Choosing The Right Sized Moving Storage Container
One of the more convenient moving and storage options available today is the use of portable storage containers to relocate furniture and other items to a new address. The moving company delivers the container, you fill it up at your leisure, and the company picks it up and takes it to your new home or office when you're ready. While these containers are well-suited for busy families and professionals, it can be challenging choosing the right one for your needs. Here are a couple of tips to help you.
What's the Container Made From?
The first thing you should consider is what material the box is constructed of because this can affect the maximum weight the container can hold. For instance, some 16-feet long by 8-feet wide by 8-feet high galvanized steel boxes can hold up to 7,500 pounds worth of items. On the other hand, wood containers hold significantly less. Some 5-feet wide by 8-feet long by 7.5-feet high wood boxes can only hold up to 2,000 pounds, for example.
Ask the moving and storage company what type of material the box is made from and the maximum weight it can hold. If you have a lot of heavy furniture in your home, you may need to get a large or multiple small boxes to accommodate the weight, even if you don't use all of the space.
The Amount of Interior Space
The other thing you'll need to consider is the cubic footage of interior space in the container. Because your items are spread out all over the place, it can be challenging determining how much cubic footage is required to hold it all. A general rule of thumb is to estimate the amount of space needed based on the number of rooms in your home.
For instance, a 5 feet wide by 7 feet tall by 8 feet long container—which has about 280 cubic feet worth of interior space (length x width x height)—can hold up to 1.5 rooms worth of furniture or 40 to 50 medium boxes. Using that information, a six-room home (living room, kitchen, bathroom, basement and 2 bedrooms) would need a container that provides at least 1,120 cubic feet of interior space. You may need more or less depending on whether you're a pack rat or a minimalist.
Another way you can estimate the space you need is to determine how many boxes worth of stuff you'll have. For example, the average size of a medium box is 3 cubic feet. If all of your stuff will fit into 100 medium-sized boxes, then you'll need a minimum of 300 cubic feet of space. However, that assumes you'll fill the entire container from top to bottom Tetris-style. You may want to get a container one size bigger just to give yourself some wiggle room.
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