How to Stash Your Loot in Skyrim

Last Updated: March 25, 2019

One of the first things you will notice as you run through Helgen at the beginning of the game is that you can’t carry everything you encounter out of the castle with you. Unlike many games where you can only pick up things you need but have nearly infinite amount of space, Skyrim has a limit on how much you can carry. Once you reach your maximum Carry Weight your character can continue to pick up items at a price: you won’t be able to run or fast travel anymore. It does not take long to realize that you can’t possibly survive in this hostile world without being able to run from danger (at least early in the game). To avoid overburdening your character, you have to stash away your loot.

Part 1

Part 1 of 4:

Knowing the Basic Options to Stashing Loot

1
Stash the safe way. The safe way to store loot is to buy a home. No matter where it is, you can store everything you own within the walls and not have to worry about your stuff being stolen.
- There are plenty of chests and barrels around your home to infinitely store stuff.
- There are some safe places in towns (like Whiterun) where you can safely store your stuff, but it is best not to get into the habit. Start storing stuff in homes as soon as you get a home. You can fast travel close to every home you can buy, making stowing loot a little easier.
2
Stash the risky way. The risky way is to leave your loot in areas that you don’t own, like camps and caves. These items will disappear over time, so if you store them you will want it to be temporary. Come back quickly to collect the items before they disappear.

Part 2

Part 2 of 4:

Stashing by Displaying Loot

1
Equip the item. If you want to put a particular weapon on display, arm yourself with it before moving to the next step.
2
Go up to a mounting object. This could be empty plaques on the wall, weapon racks, or mannequins.
3
Interact with it. Select the appropriate button of the console you’re using to interact with an object.
4
Select the armor you would like to display. Weapons will automatically be traded out since you selected it before interacting with the object.
- The above steps can only be done in homes you own.

Part 3

Part 3 of 4:

Stashing by Placing Loot in Objects

1
Move up to the object and interact with it. You can store loot in the following objects:
- Furniture
- Barrels
- Knapsacks and satchels
- Chests
- Bookcases have limited storage capacity, but everything else is basically unlimited space.
2
Open your inventory. Select the appropriate button of the console you’re using to open the inventory.
3
Select the items to store. Go through your inventory and leave everything you want to store within the object.

Stashing by Dropping Them

1
Go into your inventory. Select the appropriate button of the console you’re using to open the inventory.
2
Select the object you want. Options will appear.
3
Drop the items. To do this, choose “Drop” from the options.
4
Repeat until you are done dropping items.
- These steps are best done in the safety of your home.

Part 4

Part 4 of 4:

Increasing Your Carry Weight

1
Level up to increase your stamina. Increasing your stamina level when you level up increases how much you can carry (+5 for every level up).
2
Wear enchanted armor or apparel. Enchanting armor can increase what you can carry as long as you are wearing that particular piece of armor.
- Throughout the world, there is enchanted apparel that can give boosts to your carrying capacity. You can disenchant these items in order to learn the "improve carrying capacity" enchantment so that you can enchant as much apparel as you want with this boost!
3
Use Alchemy. Using Alchemy or potions you find over the world gives you a temporary boost in your carry weight.
- There are several potions in the game that you can use to increase your carrying capacity, as well as the ability to use Alchemy to make the Potion of Fortify Carry Weight.
- These potions give you different durations for use and different amounts of additional weight over your current carrying capacity. Read them carefully to see how much extra you can haul out of dungeons, caves, and other locations.