Why Did We Start Twin Cities Tote Rental?
Honestly? Because moving sucks.
We’ve moved enough ourselves and helped friends to know that the absolute worst part is always the boxes.
Hunting down leftover cardboard from local businesses might save a few bucks, but you end up with a mismatched jigsaw puzzle. Trying to load a moving truck with boxes that are either weirdly shaped or waiting to collapse because the bottom wasn't taped enough is an absolute nightmare. And if it's raining? Forget about it.
Knowing we’d inevitably be asked to help family and friends move again, we wanted a smarter, simpler, and more sustainable option. That’s how Twin Cities Tote Rental was born. We're here to bring sanity and convenience to moves across the MSP area.
The sustainability bonus: You'll see some other companies trot out the "eco-friendly" advantage of using moving totes over cardboard boxes. That's absolutely true, but we don't plaster that all over our website for a reason. The reality is it's a bit of a double-edged sword. Plastic bins can be used many times over, which is great. But hard, bulky plastics aren't recyclable, so are they really eco-friendly after all?
The answer is yes, but only if you maximize their life. Reusing them multiple times for moving to prevent other materials from entering the waste stream outweighs the negatives. You can also easily repurpose them when they break or get damaged.
We've done what we can to minimize the environmental impact of our equipment. We only source bins made from recycled polypropylene resin. We haven't had any bins ready to be retired yet, but once we do, we plan to repurpose them as storage bins first (because you don't need every storage bin to be perfect for things around the house) and in more creative ways like outdoor planters, worm gardens, holding compost, recycling bins, etc. As we grow, we'll keep exploring sustainability options.
Fun fact: Jen spent part of high school attending the School of Environmental Studies in Apple Valley. She's been (literally) hugging trees ever since.