Moving guide
Plastic moving boxes vs cardboard
For any move bigger than a couple of carloads, reusable plastic totes beat cardboard on cost, speed, and reliability. The one place cardboard still wins is when you're shipping the boxes somewhere and never seeing them again.
Side by side
| Plastic totes | Cardboard | |
|---|---|---|
| Typical cost for a 1BR | $40–$80 (rental, 1 week) | $80–$150 (new boxes + tape) |
| Setup time | Zero — snap lid, done | Fold, tape bottom, tape top |
| Weight capacity | 70+ lbs, stacks 5 high | 30–50 lbs, stacks 2–3 high |
| Water resistance | Fully waterproof | Collapses when wet |
| Reusable | Yes — 200+ moves per tote | 1–3 moves before failure |
| Disposal after move | We pick them up | Breakdown + recycle yourself |
| Bed bug / pest barrier | Sealed plastic | Porous, attracts pests |
| Eco impact | Shared inventory, low per-use | New trees + transport per move |
The real cost difference
A 1-bedroom move needs about 20 boxes. New medium moving boxes from a big-box store run $3–$5 each, plus tape, plus a Sharpie, plus the hour you'll spend breaking them down on the other end. That's $80–$150 for boxes you'll throw away.
A 20-tote rental from Binghamton Totes 2 Go is $40/week plus a flat $25 delivery and pickup — $65 total, no assembly, no breakdown, no recycling run, and the totes show up clean and stack five high in your car.
When cardboard still makes sense
- Long-distance moves. If your stuff is going on a truck across state lines and unloading days later, a tote rental probably isn't coming with it.
- Long-term storage. Renting totes for six months gets expensive — buy cardboard or actual storage bins for anything you won't unpack soon.
- Tiny moves. If everything you own fits in a single Subaru run, you probably don't need 10 of anything.
What about the environment?
A single reusable tote replaces 200+ cardboard boxes over its life. Even when cardboard is recycled, the manufacturing and transport per use is much higher than a shared tote that moves dozens of households a year. The greenest move is the one where the container goes back into circulation when you're done.
Skip the cardboard run
Reserve reusable totes instead.
Delivered clean, picked up after. Flat $25 round-trip in the Triple Cities.