a perfectly sensible way to do it.

Do you hold my things in your own building?

No, and we used to. That service is discontinued. Rather than leave it on the site, we are telling you plainly: the storage itself now comes from a container company, and we do the packing and the loading.

Which container companies do you work with?

All of them. PODS, U-Pack, 1-800-PACK-RAT, SMARTBOX, Zippy Shell and the rest work the same way from our side. You book whichever quotes you the best rate for your dates — we are not taking a referral fee from any of them, so there is nothing to steer you toward.

Can you load a container I have already filled halfway?

Yes, and it is common. We will usually want to redo some of what is already in there, and we will say so before we start rather than after. Half a container loaded loose is the part most likely to shift into the part that was loaded properly.

Can I book just the loading, or just the packing?

Either. They are separate services with separate quotes. Some people want the kitchen packed and will load the rest themselves; far more want to pack their own boxes and have us professionally load the container, because that is the half where the damage happens.

How many containers will my house need?

It depends on the house and how much is leaving with you rather than going in. Tell us the number of bedrooms and roughly what is in the garage and we will give you a count before you book anything. Getting that right up front is what keeps the storage bill predictable.

Can you clear out what should not go into storage first?

Yes, and you should. Storing something for two years costs more than it is worth surprisingly often. Our TRASH DAY division can clear it in the same visit, donating and recycling first — and every cubic foot that does not go in is storage you do not rent.

What should never go in a container?

Food, plants, anything perishable, flammables, aerosols and pressurised anything. Take documents, jewelry, medication and anything irreplaceable with you rather than sealing them into a box on a lot you cannot casually visit. Containers get hot — candles, vinyl records and electronics all suffer in a Ventura County summer.

No obligation

Renting a container?

Tell us roughly how big the house is, when the container lands, and whether you want the packing as well as the loading. We will tell you how many containers you need before you order anything.

Or call and talk it through now: (805) 375-0765

No deposit. No last-minute charges. Ever.

You do not put money down to hold a date, and the rate you are quoted is the rate you pay. Stairs, long carries, fuel, wardrobe boxes and furniture assembly are all in it.

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Step 2 of 2 · We call back the same business day. No deposit is required to hold a date, and we do not sell your information to other movers.

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Storage Packing & Container Loading across Ventura County and the West San Fernando Valley

Renting a container?

Tell us roughly how big the house is, when the container lands, and whether you want the packing as well as the loading. We will tell you how many containers you need before you order anything.

Get a packing and loading quote Or call (805) 375-0765

No deposit to book · No hidden charges · Family-owned since 1985

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