I'm spending money fast as I make it so no hope of buying Breezehome yet
I also don't want to kill old crones for their shacks or head off to Winterhold and join a guild that doesn't suit my character just to get some safe storage
On the other hand I have more companions than I can use. If I give items to a companion that I have no immediate need for (like Dragonbone/Scales, my book collection etc) will it be safe until I need it (or at least have found somewhere to stash it)
Thanks

Better option is to claim one of the few abandond homes and store everything in one of their safe containers.

Sounds good but whats a safe abandoned home to use?

Are chests considered safe, anti-theft made? Because when I usually run into a chest, it doesn't have a lock...

http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Skyrim:Abandoned_House

I would test out the safety of the containers first - just in case.

I used Lydia as a storage container for a while myself. I already had a follower I liked better (Uthgerd the Unnbroken) so she got to hold onto my dragon chunks and dwemer metals while I went running around with a friend that wasn't assigned me by the government. Was a bit of a pain when I had to dismiss Uthgerd to give stuff to Lydia, but not so bad since Uthgerd lived in Whiterun.

By the time I got a follower who didn't live in Whiterun, I had more than enough cash to buy Breezehome, and I picked up Proudspire Manor not long after.

Irony is, I no longer really need a place to store stuff, because I make so much money via alchemy (merchant perk plus knowing a few 5 effect recipes).