Benefits of plastic moving boxes

When moving house, everyone wishes for a safe, smooth, and easy relocation – and strives for this ultimate goal with all their heart and mind. Some rely on their own time management and organizational skills, others hire professional assistance, and still others reach out for help and advice from family and friends. And while using a full service moving company is definitely your best bet for a successful relocation (the experienced professionals will take care of your move from start to finish and will do the job in the safest and most efficient way possible), there are many small, yet highly effective ways to make your move easier and smoother. Like using the right techniques to perform a task or the right materials for a job.

When it comes to packing – one of the most crucial moving tasks – this means using safe and efficient packing methods and appropriate packing supplies. Since moving boxes play the most essential role in the packing process, you should consider them first.

Convenient and easily accessible, corrugated cardboard boxes have long been regarded as the best packing containers for moving. Yet, you may have an even better option – plastic moving bins.

The heavy duty, reusable plastic moving containers have many considerable advantages over the traditional cardboard moving boxes – they’re durable, eco-friendly, weather-resistant and easy to stack and carry. Read on to discover the greatest benefits of plastic moving boxes and find out if they’ll be right for you when packing for your next move.

Strong and durable
Plastic moving crates are very sturdy and highly durable – they can hold great weight without breaking and last much longer than traditional cardboard boxes. Made of high-density polyethylene, plastic bins are lightweight, yet super strong and extremely resilient – the perfect moving containers.

Plastic moving boxes are designed to protect the items inside of them – they do not rip, collapse, or crush; they do not fall apart when fully loaded; they do not break under their own weight. Their construction is far sturdier than that of cardboard boxes and the inherent characteristics of the material make them stronger and more impact-resistant. So, they offer a safer and more efficient packing solution than standard moving boxes.

When moving with plastic bins, the hard plastic will provide an extra layer of protection to your belongings and will ensure your peace of mind – you won’t need to worry about your items getting damaged if the box breaks open during the relocation process or crushes when stacked under other boxes.


Waterproof and weather-resistant
Plastic moving boxes are water-resistant – the hard material is impervious to moisture, resists mold, mildew, and rotting, and holds its shape in any weather conditions.

Due to the structural design of the lids, once the plastic moving containers are closed, they become virtually impenetrable to the elements – rain, snow, and dust cannot get inside and ruin your belongings.

So, if you choose plastic bins for your move, your items will stay dry and safe even in a torrential downpour or a snow storm – you won’t need to worry about moisture damaging the box or getting into it.

Cardboard boxes, on the other hand, will provide no protection against the elements and may even fall apart when they get wet, leaving your belongings vulnerable to damage.

Related: How to move in the rain; How to move in the winter

Easy to stack and carry
Plastic containers not only ensure the safety of your items during a move, but also make loading and unloading easier – they are stackable, easy to carry, and don’t slide around in moving trucks or on moving dollies. This allows you to arrange them in a neat and orderly way, maximize the space in the truck, and ensure that everything stays in place during transit.

Unlike cardboard boxes that don’t always fit well on top of one another and cannot be stacked very high (as the bottom boxes may not withstand the weight of the ones above), plastic moving boxes can be easily stacked on top of each other:

The design of the lid allows a box to fit snugly on top of another – each plastic crate nests in the one below, which allows for secure transportation over thresholds, up and down stairs, along ramps, and inside the moving truck. The sturdy nesting design eliminates the risk of a stack of plastic boxes tipping off the dolly or toppling over in the moving truck;
The sturdy plastic materials allows for heavy boxes to be stacked on top of each other without danger of crushing or caving-in.
See also: Russian doll packing

What’s more, plastic crates are very easy to lift and carry – they are designed with built-in handles on both sides which makes them much more convenient to pick up and carry around than cardboard boxes that have uncomfortable perforated handles or nothing to hold at all. The sturdy grip handles make plastic boxes much safer to carry as well – there is no risk of the handles tearing up or the container slipping from your hands.

Convenient and efficient
In addition to offering a safe and efficient packing solution, plastic moving totes can save you plenty of time and effort when preparing your items for shipment. They’re very convenient and easy to use, making the packing process faster and simpler.

When you rent plastic moving containers for your move, you don’t need to worry about finding appropriate packing boxes, transporting them to your home, and disposing of them after the move – the crates are delivered straight to your doorstep and picked up from your new location after you’ve finished unpacking. You won’t even need to clean them – the moving supplies company that offers the bins will take care of that when they’re back at the facility.

See also: How to get free moving boxes; How to recycle moving boxes

You can start packing as soon as the plastic moving boxes are delivered to your place – they arrive pre-assembled and ready to pack. You don’t have to put them together, fold them to fit, or tape them shut (they have securely locking lids). You don’t need tape or box cutters or any other auxiliary materials. This cuts back on your moving preparation time and saves you a lot of hassle.

What’s more, plastic moving containers can hold and keep safe all kinds of small and medium-sized household items – you don’t need to buy special file boxes to pack your files, book boxes to pack your books, or dish boxes to pack your dishes. All the things from a room that can be boxed up can go into the plastic bins, which allows for better organization and easier location of items.

Related: What specialty boxes do you need when packing for a move

Since plastic moving crates are also very easy to carry (as detailed above), they save time loading as well.

Sustainable and reusable
The inherent strength and durability of plastic moving containers result in great longevity – plastic boxes can be reused hundreds of times before being recycled (standard cardboard boxes, on the other hand, can only survive 2 or 3 moves before they start to fall apart).

