My husband laughs that I am a serial mover…I get bored with a house and then I start house hunting…and we end up moving. Ok that was the old me.…now I am in my forever home…but I’ve learned a LOT about how to move!
I thought I’d share some of the things I learned about where to get the best boxes for moving!
- The boxes you can buy in the stores (Lowes Home Improvement, etc) can be as high as $9 each for wardrobe boxes! OUCH. The smallest ones I could find at Lowes Home Improvement was $1.74.
- There are some boxes that are better than others at the grocery store. I thought for sure I wanted toilet paper and paper towel boxes- they should be big enough to stuff it full of lots of things right? However they are the worst boxes to get from the grocery store. They are perforated to make it easy to tear them open and reusing them is risky because those perforations can rip open and drop your belongings everywhere! And paper towels and bath tissue is actually pretty light….. Turns out that Detergent and Cat Litter, pasta sauce boxes are often the sturdiest and therefore the best for moving! Also ask if you can have the boxes that heavy fruit comes in such as apples and bananas.
- Restaurants are also a great place to ask for boxes but steer clear of any that had meat in them you don’t want to move your favorite towels in a box full of chicken “juices”.
- Think of places with HEAVY items- book stores are also a great place to ask for boxes. Books are HEAVY and so those boxes are built well! ABC/Liquour stores are amazing too! Ours keeps a big pile right by the door 🙂
- Look in your office- all that paper! Those paper boxes are perfect for moving. The lids slide on – no tape!!
- Check Marketplace and OfferUp. The last thing you want to do after moving is have to break down and recycle all those boxes! A quick search of Marketplace showed about 20 listings in my area. Keep in mind that they’ve already been used and may not be in the best condition.
- Ask your movers! We contracted with a moving company to load and unload our belongings – they offered FREE boxes from houses that had the full service packing and unpacking services. SCORE! They even had wardrobe boxes and glasses boxes!
What tips do you have for getting GOOD boxes for free or cheap?
And apt/condo communities on the weekends when people tend to move in/out a lot. I scored all the boxes I needed that were from Home Depot doing this, plus bubble wrap!
ABC stores often have great boxes!
When we moved, we were able to get boxes from our local Tractor Supply stores. They were great for most items. For books and dishes we used paper boxes from the office.
What are some good moving companies that pack you up and move you locally? We are beginning to think that process as well. Thanks for this post.
Auto Zone. A lot of the boxes are very sturdy and have kind of handles. Hard to explain but they are great.
The grocery stores banana boxes.
The boxes with the dividers from the ABC stores are great for glasses, you don’t have to wrap them! Also good for knives, forks, spoons etc…just make sure box is clean and put the different pieces in each divided slot. Makes unpacking easy also! Good luck with the move. I lived in RTP for 23 years! Lots of fun things to do there. Take your children to the Museum of Life & Science and Butterfly house in Durham, they will love it!
I am SO excited you are coming to the Raleigh area!! WhooHoo!! The News and Observer just laid off a few of their employees, including Amy Dunn, who was the blogger for Centsible Saver. I really miss her, her blog, and the local matchups she provided. I know it is hard to leave the Triad area, but you will love the Triangle too! Best wishes on packing up and on the upcoming move.
A couple of tips for packing your boxes. Use clothes, pillows, and linens that you have to pack anyway to wrap breakables such as lamps, mirrors, and pictures. Use your stockpile of Ziploc bags. Put breakable glass bottles of liquids like perfume or food in a plastic bag – just in case. If they break, the mess is contained and if they arrive safe and sound the bags are ready to use again.
We will miss a great neighbor and friend in the Triad. Best wishes to you and your family in your new home.
So funny! I wrapped all my kitchen stuff in the dish rags I use in the kitchen (clean ones of course!) I will still be around the Triad!
People give away moving boxes at least weekly if not more often on Freecycle.
When my family owned a drycleaning business, we always had tons of boxes from supplies … very sturdy.
I prefer NOT to use foods boxes (ie. produce) as they could harbor unwanted pests