mnementh wrote:
The HDX 27-Gal/102L totes were my lifesaver in the GWN; over the course of a couple moves I bought dozens, and they are simply unbeatable for moving and for long-term storage in harsh environments like attics and garages and even sheds, as they will hold up to being stacked as much as 6 high
in a moving truck or trailer with the associated loading and stresses of bumps and swerves.
Moving the workbench,
everything went into them in layers, with Kraft paper or bubble-wrap between to keep cables, etc from getting tangled; I kept all of them in the same area of the trailer so they all went straight to the dwagon-cave when we arrived.
I've found them on sale as cheap as $10/ea; typical is $12-14. These come in 7, 12, 14, 17, 27, 38, 55, & 70 gallon sizes, but the 27-gallon is the "sweet spot" of cost vs capacity.
The clear Sterilite 56-Qt/52L bins are a mixed blessing at ~$7-8/ea; being clear it's easy to see what's in them, so they're ideal for underbed storage with the current crop of steel-frame beds designed to be used without a boxspring, as these have 12.5-15.5 inches clearance underneath (14", 16" and 18" frame variants) and they are
reasonably durable for everyday storage in a climate-controlled space. They do not hold up well under garage/shed abuse, and you can really only get away with stacking them 2-3 high even indoors, and in a shed/attic where temps can reach 120-140°Frankenstein, the lids just collapse under even a moderate load.
Sadly, we learned this lesson the hard way with the contents of the
Tejas Trailer of Doom™... there was some attrition of our personal preciouses and keepsakes of mum.
That said... from a moving standpoint, the ~$350 we spent on 30 of those HDX bins was simply worth every penny. The assache they save vs fucking around with cardboard boxes meant I saved money overall even if I just accounted for my time at minimum wage. Being able to stack them 4-5 high on a hand-truck and directly stow tall stacks of them in the shed or garage until the moving truck was gone saved us money on rental, too. And when you're done with them they nest such that a dozen of them takes up the same footprint in the attic as one, or you can sell them on CL and recoup half or more of what you spent on them, provided you don't just repurpose them for long-term storage.
The only real drawback is that being made of recycled polypropylene they're black, so you can't just see the contents like with the Sterilite bins; this adds some assache in terms of having to write up contents and tape them to the end of the tote.
Not sure if I'm going to put curtains up at all but it definitely will have a shade.