The fact that moving bins can be used over and over again means that they have a very low impact on the environment and help save natural resources. In reality, plastic moving boxes are very eco-friendly – not only are they highly reusable, but they also:

generate zero waste during a house move – there is no tape to be removed for disposal and the bins themselves are not thrown out but picked up to be used in another move;
can be fully recycled when they reach the end of their lifespan – when they’re no longer usable, plastic boxes are melted down and used to create new green moving boxes;
are made from 100% recycled materials.
All things considered, when using plastic containers for moving, you keep the carbon footprint of your relocation as small as possible.

See also: Green moving tips for an eco-friendly relocation

Cost-effective
It was already mentioned that plastic bins save you time and hassle when moving. They can save you money too – and not only because time is money.

Moving crates are available to rent at affordable prices – you can rent a box for as low as $1.50 a week and, if you need the crates for a longer period, pay a discount rate for additional weeks. You’re only paying for as many boxes as you need and for as long as you need them (When buying cardboard boxes you may end up with more than you need – not only will you have wasted your money on unnecessary packing supplies, but you’ll also be wondering with to do with them. See also: How many boxes do you need for moving);
Plastic moving bins are stronger than cardboard boxes, so you can pack more items in a box, reducing the amount (and cost) of packing materials needed for your move;
Moving crates are durable and provide excellent protection to your belongings, so the risk of your items getting damaged in the moving process and costing you thousands of dollars in repairs and replacements is greatly reduced;
Plastic moving containers facilitate and speed up the packing and moving process, saving you money for packers and movers – when moving locally, you’ll be charged by the hour, so the faster the movers complete your relocation, the less you’re going to pay. Since plastic boxes are easier to pack (as they require no assembly, taping, etc.) and load (as they’re easy to carry and easy to stack) than cardboard boxes, your hired packers and movers will do the job much faster and more efficiently. Using plastic crates will reduce the time needed for packing and loading your items, resulting in lower moving costs;
Moving bins are picked up from your new location, so you don’t need to pay any disposal fees to have them removed from your new home after the move.
Due to their numerous benefits, plastic containers can make your move safer and easier – as well as greener and more affordable. Be sure to consider them for your next relocation – plastic moving boxes may be the right packing solution for you.

HOW YOU MOVE ME HELPED A RETAIL STORE WITH GLOBAL EXPANSION

When You Move Me Vancouver General Manager, Prabh Heer, landed a global retailer as a moving client, he expected to provide them with many exceptional moving experiences. What he didn’t expect was to be asked to help them with a national retail expansion. This is Prabh’s story.

O2E: Can you tell us about your role with You Move Me?

PH: I originally started in May of 2015 as a Business Development Salesperson, worked my way up to Sales Manager, and then was given the opportunity to run the business in December of 2017 as the General Manager.

When I was working in business development, I was primarily doing cold calling of businesses asking if they needed moving services, trying to acquire new accounts, and also doing a ton of networking to try and build the brand locally. In addition to this, I was doing on-site estimates.

When I became the Sales Manager I was running our Sales division by doing the bulk of the estimates and also having others support me when my schedule was full. I was also responsible for building our Sales & Marketing budgets and allocating funds to the appropriate verticals.

Now, as the General Manager I run the full scope of the business, both operations and sales. I have a team of 3 managers that work for me and another full-time office person. Most of my time is spent coaching my managers on how to become better leaders, but I also focus on building a great corporate culture by getting to know all of my staff and ensuring they feel like they are on a team.

O2E: What range of services do You Move Me provide?

PH: This is actually a great question because it seems like every time I meet someone and they ask me what services we provide, I say we’re capable of doing just about anything. We really focus on hiring team members that want to learn and expand their skill sets beyond just moving. With that said, we do residential moving, commercial office moving, packing services, furniture installations, and retail store set ups.

O2E: How is You Move Me different from other moving companies?

PH: I think anyone can move a piece of furniture or a box, but executing it well with a true sense of professionalism is what sets us apart. Our team at You Move Me is like a brotherhood of movers. We all respect each other so much and enjoy working alongside one another, it really shows in front of our clients. Our number one goal is to make sure customers’ furniture is delivered safely. Therefore, when we are executing the move, we really focus on delivering that great experience and having fun while doing it.

There is nothing more gratifying than handing our customers their housewarming gift we provide at the end of their move and hearing them say thank you. We make what is normally a stressful experience, fun. After all, we move you, not just your boxes.

O2E: Tell us how you helped a well-known retail store with global expansion.

PH: I was recently approached by a contact from a manufacturing company in Japan with global retail stores about my level of interest in building retail store displays. Originally, I thought the project was a bit more than what we could handle, but when I took a deeper look at my team I felt like we would be able to execute the project with perfection. A few months later, we were given one store as a trial and since the client was so happy, they gave us an additional two stores to build.

Once that two store extension was completed, they asked my team to fly across the country and help them build stores in Toronto, Ontario. It feels so surreal that we have evolved from a local moving company that originally specialized in condo moving to a moving company that helps build retail stores across Canada.

We went in with minimal instruction, learned, and developed new skills along the way. After we completed each store, we would have a post-store meeting and discuss how we could improve and streamline operations to be more efficient to make our clients even happier. I am happy to announce we still continue to do this after each store and we are constantly improving.

O2E: What was the size of the retail stores that your team worked on for this project?

PH: We completed three stores that were about 18,000 square feet with the largest one being close to 40,000 square feet.

O2E: How long did it take to complete this project?

PH: We were given two days to complete each store, regardless of the size. We knew a store this size would be a huge challenge and since our team was based in Vancouver, we teamed up with You Move Me Toronto.