Saving space in my always over crowded van- Here's how manufacturers can help!

ruff

ruff

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Ofer Kolton
For years I've been afflicted with the carry too many products that I hardly ever use. I still am.
Unfortunately, can't get over the need to know that when I need these products they'll be there for me.

Very few manufacturers also provide their products in containers that will allow us to carry smaller quantities (for those products we hardly use or that are very concentrated). A packaging that will take less space (longer and narrower, squarish rather than round, 2 liter not a gallon and half sized square jars for granular products) comes to mind. It will also be great if they were very hardy- thicker plastic walls) to survive in the abusive environment called the shelf in the back of our vans. Hardy labels that don't get scraped or destroyed by water would have been great too.

Can't tell you how many chemicals I lost due to punctures, not to talk about the mass and the lack of space to carry all these products. Currently looking at buying smaller jugs that I will label- Grrrr..... lots of work.

Personally, I'll be happy to pay quite a bit more money to get one or two of those of each product that I carry. I will refill as needed. Probably not very practical on the manufacturer's side, as there will not be any profit in it due to lack of volume. However the ones who'd do, will earn my eternal gratitude. And in two languages.
 
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dgardner

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Manufacturers will probably not migrate to smaller or squarer containers, most folks clamor for larger bulk containers and more concentrated product to save money, as you already know.

As an incentive for customers to buy their product, manufacturers should make available for free (or very low cost) durable, waterproof, self-adhesive labels for us to use when transferring product to a smaller container, or when diluting said product for use in a trigger sprayer, etc. Such labeling is required by statute pretty much worldwide, I believe, and as you say very time consuming to do manually. That way we can buy square jugs if we want!
 
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ruff

ruff

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That's a great suggestion Dan.
I'd be happy to pay for those labels. Maybe they can offer those smaller containers for us to purchase as a courtesy. Again, be happy to pay for it.
 
Shorty

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I've lined the floor and walls of my shelving with carpet & had very few, maybe two at the most, plastic containers crack in 3 decades.

Labels are a problem.

I have purchased labels from some Australian suppliers because of the rubbing off.

Unfortunately these are not self sticking, but that's easily fixed.

Instead of placing the labels on the broad side of the bottle where they rub against other bottles, I put the on the end of the bottle and wrap them slightly around on each broad side if this makes sense.

This way they are not rubbing against each other as the vehicle vibrates down the road causing the bottles to rub against each other and damage the label.

Most of my bottles are (US), gallon jugs (3.78 lts), or (Aus), 5 litre bottles.

Although I do carry some solutions in two litre milk bottles, and some that are not used very often in one litre bottles.

My spotters for use in the home are always kept in my Vac-A-Way box.


For my leather cleaners/conditioners, I carry all of these in a special box, all in one litre bottles, but I mainly have two bottles of each solution.



As I head down the road to semi retirement, I'm looking at downsizing what I do, and getting a MUCH SMALLER van, all of my solutions will mainly be in two or one litre bottles.

I intend to be so small that this will probably be my last vehicle, fitted out to how I want it and with very minimal gear:

http://www.suzuki.com.au/vehicles/models/apv/model-variant/apv/overview

:yoda:
 
hogjowl

hogjowl

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Space is an issue for me, as well. I simply can't carry some things that I need. For example, I really need to carry two or three large, thick, cloth tarps to protect wood floors from my hoses. I need my repair tools, dye supplies, water claw, an extra wand, etc. I need an Aerotec, but the size of that thing can be a problem.
 
J Scott W

J Scott W

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Jeffrey Scott Warrington
dgardner said:
Manufacturers will probably not migrate to smaller or squarer containers, most folks clamor for larger bulk containers and more concentrated product to save money, as you already know.

As an incentive for customers to buy their product, manufacturers should make available for free (or very low cost) durable, waterproof, self-adhesive labels for us to use when transferring product to a smaller container, or when diluting said product for use in a trigger sprayer, etc. Such labeling is required by statute pretty much worldwide, I believe, and as you say very time consuming to do manually. That way we can buy square jugs if we want!
Click to expand...

We do offer labels you can download and print yourself. Below any Bridgepoint (and several other brands) you can click on the full sized label and for many the "mini-labels" to label smaller bottles.

Printing on your own label stock is going to be the cheapest way to do this.
 
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ruff

ruff

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