When I moved into this apartment, I packed my one-bedroom into 42 cardboard boxes. I know it was 42 because I wrote the number on each one in marker, and box 31 was the one that split open on the stairs and sent my bathroom drawer down two flights. Boxes, tape and a pack of markers came to $118. Then I spent two weekends after the move breaking everything down and sneaking flattened boxes into the recycling room a few at a time so my new neighbors wouldn’t hate me.
This spring my sister moved her two-bedroom, and she tried a moving totes rental instead. I was skeptical. I helped her pack, carry and unpack, and I changed my mind somewhere around hour two.
Below: what renting moving totes costs, how the week works from delivery to pickup, how it compared to my cardboard move, and the moves where I’d still buy boxes.
What a moving totes rental is and how it works
A company drops off a stack of heavy plastic bins with attached lids, usually with a dolly, labels and zip ties. You pack. You move. A week or two later they come back and pick up the empty bins, clean them, and rent them to the next person.
There’s no assembly and no tape. The lids are two flaps that fold over and lock into each other, and you push a plastic zip tie through the holes if you want them sealed. My sister’s totes nested inside each other when empty, so 35 of them fit in a stack about the size of a dorm fridge in her hallway.
Most of these businesses are small and local. Search “moving totes rental” plus your city and you’ll likely find two or three, sometimes run by a moving company and sometimes by one family with a van.
How much a moving totes rental costs
I read through the published price lists of several local tote companies this week to get real numbers instead of guessing. Prices are by package (number of totes) and by week, and delivery and pickup are usually included.
- One company lists a studio package of 15 totes at $79 for the first week and $35 for each extra week. Their two-bedroom package is 35 totes for $149, plus $55 a week after that.
- The same company’s biggest package is 70 totes for a four-bedroom-plus home: $259 for the first week, $85 per extra week, with a refundable $50 deposit.
- Another prices by week from the start: $129 a week for a studio, $190 for a two-bedroom, up to $475 for a five-bedroom.
- Others sell two-week rentals, with starting prices I saw between $89 and $97.
So for a typical apartment, plan on roughly $80 to $200 for the first week, and $30 to $85 for every week after. My sister paid $149 for 35 totes and kept them one week. She needed every one of them, plus six cardboard boxes for lamps and the long, flat stuff.
Before you book, look at what the package includes. The ones I’d pick include delivery, pickup, a dolly, labels and zip ties. If the dolly costs extra, add it. Carrying stacked totes by hand down stairs is how backs get hurt.
Totes vs. cardboard boxes, honestly
On sticker price, cardboard and moving totes rental come out closer than I expected. My $118 in boxes and tape was for a one-bedroom. A one-bedroom tote package runs around $109 to $157 for the week. The gap is small, and the box total didn’t include the eleven boxes I picked up free from a liquor store.
Where totes won was everything around the price:
- No taping. Each tote was ready to fill the second it came off the stack, and packing went faster for it.
- They stack straight. A full tote doesn’t sag the way a box with books does, so the movers could stack them five high on the dolly.
- Rain didn’t matter. It drizzled during the load and nothing went soft.
- Nothing to break down at the end. Unpacking took her a weekend, and the empty totes went back on the porch for pickup.
I want to be fair to cardboard too. The EPA’s paper and paperboard data puts the recycling rate of corrugated boxes at 96.5 percent in 2018. Your old moving boxes are among the most recycled things in your house. Totes win on reuse, and the EPA’s waste management hierarchy ranks reduction and reuse above recycling. A bin that gets packed by twenty families beats a box that gets used once and then recycled, but only if the bin gets used twenty times.
The rental week, day by day
My sister’s moving totes rental, start to finish:
- Booking, two weeks out. She picked the 35-tote package and set delivery for the Saturday before her moving day. Popular weekends at the end of the month fill up, so book early.
- Delivery day. The totes showed up nested in one stack, with a dolly, a roll of labels and a bag of zip ties. She packed her closet and the books that same afternoon.
- Packing days. One room at a time, labeled on the short end of each tote (more on that below). Kitchen last.
- Moving day. Totes stacked four and five high on the dolly. The movers were done about an hour sooner than their estimate. I can’t promise that’s because of the totes, but stacks of identical bins are faster to load than a mix of box sizes.
