KUBOO Identity & Community

In order to do this to the highest standards that we’re used to, we put in place a series of measures, some simple and some more complicated, but all necessary.
Throughout these measures, KUBOO will remain open as usual.

Meanwhile stay safe, yourselves and your families. If there’s anything we can do for you remotely let us know and it will be our regular pleasure to oblige.

With much kindness,
The Kuboodistas 

So here I am sitting and gazing, sipping at my galão, and wondering why I’ve been away for so long. When everything I ever needed was right here, in my own backyard. The weather, the sun, the sea, the beauty of this country and the kindness of its people. The food and the wine, stored in beautiful caves that smell like time.

So, anyways, here I was, drinking my coffee and day-dreaming into that long beautiful street of Milfontes, when a guy walks in and sits on the table next to me with his own coffee. A few minutes later we were discussing identity, exile, and coming back to the homeland.

He turned out to be originally from Porto, lived in Canada, France and Germany, and now, in his early sixties, decided that it’s in Portugal he wanted to retire. More specifically in Lisbon. As we started sharing logistics of travelling, shipping goods and storing them, the hardest thing that transpired was the difficulty for him to find a space to store all his furniture as he was in the process of looking for a house to buy. He needed a warehouse or a small warehouse more precisely that would fit all his things, something clean and affordable but also safe and accessible.

Storing is not something one does anywhere and in any condition. Storing is a serious business.

At the time there was no self-storage in Portugal. Not in Lisbon and not anywhere else. The only solution was a garage, but it was a mediocre solution at best. They were small, generally humid and not very safe. And they weren’t cheap. At the time, I proposed to him my dad’s flat that was empty between tenants. It simplified his life, at least for a couple of months, giving him time to find a house. Which he ended up doing.

He’s dead now, but we had become good friends. We had similar interests and we both loved Lisbon and more specifically to take long walks together in parts of the city that were less known. We brought back that conversation and those events often, talking about what a service it would be to offer a solution for momentary storage in Portugal.

More than 20 years later, I can finally say that we have a solution. A real and sustainable solution for storing anything and not only furniture. We call them Kuboos. Others more commonly call them boxes.

But Kuboos come with a service that boxes can’t handle. Kuboos come with more security cameras than any other self storage around, and Kuboos come sparkling clean at the best prices of the market.
They also come with the most agreeable service from the most agreeable staff than anywhere else. Kuboos have personality, boxes are bland.

Kuboos are an extension of your home, boxes are just small warehouses with a door.

A box is an empty entity. Cold. A Kuboo is a 5-star boutique hotel to store your stuff. It’s in effect a space for everything you need to store, it’s a space where everything stays clean and safe. While KUBOO the company is a space for everyone to feel at home, welcomed, served with kindness, no matter the need.

To rent a warehouse can be a complicated thing. To rent a box, a boring thing. To rent a Kuboo is the ultimate luxury when it comes to storing your valuables. And I’m not talking only about the warehouses themselves, the kuboos, but the whole experience from start to end. Here you will not be sold things you don’t need and we will do everything in our power to take away from your stress instead of adding on it.

Because behind Kuboos are Kuboodistas, people of heart who understand the needs that come with storage and storing, and are here for one main reason, to make the whole process as easy and as agreeable as possible. For every single one of our clients. Taking the time to understand their particular needs. One client at a time. Always.

Then, in a short period of time, suddenly and quickly he was brought into the light and pushed over everything you can think of from earrings to t-shirts all the way down to the little useless touristic gimmicks that everyone throws away before the next full moon.

He was pushed over everything so forcefully that he became over-pushed. His image was washed out and diluted to an extreme. Sadly. Even a city like Lisbon full of richness seems to have become a souvenir shop for Pessoa’s greeting cards.

Fortunately that doesn’t change the value of his poetry nor its importance in the modern world. If you haven’t read Kafka and Pessoa you haven’t totally understood the twentieth century said someone. That’s how important he is.

You can’t walk in Lisbon without feeling his shadow tracking you. Forget the hat and the eyeglasses. His shadow has many faces like the many names he used to convey his many truths. Space itself shrank down to the size of his hat in which many of our shadows fit!

Indeed, his presence is not felt because of his face that you encounter in every touristic junk shop, nor because you know that he walked the same streets not long ago, and not because Lisbon is a city where poetry dwells in the corners, but simply because he is here, around the unpainted walls of the old buildings that smell like time, in the gutters below the slippery white cobblestones when it rains, and under the bedsheets of unmade beds in every Lisbon’s neighbourhood.

As for us, Kuboodistas, Citizens of KUBOO, our sensitivity and our love of poetry made us build the most human facilities in the world, not only in Lisbon, not only in Portugal. No self-storage facility looks like ours; No human-scale service and kindness feels like ours, and no stress-relief can be more conveyed throughout the moment of moving than how we do it.

