Crate hire
Crates instead of cardboard
Delivered before the move so you can pack at your own pace, collected once you've unpacked, then cleaned and sent out again. No boxes to buy, none to get rid of.
Side by side
Crate against cardboard
The environmental case is the obvious one. The practical case is the one that convinces most people.
| Reusable crate | Cardboard box | |
|---|---|---|
| Structure when loaded | Rigid. Stacks lock together and take the weight of the stack above. | Sags under load. The bottom box in a stack takes the crushing. |
| Moving it | Goes on a wheeled dolly. Books get wheeled, not carried. | Carried, and the heavy ones get carried badly by the end of the day. |
| Damp | Unaffected. Rain on the driveway is a non-event. | Weakens. A damp box handle is how a box of crockery ends up on the path. |
| Before the move | Delivered ahead so you pack at your own pace. | Bought, collected, assembled and taped by you. |
| After the move | We collect them. Nothing for you to do. | Flattened, stored in the hall, then driven to a recycling centre. |
| Next move | Cleaned, checked, sent out again. Hundreds of moves per crate. | One move, sometimes two. |
Cardboard is still available where a crate genuinely won't do the job — very long items, odd shapes, and anything going into long-term storage with a third party who won't hold our crates. Crates are our default, not a rule we impose on you.
The loop
Crates go out, come back, go out again
A cardboard box does one move, sometimes two, and then it's flattened into a recycling bin at best. A crate does hundreds. That's the whole idea, and it only works because the last step exists.
- 01
Delivered
Crates and dollies arrive before the move, so you pack at your own pace rather than in one frantic evening.
- 02
Packed
You pack, or we do. Crates stack and lock, so a loaded stack does not crush what is underneath it.
- 03
Moved
Stacked crates load fast and travel without shifting, which means fewer breakages and a tighter-packed vehicle.
- 04
Collected
We come back for the empties once you have unpacked. Nothing to flatten, nothing to take to the tip.
- 05
Cleaned
Crates are washed and checked. Damaged ones are pulled out of service and the plastic recycled.
- 06
Out again
Back on the shelf for the next move. A crate does hundreds of moves; a cardboard box does one, sometimes two.
The step that matters Most removers will sell you boxes. Taking the packaging back afterwards is the part that turns it into a system rather than a product.
Packing them well
Two rules cover most of it. Fill every crate to the top, because a crate that's three-quarters full will have another stacked on it and the lid will bow into the gap. And put heavy things low — inside each crate, and across the stack as a whole.
Beyond that: crockery on edge rather than stacked flat, glassware upright and wrapped, books only in the bottom third of a crate before you top it up with something soft. There's a fuller guide if you want one.
- Label the room and one line of contents — twelve identical crates marked "kitchen" help nobody.
- Put the label on the end that will face outwards in a stack.
- Nothing wet, greasy, or holding an open liquid.
- Keep a bag with you for documents, medication, chargers and the kettle.
Want crates for your move?
Tell us the size of the property and when you're moving, and we'll work out how many you need and when they should arrive.