Here is a full list of all of your FAQs by category.
Cardboard versus totes
The EPA estimates that 68 percent of all paper and cardboard recycling actually winds up being recycled every year. Plus all the tape is thrown away too, which just creates excess waste. All of that tape and the cardboard that was not recycled will need to be incinerated or landfilled. In 2018, landfills received 17.2 million tons of municipal solid waste (MSW) paper and paperboard. This was 11.8 percent of MSW landfilled in 2018. The total amount of paper and paperboard combusted in 2018 was 4.2 million tons. This was 12.2 percent of all MSW combusted that year.
Recycling cardboard also uses a lot of energy, fuel, and water. It also deteriorates the environment since trees have to be cut down to manufacture them. Only to be discarded which increases corrugated waste after 1- 2 uses. Cardboard makes up to 10% of urban landfills and recycling cardboard takes 75% of the energy needed to make new cardboard!
For each cardboard that is recycled, 40% is used to make a new one, and 60% is non useable sludge. This sludge is then burned and it releases C02 emissions into the atmosphere, or dumped in a landfill. So no, cardboard is NOT good for the environment! Rent our totes instead and know that you are making a difference for our environment.
It’s true that finding free cardboard boxes is a more affordable solution than renting our totes. But price is the only positive thing about it! If the cost is your only deciding factor, then yes, go dumpster diving and find yourself some used, soggy, dirty cardboard for free. Then go home and tape it up, and fit a couple of things in it. Then go find another dumpster for a couple more boxes. Seems like a lot of unnecessary work for not a very good result.
Instead, we recommend opting for convenience and helping the environment. Consider our totes that are durable, water resistant, clean, sanitized, roomy, bacteria, mold and bug free, AND are better for the environment! They can come right to your door so that you don’t have to waste time driving from store to store, or dumpster to dumpster, looking for a couple of boxes at a time. And you don’t have to waste time taping all those free cardboard boxes. Do you really want to put your linens, clothes and kitchen items in a box that had chemicals, bed bugs, pen dander or bacteria? Gross! Instead, ours come right to you, pre-assembled, ready to go!
Some people ask us, “How can you say that your totes are environmentally friendly when they are made of plastic?” This is a great question! Our totes are made from 100% recycled plastic and can be used up to 400 times before needing to be recycled. We found a way to repurpose plastic.
Cardboard is good for 1-3 times and then needs to be discarded. Sure, you can recycle some cardboard, but 75% of it ends in a landfill. Our totes are super eco- friendly and have a much longer shelf life. Plus they are made from existing plastic. You will not find our totes in a landfill because we recycle our Plastic Totes 100% of the time.
We give new purpose to our damaged totes! Since they are made out of High Density Polyethylene (HDPE), we can take them to a recycling plant and make them into new HDPE items. We can recycle plastic totes and successfully create zero waste! Unlike cardboard boxes where most of them end up in a landfill, we are doing our part in helping the environment when we repurpose plastic that already exists.
During your Rental
No need. You can request free zip ties when you place your order. One per tote. Feel free to order extra if you really want to have that extra security.
Pack Stack and Move strongly advises you NOT to leave the totes outdoors at any time. Being exposed to the elements of the sun, rain or snow can wear down the totes, possibly shortening its lifespan. There is a deep cleaning fee of $2 per tote charged to the credit card on file if they come back excessively dirty.
They are also susceptible to theft this way. There is a $75 fee for each missing or overly damaged tote.
As an alternative, if you have completely run out of room inside your home, you can ask us to do a partial pick up. There will be an additional pick up fee, but it might be worth it to you. After paying for the extra pick up fee, you can go ahead and schedule a time for us to come back.
We recommend that if you know you are going to need more time to unpack, that you Request an Extension right away! We will charge you a daily rate, so whatever you paid last time for your totes, divide that by how many days you originally rented them for, and that is how much you can expect to pay per day for your extension.
However, if the totes are not available and are already spoken for by another customer, unfortunately we do not have any choice but to cancel that request, and stick with the prearranged date. We base our availability for other customers off of your original Rental Period. We will work with you as much as we can, but we must manage all orders accordingly. We encourage you to get in touch with us the moment you realize you are behind schedule to avoid disappointment. Or just book an extra week more than you think you might need, to give yourself some wiggle room.
