As you all know… the Mommy Brain Family recently (a month ago) moved from California to North Carolina.. We knew that we were hiring a professional moving company to take our belongings across the country, but we had planned on packing most of our house by ourselves. We weren’t too sure about how the Rubbermaid totes would hold up, so we decided to let the movers pack our breakables… hoping they’d pack them properly since, you know, they are professionals.
We saved the Rubbermaid totes for some of the more replaceable items… dishes, picture frames, toys, clothing, etc. Oh how I wish I would’ve used the Rubbermaid totes for more of the breakables! I wish they made them large enough for me to pack in my grandma’s Japanese Geisha doll and case, or Daddy’s Compound Sliding Miter Saw. Two things we let the movers “professionally pack”. Two things that got broken or broke through a box. The cardboard boxes, no matter how stuffed with things and paper, still crushed down, bulged out, and basically made a mess of everything. The Rubbermaid totes didn’t bulge, or crush, and nothing broke through them. I also liked how they stayed sealed down so no little creatures could get into them. They were pretty much protecting the contents from any possible leaks or spills. Who knows what else got packed in the truck with our things.
In any case, the Rubbermaid Totes won this battle royal… I can not express enough how, if I could do it all over again, I’d pack with the Totes rather than cardboard. The best thing about them after the unpacking is over, I can still use them to store things in the garage, to take to the beach, or in the house to keep craft things together. If I don’t need them, they stack nicely inside each other to reduce the space it takes to store them. Cardboard boxes, on the other hand, take up way too much room whether they’re broken down or not. I can’t just throw them away, because that would be wasteful. There isn’t a recycling program here that I could take them to. So, I’m stacking them up in my garage, waiting for people to come buy them at a seriously discounted rate than what I paid for them. It’s ok though.. It makes some good fun money for the girls to get books at their favorite book store..
Please, enjoy my video comparison between the cardboard boxes and the Rubbermaid Totes… You will see what I mean! Don’t forget to leave me a comment letting me know what you thought! Thanks!
I love all those rubbermaid totes. Never even thought of then for moving, but we use them at home for Storage and Organization. I honestly can’t get enough – especially with the kids constantly outgrowing clothes! i love them to recycle the clothes seasonally too.
I also wish you could have packed everything in a Rubbermaid tote. Glad to hear the move went fairly well.
I am planning on moving next month. Now I know that I will use Rubermaid totes for all of the important things. It’s worth the extra costs if it means you don’t break, smoosh, or tear the things in your life you value.
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I use rubbermaid for everthing I store and also a big user in the kitchen!They are very durable and great to look at!
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I prefer cardboard boxes, at least for a local move. One, because you can more easily store cardboard boxes once you are unpacked. Two, the moving guys who hauled those totes up to my third floor walk-up said that the lids dig into their backs. They didn’t like ’em. If you pack with plenty of packing material around items and make sure the box is as stuffed as possible while still being able to tape it shut it should cut down on broken items.
Suzanne,
The professional packers DID stuff the boxes with tons of packing material. I have over 15 large garbage bags full of packing paper, and I’m not even 1/2 way unpacked. The only broken items were in the cardboard boxes that the movers packed. I didn’t have anything broken that I packed in the Rubbermaid totes. Our movers actually liked the totes because of the handles, and they stacked really well on their handtrucks. They didn’t bulge like the boxes did…
Thanks for your comment!
Do you have any suggestions for how to hold the lids on the
rubbermaid totes? Do you know where I can get “straps” to put
around them so the tops don’t pop off or get knocked off?
Thank you
Kathy,
You can do a couple of things.. We didn’t use anything as they seemed to hold just fine… But if you’re concerned about the lids popping off in transit, You can run some packing tape around the container. Some will say you can use bungee cords, but I don’t recommend it. You’ll want to use something that’s flat so it doesn’t make the bottom less stackable. If you’re not using many containers, there’s the luggage straps that you can buy too..
Good luck!
Thanks for the suggestions. However, I am concerned that the
packing tape will not hold on the rubbermaid containers. Any suggestions as to a particular type of tape that might hold?
I agree about the bungee cords – I want something flat. I have a lot of Rubbermaid tubs so regular luggage straps would be too expensive. I saw some straps around the rolls of carpeting in Home Depot but I asked and they don’t have them to sell.
Again thanks
Kathy,
When we package things to ship, I use the Scotch brand packing tape that I get from Sam’s Club. It’s thicker and holds really well. The brown tape those movers use is the WORST!
Here’s a link to our photo gallery https://picasaweb.google.com/monica.brady/BoxesVsRubbermaid?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCM30-uHu7KumtAE&feat=directlink
As you can see, we didn’t use anything on our tubs… The lids kinda *snap* on… so we weren’t concerned about it. When loaded onto the truck, they stack and cube everything out, so lids probably weren’t going to just pop off.. BUT.. Here are a couple of ideas when it comes to taping.. It might take a little more time, but the tape won’t interfere with stacking the boxes since the lids are indented to allow for secure stacking:
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-qJb7yfwewbI/TxhBJ33z9tI/AAAAAAABr20/xwXO2J7ziNk/s800/rubbermaidTaped.jpg
Please excuse my freehand photoshopping 🙂
Hope this helps!