Storage
Quarts, litres and what a storage box actually holds
How to translate a number on a box into the thing you are trying to put in it.
Storage boxes are sold in quarts, which is a volume nobody thinks in. A 64QT box is 60 litres, and 60 litres means nothing until you know it holds roughly one adult duvet or two winter coats.
The translation table
| Size | Litres | Holds about |
|---|---|---|
| 28 QT | 26 L | A shelf of books, or one child’s winter kit |
| 48 QT | 45 L | A single duvet, or six pairs of shoes |
| 64 QT | 60 L | A double duvet, or a season of clothing for one adult |
| 96 QT | 91 L | Christmas decorations for a whole house |
| 144 QT | 136 L | Camping kit for a family, or a full wardrobe change |
Those figures assume you can fill the corners. In practice a box holds about eighty per cent of its rating once you account for the lid clearance and the fact that duvets do not fold into cuboids.
Stackable is not the same as accessible
Two boxes stacked is fine. Four is a decision you regret every time you need the bottom one, because the only way in is to unstack the three above it.
This is why front-opening boxes exist. A door on the front costs a little volume and removes the entire problem: the bottom box in a stack of four opens without moving anything. If the stack is going to be permanent, pay for the door.
Folding flat matters more than it sounds
Storage boxes spend part of the year empty. A rigid box that is empty still takes the same room as a full one, which means storing the storage. A collapsible box folds to a couple of inches and slides behind a wardrobe until the season turns.
The trade is rigidity. A folding box will not take the same crushing load as a moulded one, so if it is going at the bottom of a heavy stack, buy rigid.
Lofts, garages and damp
- Lofts swing between freezing and very hot. Plastic handles this; cardboard does not.
- Garages get damp. A lid that latches keeps moisture out far better than one that rests.
- Never store anything textile in a sealed box without airing it first. Damp fabric in a closed box is how mildew starts.
- Label the end you can see once it is stacked, not the top.
Capacities, lids and folding behaviour are listed on every card in the storage range.