Cardboard Boxes v. Plastic Crates:
What’s the Best to Use
for Moving Homes?
home moving articles and tips
Whilst moving homes, you will, needless to say, need containers to transport your items in for the move. There are to main options of container: plastic crates and cardboard boxes. Which one is right for you will largely depend on your particular circumstances.
If you are moving into a new flat which is not especially spacious, then cardboard boxes may be the best route for you to go down. Boxes, unlike containers, can be recycled or flattened so that they do not take up valuable living space in your new flat. If you are also working on a tight-budget, they are also the most economical option – most supermarkets or larger hardware stores will provide them to you for free.
If you choose to purchase your own and, most importantly, intend to use them again, it is advisable to buy ones that can easily deconstruct and reconstruct themselves. This way, they can be compactly stored away until their next use, ensuring you’re flat is cluttered up with ugly, beige boxes.
However, if you’re new home has plenty of storage space and you desire to use your removal containers again, then plastic containers may be the best option for you. Although you will unlikely to get them for free from anywhere, they are modestly priced and readily available from hardware stores and office supply shops. If, for example, you are playing the housing market and are moving into a temporary home with the intentions to move again in the near future, plastic containers certainly seem like the most viable option – they are much more durable than cardboard boxes, which will struggle to transport heavy items on multiple occasions.
Whilst it is true that plastic containers will protect your valuables from damage during the move more than cardboard boxes will, do not buy plastic containers simply on the concerns of your valuables. A sturdy cardboard box with a suitable amount of duct tape will protect your belongings as adequately as plastic crates will.
If you’re not working to a budget, then plastic containers will be the choice for you. They come in all shapes and sizes and there is no fear of them disintegrating during the trip due to poor quality or lack of integral strength, which is a concern for cheap cardboard boxes. Not to mention that they are water-resistant, unlike cardboard boxes.
They are far easier to source than free cardboard boxes – you won’t have to trek up and down the high street asking if they have any, like you would for cardboard boxes. They can be bought in any good hardware store or the internet.
The most suitable option may be of course to source a combination of the two. If you only use plastic containers, the chances are you’ll be struggling to store them all when you move. Use cardboard boxes and you’ll have a lot of card to get rid of which, most likely, will not all fit in your recycling bin.
Plastic containers are not expensive as you think – buy as many as you know you can store comfortably. For the rest of your possessions, simply transport them in cardboard boxes and so that you have the option to recycle them, or reuse if they can be flattened and then reconstructed.
Bio: Ella Andrews is passionate about home relocation and self storage projects. She's been writing about similar topics for a long time. This is the reason why her current article is focused on this theme. Find some helpful tips and ideas for your household here: http://movingchecklist.org.uk/quick-packing-tips-for-a-house-move-to-belsize-park/