In the extreme, and we mean extremely rare event, that you right out refuse for us to return to pick up the Boxx’s after we told you that we cannot allow an extension, we will have no choice but to start charging you double the daily rate until we can pick up. Please refer to our Rental Agreement that describes this in better detail.
You are responsible for keeping the totes in the same condition in which you received them, but no you are not required to clean them before we pick them up. No animals are allowed in the totes, or there may be a charge of $2 per tote to your credit card on file if we find a lot of animal fur.
Do not leave the totes outdoors as this will create lots of dirt. Excessive amounts of dirt, mean extra cleaning for us. There will be an extra $2 deep clean charge per tote to your credit card on file should we come across an excessive amount of dirt to clean. As far as cleaning the totes out, we use our eco friendly cleaner to get them ready for the next customer. They will be sanitized and as good as new. Just as long as you return them to us free of items and without dirt or pet dander, you are golden!
You placed an order online for what you thought would be a sufficient amount of totes. You received your order and got to work on packing. Then realized you might have misjudged just how much stuff you have!
Easy, just add to your order and we will deliver your additional items. We can arrange to get them to you within the next 48 hours. There will be a Delivery charge for this, which is $1 per mile (even if you qualified for free delivery before). And you won’t incur a second pick up charge, we can pick up everything at once.
As soon as you pay, you schedule a time for delivery and we get you back on track for packing!
We always encourage people to get a few extra totes more than what they think that they will need prior to placing their order. It is a very common practice to underestimate how much stuff you have. We have way more items to pack up than we think!
Delivery Service
Delivery and pick up charges are calculated based on distance from our shop in Blaine, MN.
Delivery and pick up are 2 separate charges, as there are 2 separate addresses with different set ups. If your address is within 15 miles of our shop in Blaine, delivery is free! This includes the following areas:
- Blaine
- Coon Rapids
- New Brighton
- Columbia Heights
- Fridley
- Lino Lakes
- Mounds View
- Shoreview
- Anoka
- Brooklyn Park
- Brooklyn Center
- Andover
- Robbinsdale
- Ham Lake
- Crystal
- Spring Lake Park
- Champlin
So if your current home is in Blaine, and your new home in Coon Rapids, you pay nothing!
Delivery and pick up charges will be calculated for you when you book a Rental.
Sorry, our shop is not set up to accept customers. Our delivery rates are very reasonable and in some cases FREE if you are local to us. You may thank us later when you see how convenient our delivery service is!
You can stack up as many as 10 empty totes into each other, which is about 4-5 feet tall. You actually can stack up to 25 empty totes without causing any damage but this is close to ceiling height! Let’s stick with 10 for our example – if you ordered 50 totes, you will have 5 stacks of totes on your floor. Each stack will take up about 4 feet x 3 feet of floor space. So for 50 totes, plan to clear a floor space 12 feet long by 3 feet wide. Or you can put more into each stack by using a step ladder to stack them higher.
The person who booked with us does not have to be present. However, someone over the age of 18 must be to receive the order and sign our invoice.
Whoever does sign, must understand what they are signing. They are signing that they have received your full order, and that you have read and understood the terms and conditions of our Rental Agreement, and that you have read through our FAQs and understand the process fully. Make sure the person signing knows exactly what was ordered so they can sign in confidence saying that everything received in perfect condition.
When you place your order online, you select your Delivery Date. Within 7 days of your Delivery Date, you go here to pay your damage deposit and schedule your delivery and choose a time that’s most convenient for you. After receiving your request, we will double check our calendar and confirm.
You’ll then receive an email confirmation. If you click on the attachment in the email, it will put the time in your online calendar! The system automatically sends you a reminder via email AND text 24 hours in advance. AND we will text you when we are on our way. It’s That Simple!
You placed an order online for what you thought would be a sufficient amount of totes. You received your order and got to work on packing. Then realized you might have misjudged just how much stuff you have!
Easy, just add to your order and we will deliver your additional items. We can arrange to get them to you within the next 48 hours. There will be a Delivery charge for this, which is $1 per mile (even if you qualified for free delivery before). And you won’t incur a second pick up charge, we can pick up everything at once.
As soon as you pay, you schedule a time for delivery and we get you back on track for packing!
We always encourage people to get a few extra totes more than what they think that they will need prior to placing their order. It is a very common practice to underestimate how much stuff you have. We have way more items to pack up than we think!
