File Box

Office supply stores sell boxes that can be used for storing documents and records. But they carry boxes that will sell well, and the boxes that sell the best are multipurpose ones. This means that their boxes are not really made for the specific purpose of storing or archiving old records and documents. Document storage companies use boxes to store their clients' documents and records. They have boxes especially made for this purpose, and some of them guarantee their clients' boxes for life.

Cardboard office storage boxes with lids should be rated for fire resistance. The last thing you want is for a fire to destroy your archives. They should be able to maintain some integrity if they get wet, and be able to go through a freeze-drying process in the event of a disaster. This is because when boxes become wet from flooding or from sprinkling systems, the best way to dry them and their contents is to leave them intact and send them out to a freeze-drying facility.

They should also be mildew, insect, and rodent resistant. This means that the box will discourage colonization by these creatures.

Finally, they should be easy to physically handle and to manage in terms of an archiving system. There should be designated places on the boxes for you to catalogue the contents and the box itself, as appropriate to your filing or archiving system.