How Portable Containers Meet Our Needs During COVID

Remember when it felt like nothing ever changed, and it was hard to notice the tiny shifts around us? These days, each morning brings new (sometimes terrifying) headlines, and all we want is to return to normalcy and routine. Regardless of our circumstances, we usually have a choice. We can choose more of the same; or we can recognize this moment is different—and that we can be, too. I’ve always believed that adaptability is one of the best qualities we can have, and now feels like a good time to practice it.

The storage industry is a great example of where adaptability shines. You still see portable containers being used in their normal, useful ways: in people’s yards for home construction, in driveways for on-site storage or relocation, at worksites for equipment storage, at homes damaged by water, fire or mold, and as portable storage containers. But portable containers have become so much more as they line up with the new COVID-19 challenges, needs and requirements. With online booking and payment, contact-free delivery, and cleaning in-between customers, it is increasingly easy to see why portable storage solutions can bring ease of mind during these times. Plus, people are getting creative with how they use these containers! 

The demand for extra storage space is clear — all the extra equipment from offices, schools and daycare facilities needs to go somewhere to make room for the mandated space in-between people.  Now, we are also seeing a huge need for extra useable/workable space. Schools and daycare facilities are looking for additional space, portable classrooms, businesses need more room for meetings, employees are working from home and need portable offices, and medical facilities are running out of area and could use additional testing sites and patient rooms. The list goes on… So, while we are in this state of change, our industry is going with the flow. Here’s how:

Read on for some insights from the experts at Boxwell!

No Contact Transactions

With online booking, delivery and relocation of portable containers, for example, there’s little-to-no contact with anyone else. These easy, no-hassle transactions have become very desirable. You can conveniently set up and pay for your service online, pack your own belongings individually into a container that is delivered directly to your home, and have it picked up and delivered to its new location. Of course, each container has been cleaned and sanitized in-between customers. 

Safe, Secure, Flexible – and Yours Alone

You can make a portable storage container exclusively your own. Portable containers are fully customizable with many features modified to personal specifications. They can be moved where needed and placed almost anywhere, including locations away from other people. With updated, secure locking systems, you can keep a portable container safe and free from contamination—and only you will have access to it.

Constructed from Steel with Easy-to-Clean Features

Portable storage containers are built to withstand moisture, temperature fluctuations, and other outdoor elements and will typically have vents for airflow and interior anti-condensation coating. Plus, steel is easy to sanitize and can withstand strong disinfectants, providing a clean, safe, secure and weatherproof structure where belongings can be assessed, organized or stowed. The flooring in a portable container is made of durable materials that again, is easy to clean when compared to fabrics or rugs. 

Solutions for COVID Needs 

Businesses and medical facilities have a surplus of cleaning supplies and precautionary materials, and they need somewhere to put it all. It’s a good idea to store cleaning products and extra equipment in portable storage containers to keep them out of the way, and out of reach of children. College students are looking for where to keep their belongings for a COVID gap-year or altered living arrangement, and with more and more people working from home, there’s definitely an increased demand for portable offices and meeting spaces. Restaurants, schools, and businesses have to create more room within their existing spaces to meet the CDC requirements, so they need to store unused 

Make-shift spaces for healthcare industry 

Like pop-up shops and co-working spaces that have been created as a sign-of-the-times, portable storage containers are quickly becoming the new out-of-the-box (or, inside the box) way to adapt. These containers can fit equipment and features of a medical facility to address urgent needs within our communities as temperature checkpoint stations, drive-thru testing stations, and morgue/mortuary overflow. Portable storage containers turned into temporary facilities and treatment rooms are can be placed where they are needed most. 

We don’t know how long before things will feel normal again, and maybe that’s just it: each shift away from what we remember as normal brings us to where we are. How can we make the most of right here, right now? I think it’s to be creative on the fly and ready for just about anything. 

To learn more about Boxwell and our moving and storage containers and services, call (303) 416-6280 or contact us online today!