A tea chest is a square wooden crate, traditionally lined with foil, that was used to ship tea. For decades they were the standard box for moving house in Britain, and removal firms still sometimes say “tea chest” to mean a large packing box. Today most people use large cardboard boxes instead, which are lighter and easier to stack.
At Wigwam
For the job a tea chest used to do, our online Box Shop sells strong double-walled boxes in four sizes, including a Large box for bedding, towels, cushions and folded clothes, and an Extra Large box for lamps and awkward shapes. They’re lighter than wooden crates and stack neatly in a unit.
If you’re storing an old tea chest itself, perhaps a family piece, empty it, clean and dry it, and keep it off the floor with a little space around it, as you would any wooden furniture.
Large boxes, light loads
Big boxes are best for light, bulky things. Heavy items like books belong in smaller boxes, so nothing becomes too heavy to lift or crushes the boxes underneath.
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