MakeSpace

MakeSpace is grand! A really great option for affordable, temporary storage that is of this time. The staff were super helpful, both nyc-​based and the two chicag-​based gentlemen, Brennen and Javier, who picked up and loaded my items for storage. Providing photos to clients of what is being stored is a great feature as well. Definitely recommend.

Update. My original review was 3 stars. That was before I realized MakeSpace did not deliver all of my belongings after I requested 100% of my property back. They kept/​forgot about 30% of my items. They ultimately resolved the issue and delivered my missing items, but what a hassle. Afterward, they then charged me for the month they erroneously kept my items, and the cost was almost $ 40 more than when they had all of my property which does not even make sense. I think MakeSpace may be going through growing pains and will right the ship over time, but TODAY I am disappointed.

What a great company and concept this is. Used them for the first time to store my stuff for the next 6 – 7 months. Gave me as many bins as I needed and was such an easy and painless process. Many thanks to Joe W, Anthony, and Cedric for the great job they did. They worked hard and were super good guys. If I need to store more of my belongings in the future I will definitely use MakeSpace.

Great, in theory. But not worth it in the long run. I think my mistake was using them for a very large amount of items. If I’d had 5 – 10 boxes it would have been fine. But I used them to store an entire 1-​Bedroom apartment in between moves. It went all kinds of sideways.
Pickup and delivery both got botched on arrival time and how long it was supposed to take them.
They damaged the items they packed for us. They also damaged the furniture they wrapped. The cardboard bubble wrap doesn’t work. Every piece of wood furniture they wrapped with it was damaged. They also put the tape on things sticky side down, which destroyed the finish on some bookshelves and a dresser.
My delivery was pushed back 2 days and they didn’t tell me until delivery day… so I had to stay in a hotel 2 nights.
Also worth mentioning that my delivery was pushed back because they put the wrong person’s pallet on the truck. A system that relies on technology and smooth organization was sending me another customer’s belongings. How can you trust that?
They misplaced my couch and bed and had to deliver them later in the week after they found them.
They put a whole in the wall of my brand new place.
They gave me a 2 week time frame for my insurance claims to be reviewed. It’s been 5 weeks and I just found out it will be at least another week because the 1 person who handles it is on vacation and hasn’t reviewed my claim yet.
There are 3 redeeming things.
1. It’s a good concept.
2. They work very hard, if not very efficiently.
3. It was cheap as heck because their pricing structure doesn’t factor in that you might store a whole lot of stuff for a very small amount of time.

I just had the delivery of all of my MakeSpace stored items — bins and furniture — into my new house. 5 of the MakeSpace guys came (Joe, Adam, Alfredo, Jasyn & Marquis), with 2 trucks, and they were so efficient and awesome. I did get surprised by the main office when they said a few weeks earlier (after taking all of my things) that the suburbs are outside of their normal delivery radius, but we worked it out via a per mile surcharge for the delivery. The communication from the Corporate level could be improved (no suburb service in Chicago is definitely something that should be made crystal clear up front), but the delivery guys themselves are legit.

First off — big round of applause to Nat and Marques (not sure of the spelling). They were fantastic in getting in, wrapping all the furniture to protect it, and moving it down the elevator to their waiting trunk. This company could not ask for 2 more hard-​working, polite and conscientious employees. You should do everything in your power to keep them because they made your review go from a 4 star to a 5 star.
Second — when it comes to doing the moving — these guys could outshine any other movers I have ever used (and there have been several). The care they take in making sure all your belongings are protected is fantastic. The added bonus of supplying bins for you to pack your stuff in (thereby avoiding buying moving boxes) is a valuable benefit.
Third — the price is the best of anyone’s. They not only come in and move your belongings (just like professional movers… only better) but then they store your belongings for however long you need it (you’ll pay for a 3 month min. however) and will deliver all your belongings back to you for the super low price of $ 19.99. In the past, we have paid almost $ 700 to move a studio apartment from one side of the city to the other… these guys will do it for the cost of the storage (basically) which is so unbelievably reasonable that it makes no sense to have separate (professional) movers and then pay a storage place to store your stuff… and then pay for movers again to move you where ever you end up. You’ll be paying at least double what this company charges.
Couple of notes:
(1) the first hour to move you is free… after that, there is a nominal charge that is broken down into 15 min increments. Very fair… and they don’t drag it out… they come in… they work hard… they move you out without taking a break.
(2) As in everything, things can go wrong and don’t come off exactly as you planned… this company wants you to be a satisfied customer and will go the extra mile to make sure that you have been compensated, if, as in our case, we ran into a glitch, they came through and made a fair and reasonable offer to compensate us for our inconvenience.
(3) If you live in a high-​rise building where you have to reserve elevator time — make sure that you let them know this AND that you call the day before to remind them of this very narrow window you may have to use the elevator… not a big deal if you are on the 3^rd floor… very big deal if you are on the 27^th floor. They say they are giving you a «window» when they give you a 2 hour time frame… you want to make sure that you are given priority over another customer who doesn’t have a strict elevator time schedule to follow.
So, good job MakeSpace… everyone I have talked to at this company has been fantastic to deal with (talkin’ to you Matt and Juanita!)

