I’ve Had These $11 Clothing Storage Bags for Almost 10 Years And They’ve Survived 7 Apartment Moves
I’ve been living in apartments for 13 years and have had to move so many times that I don’t even want to think about it. Whenever I move, I usually have to discardorganizersor furniture to accommodate the needs of my new space. I’ve had to downsize (while upgrading in other ways) as I go. This past summer, I moved intoa small one-bedroomwith my boyfriend. As I sold or gave away my headboard, a set of drawers, and other things, it occurred to me that only one storage solution has been through it all:the Ziploc Flexible Storage Bags.
My mom bought me five of these halfway through college, probably because she was sick of trying to haul heavy bins of clothes and blankets from my apartment to the family car to drive me back home for the summer. My mom was surprised that I still had them so many years later, and honestly, so am I. I do not treat these bags very gently — I’ve packed them to the brim and shoved them under my bed, throw them onto a closet shelf, used them as moving bags and hauled them down the streets of Brooklyn. Only one out of the five that I’ve had for a decade had to be tossed out. It got caught on a sharp object, likely scissors, and tore open at the top. I fixed it with tape, and it still worked, but after a few months, I decided I didn’t need it.
The reason that I thinkthese storage toteslasted so long is because they are flexible. Bins (even collapsible ones) have to fit into specific spaces, and if your storage allowance changes every time you move, you might not have room for that huge bedding bin anymore. The way I used these totes changed from apartment to apartment. In one apartment, I stored extra pillows and bedding and stacked two totes on top of each other on my closet shelf. In my current one, I filled them halfway and shoved them under the bed with my out-of-season clothes. They also fold nearly flat, so when they aren’t in use, they’re easy to hide out of sight.
I also love that these bins have carry handles, so you can move them easily from room to room (or apartment to apartment). Because they’re made out of semi-transparent plastic, you can wipe them down if there are any spills. Just a note that they do have small holes for air around the zipper area, so they aren’t completely waterproof.
If I move again (hopefully not in the next few years), I know that these totes will be in the U-Haul with me. It’s rare to find a dependable product that will last more than a few years, so when you did have one, you have to share it with everyone you know.