My Aunt Is Our Family Historian, and She Swears By This Storage Item to Protect Keepsakes

I’m convinced my aunt could open a small museum with the amount of family photos and keepsakes she’s accumulated over the years. She and my uncle have chronicled every get-together for as long as I can remember. While a lot of it is digitally stored on their home computer, the bulk of it is physical media passed down from my grandparents: my grandmother’s favorite bossanova records, photos of my great-great-grandparents and other distant relatives, the birthday cards I made when I was a kid … all sorts of interesting mementos. 

You may be wondering how they keep it all tidy — and I would be, too, if I didn’t know them as the most organized people ever. I could probably eat off of their garage floor, it’s that spotless (but that’s a story for another time!). Turns out, my aunt relies on these Weathertight Storage Totes from The Container Store (which happen to be on sale!) to protect and organize all our family artifacts. Here’s why. 

The Weathertight Totes may look like regular ol’ storage bins, but they’re actually so much more. They’re modular, stackable, and completely moisture-proof; so much so that they can even be used for boating or camping. Which is perfect if you live in a humid place like Miami (where my family is). The clear plastic bins feature strong latches and a urethane foam seal to keep your belongings free of dust, pests, and any other creepy crawlies; AT’s Lifestyle Editor, Lizzy Francis, even used them to keep clothing moths away! 

The coolest thing about the Weathertight Totes, though, has to be all the size options available. They range from a 6.5-quart to 156-quart capacity, which means there’s a storage solution for every space and every item that needs protecting. 

Because my aunt stores everything in her garage, the Weathertight Tote’s moisture- and pest-proof seal play a massive role in protecting delicate photos from dust, humidity, and bugs — it’s also a huge relief knowing that we can take a trip down memory lane without fear that a spider will crawl out from between photos. I’m pretty sure my uncle has even adopted a few of the bins to store some of his fishing gear. 

While other clear plastic bins are translucent, giving you foggy visibility to what’s contained inside, the Weathertight Totes are actually crystal clear. This means my aunt can easily read the album labels and locate the items she needs with a quickness. The plethora of sizes available also means she can store items of all kinds, from photo books to vinyls to old postcards. 

The Weathertight Totes are on the pricier side for a storage bin, but you can always heed my aunt’s advice and buy one or two at a time until you’ve covered all your bases. However, The Container Store is currently offering 25% off sitewide (and 30% off if you choose store pickup!), so now may be a good time to start a collection of your own. 

Buy: The Container Store Clear Weathertight Tote, $13 (normally $19 for the 19 qt. size)