As you’re packing up your items and moving them into a public storage unit, you may be wondering if you should purchase plastic bins or if free cardboard boxes from your local grocery store will do the trick.
Let’s compare.
Cardboard boxes may seem like the best choice to store your items initially as they are free and easy to come in contact with.
The pros of storing items in cardboard boxes:
- Free/cheap
- Easy to write item contents on
- Can easily close with tape or by folding the corners
- Easy to stack items
- Reduces waste consumption, eco-friendly, recyclable
- Come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes
The cons of storing items in cardboard boxes:
- If it rains and your public storage unit has water in it, your cardboard box will warp
- They aren’t as sturdy as hard plastic
- Can mold
- Usually, boxes are a one-time use
- Pests and bugs can get into your cardboard boxes and ruin your items
The pros of storing items in a plastic bin:
- Water damage will not ruin your items
- Lids will come with a variety of options like clasps or locks
- You can also put code protected security locks on some plastic bins
- You can choose to purchase eco-friendly plastic containers or not
- You can reuse your plastic bin for multiple years to come
- You can easily stack the bins on top of each other for easy storing
- You can also easily label your bin with your bin contents
- If your bins are clear, you can see what items you have in each so you can easily find things in the future
- Bugs, rodents, and pests cannot get into your plastic bins, so your items are safe
The cons of storing items in a plastic bin:
- These are not as cost-effective as cardboard boxes
- If you choose not to purchase your plastic bins and rent them from your moving company, you’ll need to find a way to store your items once they take them back