KUBOO is like a beautifully designed boutique Hotel for your belongings, but we make sure that storing is not only about belongings, but mostly about the people who are storing. Other companies tend to forget this simple fact. We don’t.

And so we are the people of Self-storage. In Portuguese, we are the Pessoa(s) of Self-storage, and it works beautifully! Without being tacky, we believe that poetry is part of everything we do, because it is in effect part of everything in the world. We just make sure it doesn’t get buried under greed, like most do.

Sure, a garage can be poetic in its own right, but storing anything that you like or may later need in a garage is a mistake. Anything can happen, it’s not the most secure, the cleanest or the most affordable option for that matter. KUBOO makes the whole process more convenient, safer, more secure, cleaner, and all in all easier and more agreeable. It comes with the friendliest staff to assist and help you throughout your move. Nothing you need cannot be fetched.

With the prices of real-estate rising dramatically in and around Lisbon, the storage size you need may be much cheaper at KUBOO than a garage in a dumpy building.

We are here, we are kind, we are helpful.
And we have good coffee-

When you think self storage one image that might come to mind if of a seedy, soulless, stark warehouse containing flimsy storage units hastily crammed with junk. It’s a cold, unfriendly, unwelcoming preconception to have about self storage units. And we’re not going to lie – we can understand some people’s reluctance to entrust their worldly possessions to such a place. Indeed it’s the sort of preconception that would make even the most hardened of villain proud.

Alternatively you might think about those TV shows where people go around bidding on old abandoned storage units filled with dusty, horrible and (more often than not) completely useless piles of rubbish in hopes of discovering something of value and scoring a quick buck. Gross…and surprisingly scripted, should you look into it! It looks and feels like an abandoned garage with no light in sight!

Luckily KUBOO is aiming to avenge the situation and change that notion! When you think about self-storage we want you to think about KUBOO. And when you think about KUBOO we want you to think about the high quality, word class service we provide.

But mostly about our unique faculty to have given a human face to the whole process of self-storage. Not only unique in Lisbon or Portugal, but a unique world wide experience with the best designed space, the kindest team to relieve the stress that comes with moving. No team is kinder than the KUBOO team. None! We profoundly understand the stress that comes with any move or any life change and we are here to truly help make it lighter and easier.

Need to store away files, documents and trinkets? We’ve got just the Kuboo for you. Thinking about stashing away your life size model of an elephant? KUBOO has got your back! Whatever it is you want to store away, there is space for everything from your hulking great pieces of furniture, mattresses, bikes all the way down to the kitchen sink and even your iron, man!

We can guarantee that we have a Kuboo to suit your needs. You’re the captain, you’re in charge. So just come on in and see for yourself why we are quickly becoming synonymous with high quality, safe and secure self-storage in Lisbon. Come see for yourself the best facilities, the kindest staff and the most competitive prices.

We strive to provide an impeccable level of customer service. Our friendly staff members are approachable and totally knowledgeable in the ways of self storage and would be happy to impart their years of expertise and wisdom on you. We’re passionate about what we do and more than happy to have a coffee and a chat with anyone and everyone that walks through the door!

If you’re going to be using a Kuboo and leaving your possessions in our care then we have to ensure that we are indeed trustworthy guardians of your goods! Based in the beautiful town of Carnaxide, a stone’s throw away from Lisbon, we will treat your stuff as if it were ours and endeavour to make sure that everything is as safe, sound and secure as humanly possible until you need it. We don’t run a garage, we run a Boutique Hotel for your storage needs.

And speaking of needing your stuff, you can access your Kuboo 24/7. Day or night, whenever you need it, your Kuboo is going to be accessible, ready and waiting and should you require any assistance our staff are ready to swoop in and save the day!

So remember: not all heroes wear capes, but our KUBOO heroes will strive to give you an incredible service that you can marvel at and relieve you from the useless stress that comes from dealing with faceless companies.

Frustratingly no one else knows, so you announce: “I’ll just Google it!” It doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re going to search using the Google search engine itself, but the company name Google has become synonymous with searching for something on the internet.

That’s what we want to do with KUBOO!

Similarly if you’re in a shop looking for plastic containers to store food in you’re probably going to be looking for the Tupperware isle. If you’re in bed feeling a little under the weather and require someone to go and purchase some tissues then you’re more than likely going to ask them to grab a box of Kleenex. And (if all goes according to our devilishly brilliant master plan) if you need somewhere to store a lot of your stuff then you’re going to be on the hunt for a Kuboo. Not a ‘Box’ or a ‘mini-warehouse’ or even a ‘garage’, these are all unclean and mostly unsafe sounding. A Kuboo on the other hand, is limpid clean, extremely safe and easy to get to and access.