I agree that the premise and MOST of the service is great but there are some gaps.
I called for the service bc I was moving out of my apartment into a smaller space for the short term.
I set up an appointment for the delivery of the storage containers and also for the actual move pickup date. I also asked when I would be charged for the service and how much it would be total and was told it would be invoiced prior to me being charged so I could approve the charges. The first hour is the cost of storage and the additional hour costs $ 100 but is charged in 15 min increments.
The container drop off went well. You can «close» each container w zip locks and label them (they provide both), which I did.
The pickup went well but *warning* if you have a lot of furniture for them to wrap (and they will wrap it marvelously), then you could run the risk of the pickup taking longer than an hour I think. The movers were very thorough and nice. I recommend tipping them in CASH but the option is also available on the app.
Well, about a week later I get charged for the space and then later in the day I get an invoice for it. I called them to ask about the charge timing bc I had been told I would get an invoice first and simply put, I wasn’t expecting to be charged that day. I also hadn’t been able to see pics of my items on the app as promised yet.
They pointed out to me that a prior email did say I would be charged 7 – 14 days after pickup and that the person I spoke to was wrong in telling me that I would get the invoice first. My concern then was: what if the amount had been wrong? I would’ve had to call and wait for a refund?
The CS rep also uploaded my photos to the app BUT they opened all the containers to take pics of them. I guess so I can see everything I sent over there, but I labeled the boxes so that I know what’s in there, it seems unnecessary for them to open the containers to confirm the boxes after I labeled them.
Lastly, I relocated from the far north side of Chicago to Oak Lawn and I was NOT told about a surcharge for traveling out here if I need something returned (which I only just noticed bc of another review), I was only told they may need an extra 24 hours notice and that it would cost $ 20.
Overall, it’s a great service and pretty cost-​effective but there could be less room for error.

From beginning to end, the MakeSpace staff was amazing. Joanie L. was so helpful in helping me set up my account and appointments and recommending the best service options.
The movers (Joe W., Joe S., and Cedric) were extremely personable, polite, and efficient. The quickest move I’ve seen and made sure to wrap up all of my furniture with care. My apartment complex gave them scheduling issues with the freight elevator but they handled what could have been a very difficult situation with extraordinary professionalism and solved the problem immediately. Absolutely amazing!!! Cannot express how thankful I am for their service.
I will definitely recommend this service to all my friends! Thanks, MakeSpace, you’re a lifesaver.

Had a great experience with makespace great quality movers took the time to wrap all of the furniture before moving it, which made my wife feel extra comfortable about them moving our newborns baby furniture. Jasyn, Jeffrey, and anthony were the guys moving the furniture and they were professional the entire time. Their was a mix up with our pick up info but the guys were cool and ordered a second truck so that all of our things could be moved.

MakeSpace was a great option for me since I needed both a storage and someone to help me move. Plastic boxes were an extra plus, especially the wardrobe box was a fantastic idea that saved me so much time and effort in packing. Customer support was easily accessible via phone and email without a long hold, and everyone were very friendly. Jo and Anthony in Hyde Park came on time and handled everything swiftly and professionally. Thanks to MakeSpace, my moving became less chaotic and more fun!

Had a wonderful experience with this company. After being quoted $$$$ by large trucking company to take our stuff and hold it while we found a new place to live, MakeSpace sounded almost too good to be true.
They were wonderful on the phone, answering all my questions, texted when they were nearby for dropoff of bins and pickups and deliveries and all around great experience.
The bins themselves were a life saver, allowing us to save on boxes, and they wrapped up our other mattresses and couches. It was nice to be able to see pictures of our stuff on the app and making appointments was very easy. Amazing experience.

