How to Choose the Right Boxes for Storage

When moving from one place to another, it is almost inevitable to have more stuff than your new home can accept. Even with all the decluttering before the packing, you usually end up with a lot of things. This especially is true if you are moving to an apartment and not a house. Apartments in buildings have less space for storage, so you might end up renting a storage unit. Whether you decide to store inside or outside your home, it is important to choose the right boxes for storage. You can certainly use moving boxes Northern Virginia movers have supplied to you. That would be one way to go. The other way would be for you to source the boxes yourself. The type of boxes you need to obtain will depend on the content you plan on storing.

Types of storage boxes and containers

People usually use cardboard boxes, as they are the cheapest and easiest to find. Another reason for using cardboard boxes is that you have plenty of them left from the move and unpacking. It is only logical to use them again for storage in case they are still in good condition. One of the things you need to take into consideration if you want to choose the right boxes for storage is endurance. Climate conditions can very often affect the cardboard and cause damage to the content inside. Another type of boxes you can use for storage is so-called plastic containers. They cost more but last much, much longer than cardboard ones. Which one should you use for your storage space will depend on a couple of factors. One of them is what you plan to store in the box, another is what type of storage you have in mind.

Box sizes and shapes make a difference when you must choose the right boxes for storage

Not only do you need to choose boxes from different materials, but you need to think about the sizes and shapes as well. This is in order to avoid making the biggest storage mistakes. Weight, size, and material items you store are made of are important factors. You cannot put steel or iron tools in the cardboard box. First of all because of the weight of the items and second, as they will corrode if humidity gets to the box. Glassware is something you can absolutely store in the cardboard box, as long as you choose those specially designed for this type of item. The reason why you need different sizes of boxes is that you will not always have a square empty space where you will be able to just stack one box on top of another. Sometimes you will need to maneuver with space you are given.

Storage solutions that will dictate the choice of the right boxes for the storage

Anything can be turned into storage if you know how to do it. For example, if you live in the house, there are plenty of spaces and rooms where you can store things. Garage, attic, and basement are the obvious choices. But you can store things inside your home as well. Spaces under the bed, or in the closets can be very useful. People who live in very small and crowded apartments tend to rent storage units for any extra stuff they own. There is one more way to store things, which might not be that popular but can be very useful. We are talking about the onsite storage containers, of course. People usually use this option as temporary when moving to a house. But still, in order to stack things into this container, you need good and solid boxes, that will last the whole duration of your home works.

Climate control of your storage

It is not easy to have the perfect temperature inside the storage space. Especially if you opt for short term storage with storage containers. In this case, it might not be that important, if the time of your things being stored is very limited. On the other hand, if you live in an area where temperatures can go very high or very low, you need to protect your things better. In this case, using plastic containers would benefit you. When renting a storage unit, you can always ask for climate-controlled one, so none of the things can sustain damage. If you are storing things inside your home, you need to carefully choose the right boxes for storage. When not using the right box, your clothes can catch mold, your art pieces can get damp, some antique wooden chairs warped, etc. Having the right boxes can somewhat help in this.

Other types of trouble you may have if you do not choose the right boxes

As mentioned, extreme temperatures can cause cardboard boxes to decompose and things inside to sustain damage. But you’ll encounter other problems if you are not careful when choosing the boxes for storage. For example, if you are storing anything food-related, you must take certain precautions. If not careful enough, you can end up with moth or something worse in your food. Not to mention rodents that can eat up the cardboard box and bite through the food supplies. Pests can also be very bad for antique furniture. If you cannot disassemble it and put it in a large box, you must find another way to protect it. Mold and mildew are your nemeses as well. High humidity can lead to this, and then whatever you owned and stored might be affected by this. If you cannot control pests and climate conditions, you can choose the right boxes at least.