I allowed my unease with needles to prevent me from arranging space in my life to help.

I’m a visual artist and sometimes work confines me to my own space, a small atelier in the garage at home invented from a mess of trunks, shelves and boxes of memories that, for a long time, I didn’t want to store away from home.

In fact, I spent a lot of time in the garage, even when I wasn’t working, going through photo albums, old collections and my father’s belongings, my way of staying close to him.

A while ago my daughter had a health complication and needed to receive some blood transfusions. This made me re-evaluate a large part of my life.

After what happened, I decided to store some of the garage stuff in a mini-storage unit and turn it into a space where my little girl could play to her heart’s content, so that we could also spend more time together.

In my search for storage solutions in the Lisbon area, I came across KUBOO Self-Storage in Carnaxide, quite close to my home, so I decided to pay them a visit.

What was my surprise when, on arriving at the facility, I saw that KUBOO was organizing a blood donation and bone marrow donors registering campaign – I doubt there’s another self-storage in Portugal doing this. It seemed like fate, so I couldn’t stay inside my box any longer!

That same day, I became a client of KUBOO and made the first blood donation of my life! After all, one unit of donated blood is just 400ml that can make a huge difference.

I recently found out that this KUBOO campaign won a social responsibility award, a well-deserved honor for such a noble initiative.

Congratulations KUBOO!

At times, sailors would venture the unknown oceans with no promise of return just for the sake of finding a new world, a space where lands grew different trees, animals grew bigger sizes and people dedicated themselves to new unknown arts and crafts.

Those able to make it back, would arrive stacked with all sorts of new items, spices, textiles and a bunch of useless stuff. Although, decluttering was pretty easy as these last ones were different from most things people had seen at the time, so clearing space was no issue.

Particular and special objects require different care, as you wouldn’t store a roll of cloth that traveled for months through storms and disease in a humid garage or some unsafe storage.

KUBOO came to life as a different storage solution. The idea also had to travel for long months, wander through storms and overcome giant waves. Made from people who see the world differently, for people who see their belongings different from banal things.

“Was it worth doing? Everything’s worth doing if one’s soul isn’t small.”

Nothing but respect for the sea, belief in a group of people and opportunity, brought KUBOO Self-Storage and SailCascais together, for a season of conquests with space for always one more victory.

That’s how Rui, Henrique, Luís and Francisco ended up wearing KUBOO’s colors, sailing the waters of Cascais and being crowned THE FIRST EVER PORTUGUESE J70 NATIONAL CHAMPIONS.

Congratulations to the whole KUBOO Sailing Team and all SailCascais team for a great year!

As Pessoa once asserted, danger and the abyss were placed in the sea, but it was also made into heaven’s mirror.

Although my concept of an ideal life is in the countryside, close to nature and people who make me feel at home, the force of necessity demanded it.

My partner is a pilot for a short-haul airline, so he often goes back and forth to the airport. In most big cities, living near an airport means living on the outskirts, having good access but being far from the euphoria of the urban centers. As we know, this isn’t the case in Lisbon, so I found myself renting a flat that was too small for the price, just because of its proximity.

Naturally, when I moved houses, I brought a lot more stuff than I could fit into the new city flat, from tents and camping equipment to the stress of moving and seeing more boxes than storage space available. I find it hard to believe that nowadays we have to pay absurd amounts for a roof under which there is no room for what is ours, for the things we love.

Fortunately, KUBOO Self-Storage crossed my path and came to “expand” my small flat not far from its walls. At least here everything is uncomplicated, I pay a fair price and I know that my belongings are safe and easily accessible – unlike the property market in Lisbon.

I’d rather give my money to someone who cares about helping me, regardless of the square meters, than to someone who just looks at them as euros.

And when I became a client of KUBOO, guess what, they planted a tree in my name and sponsored kids to play football, among many other social responsibilities they showed me they were doing in my name. When I left KUBOO I was happy.

I’ve seen a lot of changes and a lot of things that should have changed but didn’t. I was here when they built the CCB and when Os Belenenses Football fell to the bottom division… and I’ll be here to see it return to where it belongs, the 1st division.

I started going to the Restelo stadium when I was 7 or 8 years old, accompanied by my grandfather who quickly infected me with a huge love for the Azuis da Cruz de Cristo, a love that burns today in the same way it did on those Football afternoons in Restelo with my Avô Zé.

I’ve lived in houses and apartments, I’ve had a backyard and I’ve had a balcony overlooking the south shore. I’m a simple person and, as I grew up, I realized that space is what we make of it. My grandfather used to tell me that happiness doesn’t lie in “how much we have” but in recognizing that “we have enough”.

Among the things that have never changed, there’s a huge stone: the issue of housing, with its one-way, rising prices, in contrast to its ever-decreasing size.

The last time I was in the process of moving houses, which I hope was for good – I’m too old for these things – a long-time friend told me about a discovery of his that turned out to be a real “tidy-up” for the “huge stone” that takes up so much physical and mental space. His find was “cubes”, which turn out to be “kuboos”, mini-storerooms that have come to complement my home, where I keep many achievements and memories that, despite always being there, no longer fit under the same roof as me.

At KUBOO in Carnaxide, I know that the first letters I exchanged with my wife, the old Belenenses shirts and scarves that my grandfather left me, and the bottle I’m saving to celebrate when they’re back in the first league, are safe and well kept.

But now we seem to have crossed another barrier, one that makes us proud for Portugal: KUBOO has been chosen among 3 other European self-storages as Finalist in the biggest and most prestigious Self-storage Award ceremony in Europe!

FEDESSA, The Federation of European Self Storage Associations yearly Conference and Awards ceremony taking place this week will crown the winner. But being chosen as one of 4 Finalists among 4,300 other self-storage shops in Europe is an achievement in itself. And we take it as such.

KUBOO is now one of the most loved self-storages not only in Portugal but in Europe! Our hospitality, our creativity, our sense of genuine kindness can hardly be matched, and it makes us happy that the hard work of greeting each of our clients and catering to their every need is recognized worldwide by the industry itself.

We don’t merely serve our clients, we actually help them throughout their move, we facilitate everything for them with the never faltering smile of our Kuboodistas, our exceptional staff chosen for their genuine personalities and ther big hearts and professionalism.

We understand that moving and storing is one of the most difficult passages of life, so we’ve built KUBOO to make sure everyone moving and storing with us is treated with respect and unflinching help. That their belongings are safe, secure, and in the best hands possible.

We can go on but no need, it’s time to celebrate our achievements, time to thank our clients and recognize the hard and generous work of each and every Kuboodista who made KUBOO as it is, beautiful, kind, genuine and attentionate to everything and everyone.

We are proud to take Portugal to the European level. And beyond!
-All made with love in Lisbon-