An attached-lid moving tote has a hinged lid that folds shut and stays on the tote, so it stacks full, four high, without a lid sliding off or a box crushing. A storage bin has a separate lid that lifts off and sits on the rim, which is fine on a shelf and a problem on a dolly, on stairs, and in a truck. For a move, attached lids, a standard footprint and a dolly are what matter; for a basement shelf, a bin is fine.
The lid
On a moving tote the lid is two flaps hinged to the long sides. Fold them in and they interlock; the tote is closed, nothing falls out, and the next tote sits square on top. There is no loose lid to carry, lose, or step on. A storage bin's lid pops off when the bin flexes, which it does every time you lift it by one end.
Stacking
Moving totes are designed to be stacked full: the lid carries the weight of the tote above it straight into the walls. Four high on a dolly is normal. Storage bins are designed to be stacked empty or on a shelf; stack them full and the lids bow, the corners splay, and the stack leans.
Size
Our totes are 27 x 17 x 12 inches, about 2.4 cubic feet of usable space, the size of about 1.5 small moving boxes. That footprint fits through a doorway sideways, four fit across a car's back seat, and a stack of four is chest height on the dolly. Storage bins come in every size, which sounds like an advantage until you try to stack a 30-gallon bin on an 18-gallon one.
The dolly
The dolly is why you roll instead of carry. It is sized to the tote's footprint, so a stack of four sits on it without hanging over. Every package comes with at least one. You can put storage bins on a hand truck, but a stack of loose-lid bins on a hand truck is how lids end up in the driveway.
Weight
Keep any tote at or under 50 pounds. That is a tote of books, or about 1.5 boxes of dishes. Attached-lid totes have reinforced rims so a full one can be lifted by the ends without the walls bowing.
What we bring
Every package is attached-lid totes, a dolly, labels and zip ties, delivered stacked and clean. Every tote also has a tag and a label on its side that open a page where you write what is inside, so you find the coffee maker on the first night. How the tags work.
Where to next
See every package and price, or read: What tote rental costs in Rochester, How many boxes for a 1-bedroom, Totes vs cardboard boxes .