- Unpacking, two days. She emptied totes and nested them back inside each other as she went.
- Pickup. She left them stacked by her door at the new address and someone collected them the next morning.
One week turned out to be enough for a two-bedroom, but it was tight. If you work full time, book two weeks or pack the slow rooms with the first delivery.
What fits in a moving tote (and what doesn’t)
The totes she got were about the size of a big laundry basket with a flat lid. That size is right for most of a home, but not all of it.
Good in totes: books (only half full, or they get too heavy), dishes wrapped in towels, pantry food, shoes, folded clothes, toys, bathroom stuff, files, and anything small that likes to roll around.
Not good in totes: lamps, framed art, mirrors, a TV, curtain rods, and anything taller than the bin. Keep a handful of cardboard boxes or a couple of blankets for those, or ask whether the rental company sells wardrobe and picture boxes. Our guide to packing services covers the awkward pieces if you’d rather pay someone to handle them.
And do the sort before the totes show up, not while they’re sitting in your hallway. When I’m in a rush I pack things I should have donated. My decluttering-before-a-move plan starts six weeks out, and fewer things means a smaller package.
Is a moving totes rental worth it for your move?
After one cardboard move and one tote move, this is where I land.
| Your move | Totes or boxes? | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Local apartment move, done in a week | Totes | Price is close to boxes, and you skip taping, sagging stacks and breakdown. |
| Walk-up building or lots of stairs | Totes, with the dolly | Stacks stay square and lids don’t pop open on a landing. |
| Long-distance move with days in a truck | Usually boxes | Most tote companies only serve a local area and want the totes back. |
| Things going into a storage unit for months | Boxes or bins you buy | Weekly rental fees add up fast, and the rental clock keeps running. |
| You have a stash of free boxes already | Boxes | Free beats $150, as long as the boxes are sturdy and dry. |
If you’re moving across states, my long-distance moving cost breakdown shows where the real money goes, and packing materials are a small slice of it. If part of your stuff is headed to storage, check the storage unit sizes guide before you book anything.
Three moving tote mistakes we made or almost made
- Labeling the lid. Lids are hidden the second you stack, so write the room and the contents on the short end of the tote.
- Filling every tote with books. A full tote of books is too heavy to lift safely. Put books in the bottom half and towels or linens on top.
- Booking one week for a slow pack. Each extra week can cost $30 to $85. Book the time you need on day one instead of paying to extend.
What didn’t work for us
The first mistake was mine. I told my sister 25 totes would do it, because 25 sounded like a lot of plastic. By Wednesday we had filled 25 and her kitchen was still in the cupboards. She called to add ten more, which they delivered the next day for the price difference. It worked out, but a two-bedroom kitchen eats more bins than you think. Count your cupboards before you count your rooms.
The second one is smaller. We put the zip ties on everything, including totes we unpacked within an hour of arriving. Cutting 35 zip ties with kitchen scissors is not how you want to spend your first night in a new place. Now I’d only seal the totes with valuables, paperwork and anything going into a truck with other people’s things.
Totes didn’t make my sister’s move calm, either. She still cried a little in the kitchen she’d painted herself, on the last night. What they took away was the taping and the cardboard mountain afterward, and I’d pay for that again.
Grab the free printable: my one-page Moving Tote Packing Plan, with a room-by-room tote count, a label template for the short end of each bin, and a pickup-day checklist. Get the free plan →
FAQ
How many moving totes do I need?
Packages I’ve seen run about 15 totes for a studio, 25 for a one-bedroom, 35 for a two-bedroom and 50 for a three-bedroom. If you cook a lot or own many books, go up one size. We needed 35 plus six cardboard boxes for a two-bedroom.
Is renting moving totes cheaper than buying boxes?
Not always. For a one-bedroom, my boxes and tape cost $118, and tote packages for that size run around $109 to $157 for a week. You save time and cleanup more than money. If you already have free, sturdy boxes, those will be cheaper.
How long can you keep rented moving totes?
Most companies rent by the week or start with a two-week minimum, then charge for each extra week. The price lists I read ran $30 to $85 a week depending on package size. Plan for packing, the move and a few days of unpacking.
If your move is local and less than a month away, look up who rents totes near you today and book the delivery date first. Then count your kitchen cupboards. That number will tell you which package you need.
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