Avoiding Injury When Lifting Crates

The Summer months are often a busy time for Easycrate. Students moving to and from university, businesses relocating their offices, house moves getting completion dates and people simply decluttering and sorting their home storage - the reasons people hire crates from Easycrate is often varied. 

Whatever the reason for hiring crates, and no matter how big or small the job is, using our crates safely is imperative to Easycrate. 

If you are planning a move, refurbishment or improving your home storage, follow our safety tips to avoid injury.

Easycrate's Safe Lifting Tips 

Prior to lifting, check that your route is clear, without obstacles. 

• Feet should be spread shoulder width apart and knees should be bent. If you have a history of back pain, you may want to consider wearing a back support belt for additional protection when lifting our crates. 

• When bending at your knees ensure that you lower yourself straight down to where you can place your hands around the box. Do not bend at your waist; this is how most injuries from lifting occur. Also ensure you are as close as possible to the crate you are picking up.

• Are you in a stable, balanced position? Flexing your stomach muscles will provide additional core support and will reduce the pressure the weight can put on your back.

• Make sure that you lift the crate with your legs, not your back. Lift the crate in one smooth movement, keeping it close to your body.

• Keep the crate balanced as you carry it. Avoid putting more weight on one side of your body than on the other as this could cause shoulder or arm pain. If you need to turn when carrying the crate, pivot with your feet, instead of twisting at the waist.

• Carry the crate mid way up your body, ensuring you can clearly see where you are going when carrying. Walk slowly to your destination and set the crate down carefully. Remember to bend your knees as you lower the crate to the ground and allow your body to lower in a straight position.

The team at Easycrate hope you have found these tips useful. To view our crate hire range please follow the link here. 

If you need additional support when moving crates, Easycrate also have a range of moving equipment to aid transportation. To view our moving equipment range please follow the link here.

Reusable Plastic Crates For Universities On The Move

You might think that the summer holidays are a quiet time at universities but they are in fact still very busy over this period. The summer holidays signal the end of one academic year and start of a new one so there’s much to be done during this time. One of the activities that happens over the summer is usually a restructuring of departments, moving of lecturers’ studies and a decorating of classrooms and lecture theatres. This means that many people and rooms of the university are in transition and on the move.

Traditionally boxes might have been used for this movement around the university but reusable plastic crates offer a better solution. Available for short or long term hire, our reusable plastic crates are durable and robust, making them perfect for moving. They come in a wide range of sizes and feature integrated lids which make them ideal for moving anything from lab equipment to text books, student records or even computers.

The boxes can easily be carried or transported using a trolley for convenience. Designed to stack, they are also perfect for putting into storage, either temporarily or more permanently.

Plastic crates are not only perfect for universities on the move put pupils who are on the move too – whether inbetween accommodation, on their way into university or on their way out into life beyond education. Contact the EasyCrate team here to find out more about our crate hire services.

The EasyCrate Team

Copyright: DW2014

Reusable Plastic Crates For Colleges

With the academic end of year holidays just around the corner, it is a time of hard work in colleges and schools around the country. End of year exams, productions and fairs lead the way into the summer holidays for pupils whilst teachers and staff have to work far beyond the students leaving. The end of the school year in a college brings about the annual clear up which means removing everything from classrooms and walls to allow the cleaning staff in for a thorough clean.

Storage at this time can be very problematic but at Easycrate we have the perfect solution in the form of reusable plastic crates. In a range of sizes, these are perfect for storing virtually anything. Made from robust, durable materials and with integrated lids they are both secure and suitable for stacking, in and out of use.

Our crate hire service makes our crates cost-effective for using throughout the summer without having to invest in the purchase of crates plus when you have finished with them, you’re not burdened with having to store them.

Here are just a few of the things that can easily be stored in our reusable plastic crates:

-          Project work

-          Reports and student information

-          Display work

-          Text books and exercise books

-          Computer equipment

-          Teaching props and accessories

Contact us today for more information on our reusable plastic crates and crate hire service.

The EasyCrate Team

Copyright: DW2014

5 Ways Reusable Plastic Crates Can Be Used In Schools

It’s June which means that the summer holidays are just around the corner. But before teachers and other school staff can wind-down for the holidays, there is still a lot of work to be done around the classroom including the annual clear-down to get everything ready for the new school year.

Organising the classroom can be a nightmare and storage is always a problem but thanks to EasyCrate you can have everything neatly put away in no time.

Our reusable plastic crates featuring integrated lids offer durable and practical storage for the classroom - a must for the summer clear down. Here are five ways that our reusable plastic crates can be used in school:

1.       Storing of school records and reports – there is a lot of paperwork generated in schools from documents detailing student details, annual report cards, attendance and many other official documents. These can all be stored securely in our reusable plastic crates for as long as necessary.

2.       Storing of art supplies and materials – arts, crafts and technology are an important part of the curriculum but require a lot of resources. Our plastic crates come in a variety of generous sizes which makes them ideal for storing anything from paints to paper and other stationary and art supplies. Thanks to the durable design of the crates, they can easily be stacked too, making storage space more efficient.

3.       Storage for maths supplies – when teaching little ones maths, a variety of supplies and materials will be used from plastic money through to counting games. These are easy to store in plastic crates and with efficient labelling, you’ll be able to just pull out the crate you need next time to deliver a lesson in the new school year.

4.       Storage for display materials – most schools re-use and re-purchase what they can from one year to another to make the best use of their budget. Themes taught one year are likely to be repeated for the next group of pupils so display materials can be stored away in reusable plastic crates until next needed. Hiring plastic crates for this purpose is cost-effective too.

5.       Storage of PE equipment – with the wide range of sports and activities taught in schools, comes a wide range of PE resources from hockey sticks to beanbags, hula hoops to footballs. Everything can be storage in plastic crates which come in a range of sizes to meet your needs.

With so many practical applications for schools, contact our team to find out more about our reusable plastic crates and crate hire services.

Boxes Versus Crates

When it comes to moving home or office, the thought of packing up our possessions and transporting them can seem a daunting task. Will the cardboard boxes hold everything I need? What if the boxes (and their contents) get damaged in transit? What if I can’t remember what is in each of the boxes when I get to my destination? Sometimes just the thought of moving puts us off completely!
 

But when a home or office move is essential, Easycrate can help with all those packing and moving needs. 

Cardboard Boxes. 

When you watch tv shows or films, when characters move you see them surrounded by cardboard boxes, and there is often a comedic scene in which one of the boxes falls apart, spilling the contents onto the floor. For many of us, this has happened to us too. 

Cardboard boxes do have their uses, but there is nothing more disheartening than going to your attic, shed or garage to get something out of storage only to find the box has become damp and mouldy. 

So what is the alternative?

At Easycrate, we provide sturdy, secure and environmentally friendly plastic storage crates in a range of sizes to suit your needs.  As they are hardwearing, the plastic crates can be washed out and reused over and over again without falling victim to damp, mould or overloading.

We also provide crate labels for easy identification (there is nothing worse after a long moving day than rummaging through each cardboard box trying to find the kettle!)  and security tags to keep your boxes closed and secure during transit. 

Do I have to buy the crates? 

With Easycrate’s plastic storage crate rental scheme, there is no need to pay out lots of money to buy the crates. Simply let us know how many you need to hire and how long for, and we will deliver AND collect your plastic storage crates.

We are so confident in the quality and good value of our plastic storage crates, we have even made a video comparing them to standard cardboard boxes. 

Contact us today at www.easycrate.co.uk to find out how we can help you with your packing and moving needs.