The problem is almost never how much you own. It's that half of it is never in use at the same time as the other half.
Skis sleep from April to November. The paddleboard sleeps from September to May. The roof box is used three weeks a year. And meanwhile, all of it occupies the same cellar, the same garage, the same shed — permanently, for seasonal use.
Here is how to store each family of equipment, what actually damages it, and what belongs in no storage unit at all.
What sleeps from September to May
Paddleboards and kayaks. An inflatable board is stored deflated, rolled without tight creases, and above all completely dry — it's residual moisture, not cold, that brings mould to the fabric. A hard board or a kayak needs something else: length, and support spread along the hull. Left for months resting on a single point, a hull deforms.
Camping gear. The rule fits in one sentence: a tent packed damp is a tent lost. It has to be pitched and dried fully before folding, even if it seemed dry when packed. Sleeping bags, on the other hand, keep best uncompressed: stored tight in their stuff sack for six months, they lose their loft.
Bikes. A bike stores easily: hung, upright against a wall, or simply standing. Inflate the tyres before leaving it — a flat tyre carrying the bike's weight for months deforms where it rests. And oil the chain: it's the first thing to rust.
What sleeps from April to November
Skis and snowboards. Store them clean and dry after the season, never before. Storage waxing belongs in spring, when you put them away — not in October when you take them out. Bindings can be released, which spares the springs.
Ski boots. Store them closed, buckled but not tight. A shell left open for months works itself out of shape and doesn't always recover.
Sledges and snowshoes, which ask for nothing, but take up someone else's space for seven months.
The roof box
This is the object nobody knows where to put. Bulky, rigid, useless as a container, and used two or three weeks a year.
It should be stored upright against a wall or hung, never resting on its lid: the shell eventually warps and the latches stop aligning. It must be dry inside, and empty — a roof box stored full distorts its hinges.
Bike racks and roof bars follow the same logic: barely in the way standing up, very much in the way lying down.
The rule that covers everything else
Almost everything that deteriorates in storage deteriorates for the same reason: it was put away damp. Cold rarely destroys. Trapped water always does.
An afternoon of drying before storing saves a replacement in spring. It's the one piece of advice that applies to every item in this article.
What belongs in no storage unit
- Lithium-ion batteries — e-bikes, scooters, cordless tools. Bosch, which powers a large share of the e-bike fleet, recommends keeping the battery indoors, between 10 and 20 °C, charged to 30-60 %, and never charging cells while they are still cold. Our buildings are heated in winter and stay dry all year, but they are not kept at living-room temperature. The bike in the unit, the battery at home.
- Flammable products: petrol, gas cylinders, solvents.
- Food, including pet food: it attracts pests.
How much space you need
Less than you'd think for sports equipment, which is awkward but not voluminous once stored upright. A family of four's ski kit, a roof box and two bikes fit into a reasonable volume. This is the most common use of a seasonal self storage unit: little volume, but length and easy access.
In Belmont-sur-Lausanne, units start at 1.5 m³ for CHF 40 per month. A 12 m³ unit is CHF 140. Several sizes sit in between: see the sizes and prices.
One thing to check before booking if you have a hard paddleboard, a kayak or long skis: length matters as much as volume, and not every unit has the same depth. Tell us what you want to store and we'll tell you which one fits.
Access is free 24/7, via an app and a personal code — useful when you leave for the slopes at six on a Saturday morning. The site is a few minutes from Lutry, Pully and Paudex.
Write to info@c-box.ch describing what you want to store — we'll tell you what size to plan for. You can also come and see for yourself by appointment on 021 869 74 87.
Book a unit online · See sizes and prices
Read also: which size unit to choose and organising a big clear-out.