Had a great experience with MakeSpace this weekend! Lots of stuff that needed to go to storage. They dropped off the bins in advance for free — came and picked everything up on Saturday, and took it all straight to storage FOR me! Couldn’t be happier. Big thanks to Joe S., Joe W., Darion and Jeff! xoxo Gratitude.

I needed longer-​term storage for some furniture inherited from the folks. Matthew, the storage expert, helped me determine the right space for my items. The company delivered bins the week before the move, so that I could pack smaller, loose items.
On the day of the move to the storage facility, Joe and Joe showed up right on time and took great care wrapping and packing each big piece individually. They did such a great job.
Each item and bin has now been scanned and stored away, and I can track my items online — a great feature of the service.
I’m very pleased with the quality and affordability of MakeSpace, and I would definitely recommend them.

Excellent service from make space will recommend to friends and family and will also use make space again

Makespace is such an awesome service. From getting a quote to pick up, the customer service was on point. The guys who came to pick up my boxes were great. They were quick and professional. Kudos to Brandon W. Brennen W. and Jasyn P. I’d recommend Makespace to anyone for business or personal use.

I could not be happier with the service I experienced with MakeSpace. When I called to find out information, all of my questions were answered. The guys were able to drop off the plastic bins even when I wasn’t home, with plenty of time to get them packed up before they came back to move my things into storage. They were professional, quick, and accommodating when I was still taking some furniture apart when they arrived. It was really a no brainer to choose MakeSpace when they cost the same as the competition, but eliminate the additional cost of hiring movers to get your furniture there. I’m hoping that I planned well and won’t need any of the things I put into storage until I move it all out, but I’m confident that if I do, the process to get something back will be just as wonderful!

Makespace makes moving as painless as possible. I first found them when I needed to store a few things when staging my apartment for real estate showings. They not only provide free bins & wardrobe boxes, they take pictures of your stuff so you can visit it online anytime and remember what’s in all those bins. You know how right after you pack something you haven’t used in ages, suddenly you need it desperately? Well, they will bring back any item (s) for one flat fee. And you can identify the item you want with the handy pictures.
So, I ended up selling my place before finding a new one. MakeSpace sent Joe & Adam back to take the rest of my things to storage. They made a big job just as painless as the little one. Whether you have a few things to store or a whole household, MakeSpace will do a great job at a reasonable price. I have moved across the city and across the country and MakeSpace made this my least stressful move!

Makespace was a lifesaver for me! I am terrified of moving as I consider it to be one of the most stressful activities in life… On top of that, I cannot drive so I was looking for a moving/​storage solution that would make my move as easy as possible without having to drive to storage places. Makespace was the perfect solution as they not only stored my boxes but also covered all of the pickups and drop offs.
They were always on time — and they will text you about 10 minutes before they arrive so that you can get ready to pick up your bins. The bins are very sturdy and eco-​friendly as they are reusable plastic bins. All of the scheduling and payment is done online, allowing you to pay and schedule without having to pick up the phone. Joe and Adam were in charge of my move and they were extremely friendly. They were willing to move all of my boxes to my new apartment on the second floor which I really appreciated. I have already recommended Makespace to my friends and would recommend it to anyone who would like a easy moving solution. Thanks guys!

Makespace saved my husband’s real estate closing today and we couldn’t be more ecstatic and pleased with the service from the time I picked up the phone, to explain our emergency situation, until the time the guys finished picking up the furniture.
Collin, Chelli, Nikko, Stephanie — NYC front-​end people were very pleasant, understanding, and knowledgeable. Thank you for helping us with a difficult situation!
Geraldo, Joe, Neal — Chicago guys who moved the Murphy bed were very prompt, efficient, professional. Would be happy to have them move our stuff anytime!
Can’t say thank you enough times for helping make a difficult situation end on a good note!!!

Moving can be a stressful experience but the MakeSpace team made this one of the easiest and more pleasant experiences ever. From the initial call to the bin drop off by Joe, who was not only professional but kind to my chihuahua Cumin and cat Smokey.
I was surprised to see Joe on my scheduled pickup date but pleasantly happy to see a familiar face. Joe and Adam were efficient, professional, and to place the cherry on the already delicious sundae these two along with the MakeSpace team presented me with a gift bag of scrumptious treats for Cumin and Smokey. I cried literally like a baby. Inside the bad was a thank you card from the team and Victoria. If you’re looking for a seamless moving and storage experience in Chicago I highly recommend this company. And MakeSpace don’t loose that personal touch it really means so much in a stressful time for folks. Thank you!