A Kuboo is the Prince of self storage. Anything else is a butler in comparison.
And like we like to say: There’s no place like home, but there’s no space for everything else like KUBOO!

I’m sure you’ll agree that the word KUBOO rolls nicely off of the tongue. Indeed it has a certain…je ne sais quoi about it. So let us tell you a little about our name’s etymology – where it came from. KUBOO is derived from the Portuguese word ‘cubo’ which means cube. We felt that this word pretty much summed up the fantastic self-storage service we offered so we took it, put our own little twist on it and voilà – KUBOO! Sweet sweet KUBOO!

When you think of storage spaces we want you to think of KUBOO. When you think of an extra-space for your needs, KUBOO also must come to mind. We want your senses to automatically link us and our amazing services to all of your storage needs to which we are most dedicated.

Located in the central and safe town of Carnaxide in Portugal we are in close proximity to other similar towns including Oeiras, Algés, Cascais and Alfragide. And if that wasn’t amazing enough we are also a mere stone’s throw away from Lisbon itself. 15 minutes from the airport. Sounds good?

Kuboos are clean, and welcoming, and they are affordable solutions to your self-storage needs. We have a vast variety of Kuboo sizes, from a tiny 1m3, through a range of modest sizes all the way up to a humongous 30m2 in which you could essentially store a life’s-worth of items and memories. And as the Kuboos are accessible 24 hours a day, seven days a week, you can rest assured, safe in the knowledge that should you need to get your hands on your stuff you can do so whenever you feel like it.

We want to expand our storage services and take over our beautiful nation. We want people from every corner of Portugal to think ‘KUBOO’ when they need self-storage. We welcome people to inundate us with business and push us to become bigger and better. The more people we serve and for which we ease the stress of moving or clutter, the happier we are. And when KUBOO is synonymous with self-storage in Portugal we may or may not rest!

So when you need somewhere to safely and securely keep your things, don’t think self-storage, don’t think box, don’t think warehouse or small-warehouse or even garage, Think KUBOO! Kuboos are clean cubes, with individual locks and alarms, to which only you hold the key, like Ali-baba and his cave. You can stack them with your treasured belongings and sleep sound in the comfort of your de-cluttered home, knowing that they are well taken care of. No matter the season.

Here at KUBOO we act in the same manner. Because at KUBOO the most important thing is to be yourself. And this is not a cliché, it’s a rare occurrence in the workplace, and it takes conviction and determination. Self-storage can be dry and alienating if approached in the perspective of business as usual, or it can be a great journey into knowing people. Like a city. Take Lisbon for example, approach it sideways and you may never experience it. Run it through, face first, and it will come at you like a tram. Be ware. Space has a singular politeness to it. It likes uncluttered faces!

It’s a bit like taxi drivers, they are the ears of the city. They are an encyclopedic knowledge of daily life on wheels. Anthropologically rich.

So, face first, we count on the sincere and frank feedback of our staff, friends, and customers to improve ourselves, become more accurate and more balanced. To offer whatever in the world of self-storage we can offer, and always be one step ahead of the rest in taking care of people and of their belongings in the kindest of ways. Because we love it. The anthropological aspect of it. Our days at KUBOO are good days. Full of novelty and renewed every day. There’s space for everything.

If you have a garage, a small warehouse, an extra room in your house where you pile the artefacts of your life, free it (your life). Use the garage for your car or as a hobby room, and that room in your house, with the bicycles and Gym things that you haven’t used in years, perhaps friends can crash in it. Free your space, free your spaces, don’t let clutter get the best of you and don’t get too attached to bulky items. The space they steal from you is worth recovering.

If you live in Lisbon, or planning on it, or Cascais, or Cacém or Algés, we are your neighbours and we are here to help with your excess stuff during your moves. We also offer small Kuboos to be used like small garages, or small extra spaces, extensions to your home, at a small price; so you can keep them for as long as you wish. A simple, clean, safe and cheap extraspace.

That’s what we think self-storage is also about, up at the source, it frees a cluttered space, an office, a garage, a business or just a corner of your house. Without denting your budget. It’s simple, easy to access, affordable and safer than anything else. And we are here to simplify the process. Faces first. Storing is fun! It cleans-up our lives. Clears up our messes.

Huxley said If the doors of perception were cleansed, everything will appear as it really is, infinite. We know he wasn’t talking about storage, bikes, physical spaces, garages, warehouses, or anything that has to do with storing. He was talking about letting go of the prisons of our senses. Un-cluttering. Clearing your daily space is a first step.