Within 7 days of your Delivery, you are free to schedule your delivery time and an email confirmation will be sent to you. In that email there is a reschedule button. Click on that button to reschedule if you need to.
Pick up service
Delivery and pick up charges are calculated based on distance from our shop in Blaine, MN.
Delivery and pick up are 2 separate charges, as there are 2 separate addresses with different set ups. If your address is within 15 miles of our shop in Blaine, delivery is free! This includes the following areas:
- Blaine
- Coon Rapids
- New Brighton
- Columbia Heights
- Fridley
- Lino Lakes
- Mounds View
- Shoreview
- Anoka
- Brooklyn Park
- Brooklyn Center
- Andover
- Robbinsdale
- Ham Lake
- Crystal
- Spring Lake Park
- Champlin
So if your current home is in Blaine, and your new home in Coon Rapids, you pay nothing!
Delivery and pick up charges will be calculated for you when you book a Rental.
Sorry, our shop is not set up to accept customers, plus we are on the road for most of the day! Our pick up rates are very reasonable and in some cases FREE if you are local to us.. So we apologize that you are not able to drop off my order instead of getting Pick up, but you will thank us later when you see how convenient our Pick up Service is!
A common question is wanting to know when are totes picked up. When you place your order online, you select your pick up Date. Within 7 days of your pick up date, you can Schedule your Pick up all on your own! We typically deliver every day of the week. You will select a one hour window of time that works the best for you. After receiving your request, we will double check our calendar and confirm. You will receive an email confirmation. If you click on the attachment in the email, it will even put the time in your online calendar! Then the system automatically sends you an automated reminder via email AND text 24 hours in advance, and then we typically text you when we are on our way too. So you be involved during the whole process!
There is no way you should miss a pick up appointment as we have taken many steps to avoid this:
- You chose the Pick up day that worked for you
- You scheduled a Pick up Time that worked for you
- The system sent you a confirmed time email and gave you the option to put this into your online calendar
- The system sent you an automated reminder email 24 hours in advance
- Typically we even sent you a text when we were on our way
We did everything we could to remind you of your time! If for any reason you need to change your time, because we understand that life can get in the way, just revisit this link. When it asks you what type of Pick up is this, say “I need to Reschedule my Appointment time”, and then choose another time. Simple!
With all of those reminders in mind, if you still forget about your Pick up time or nobody over the age of 18 is able to greet us and sign the invoice, we will try to call you at the number you provided. If we reach you on the phone, we will see how far away you are. If we are able to wait, we will.
But if we have to leave for our next appointment, or if we never even reach you by phone, we will have to do a second pick up and therefore you be charged an extra Pick up Charge. Once you pay for that second Pick up, you can reschedule your Pick up.
We recommend that you Request an Extension right away!
However, if the totes are not available for additional rental days, we will deny the extension request. We understand that this will be stressful for you so we will do our best to accommodate. We encourage you to get in touch with us as soon as you realize you are behind schedule to avoid disappointment. Or just book an extra week from the beginning to give yourself some wiggle room.
Within 7 days of your Delivery, you are free to schedule your pickup time and an email confirmation will be sent to you. In that email there is a reschedule button, because life can happen! Click on that button to reschedule if you need to.
How to place an order
That is a great question! It is super common for people to ask how soon or how much notice they need to give us, in order to book their rentals. You don’t want to wait too long as we might run out, so knowing when to place an order is vital. Booking far in advance, is actually a good thing! You can always change the date if there are delays with your moving date. We only have a limited amount in inventory that we can rent out so waiting too long is not a good option.
So as soon as you know your moving date, book your totes with us! Here is a good tip to knowing how long to book your totes for. You should book as soon as possible so that you don’t miss out! If you need to change your date at some point, that is no problem at all, as long as we are able to accommodate the change. If you are a last minute type of person, we ask for at least 24 hours notice to try to squeeze in a delivery, however you might want to call us first to see if we can do the delivery before booking online.
In order to book your items, we require full payment upfront upon booking, so your Rental Charges are due right away. We accept MasterCard, Visa, AMEX, and Discover. When you place your order and have chosen Credit as your method of payment, it puts a hold on your credit card while we are double checking your order. We just want to make sure that we can accommodate your request before charging your card. Once we confirm the order, the credit card charge will go through.
Yes our minimum package to be ordered is 15 totes, and you can do so by visiting our Package page. We do not rent out items separately.