Lisbon, Portugal, this is where the hub is. From here, like hundreds of years ago, the ocean is infinite, and space relentless. And so we look ahead. But for now, our space is Lisbon, the great Lisbon area to be precise, at the very center, between Cacém and Oeiras, Cascais and Amadora, Algés and Alfragide. In Carnaxide! A breath away from Lisbon’s center. This is where we are, this is where there’s space for everything, and this is where we await your feedback.

Please always let us know what you think of your experience at KUBOO, what we can provide more to satisfy your needs, and how you think we should improve ourselves.
We are very grateful-

Not anyone can walk Lisbon’s streets. One must be fit, determined and goal driven to climb up the 7 hills made of hundreds of winding streets that become slippery when it rains. Old people live long here and climb those streets like cats holding grocery bags.

Lisbon is also made of houses often too small to fit everything you need. There has been some self-storage solutions around for a few years now, but nothing to match the new familiar and homy approach as well as the high quality service of KUBOO Self-Storage, where people come and feel at home right away; alleviating as much as we can everyone’s moving and storing stress is our noblest goal.

When we look at Lisbon, we see a city being emptied of its people, replaced by tourists and expensive housing. We ache at this trend, a global trend, that strips our beloved old cities of their souls and replaces it with a Disneyland impression that even tourists are not looking for.

KUBOO can’t alter this trend all by itself, but we can help by offering solutions for self-storage in and around Lisbon for those in need of a transitional or permanent safe, clean and easily accessible space for their belongings.

Moving, storing and changing towns is never easy. That’s the part that we built our mission upon: To do all we can to simplify and make this process stress-free, and, as much as we can, pleasurable.

Kids come to KUBOO with their parents, and they usually love it. They love the facility, because for a child a clean, big and safe space like the one at KUBOO is like a dream come true. They run around, play with our small toys laying around in the reception, shoot the football in the loading bay, and get to choose one (no more than one) ChupaChups while their parents get a nice cup of coffee (or two). Sometimes the parents prefer Chupachups, and it makes us smile.

Self-storage in Lisbon is boring in general. Receptions are small and stuffy, KUBOO’s reception is twice as high (at least) and 3 times as big as any other, and it feels like our living-room.

We offer from the smallest locker of 1m3, where you can store boxes and luggage for example to large 30m2 Kuboos where you can store your life! In-between we have garage sizes that will expand your home with minimal cost that you can forget about because it doesn’t dent your wallet.

In the storage world, KUBOO and Lisbon are married in their aesthetics. We are bright and we reflect light, our colour, Orange, what the word Portugal means in the old Moorish language, and our roots go deep under the cobblestones of Lisbon’s sidewalks; Our hospitality is entrenched and we love to help. And just like Lisbon’s buildings, our self-storage hearts are all pastel coloured.

And this year was highlighted by his 8th time win of the sailor with the Greatest Team Spirit Award!

Guilherme’s enthusiasm for the sea began very early, the boat trips in which his paternal grandfather (A Navy Officer) took him, fed his love for boats and for the sea. Guilherme started sailing when he was only 8 years old and since then his dedication has resulted in excellent classifications and podium awards.

“I’ve already achieved a lot of good results, but the best one was in the International Tournament of Carnival in 2017 (Vilamoura), where I came in 2nd place” he tells us with pride.

But Guilherme is not sailing alone, Rafael Rodrigues, who also started sailing 8 years ago, since the first time he set foot on a sailboat, joins him. Rafael confessed to us, “the trick to be a good sailor is not a simple one, it’s a complex recipe, in which the ingredients are based on concentration, the ability to communicate, the ability to observe, a solid determination and a constant desire to learn and evolve. And obviously the eagerness to be the best”.

With 15 podium prizes, including 2 National Titles, it is clear that this is, without a doubt, the recipe for success!

“For me, the best thing is to represent Portugal in International championships; it’s always great to represent my country”, says Guilherme.

KUBOO is proud to be with Guilherme and Rafael in these moments of personal fulfilment and pride for Portugal! To try to help them in achieving the best they can be, and to grow with them.

Self-storage businesses are usually dry and lifeless. Not KUBOO. Among all Self-storages in Portugal, we pride ourselves at KUBOO to be part of the world around us, to give back as much as we can to the community that sustains us, to do it with young athletes but also with people in need at large. 5% of all our profits go for the causes we feel for.

We also understand that storing your belongings is more often than not a transitional and stressful period, so we are focused on doing our best at alleviating the moving and storing part of it, with a complimentary Chupa-Chups and a nice hearty Portuguese coffee, as well as with a staff so friendly you may feel you’re on vacation. Visit us at KUBOO Self-Storage in Carnaxide and you will see for yourself.

As for Guilherme and Rafael, we are deeply proud of both of them! And we will continue to support them throughout.