Great Places to Find Free Moving Boxes

When factoring in moving costs, you probably are thinking of the obvious stuff, such as renting a mover, apartment deposit, and maybe some cleaning and furniture.  But, one of the big things that you’ll need are boxes, and they can run a pretty penny. But, you could actually save money and recycle by finding some free moving boxes, and we’ll tell you where.

First are office supply stores, since they have sturdy boxes with lots of packing material, and the store won’t reuse them.  You should ask for printer or copier boxes since they’re perfect for moving everything, and many already have a lid, so you just need to use tape.

Bookstores are the next. They have to be strong, not just because books are heavy, but because usually, they get shipments.  Usually, if you live in a major city, they’ll have lots of boxes, so ask the stores around for free cardboard boxes.

Bars and restaurants, or even liquor stores are the next.  They need veggies, liquor, canned items, and other ingredients delivered.  They need to have strong boxes, and liquor boxes are great for plants, clothes, toiletries, and other things that don’t need to be sealed since they tend not to have tops on them.  Now, they may smell like food, but that’s a small price to pay for getting some free boxes.

Grocery stores are the same thing.  If you do show up the day of the shipments, you’re in for a jackpot of boxes.  Banana and apple boxes are good because they’re big, but have gaps to breathe.

If you live anywhere near a pharmacy, you should first ask when their biggest shipment is, and you should plan to go out and arrive that day.  You tell them that you’re looking for boxes, saving them the trouble of breaking down and preventing you from having to take the time to pack them.  You can stack the small into medium, and then medium to large to take more boxes to the car.

With liquor store boxes, chances are you’ll need to make sure that you use them creatively, and you may need to make lids.  Six-pack cases are good too, but they’re not that sturdy.

Finally, home improvement stores.  They usually have lots of these, but because of the nature of these stores, it’s harder. Locally-owned hardware stores are often better, and they’ll gladly give you boxes for you to take.

Freecycle and craigslist, Uhaul Box Exchange, any home Goods or toy stores, and recycling centers are also good options, but you may not be as lucky and you might have to dig in order to find these.

If you do need to buy boxes, or you need a specialized one, go through either the moving company, a Uhaul, the UPS store, online with retailers, or home improvement stores.  You don’t want to spend too much here.

Finding free small Cardboard boxes is always good, and here, we told you how to do it easily, and without too many issues.  Do use this if you don’t feel like buying boxes again.

Decorating a Cardboard Box Step by Step

If there’s one thing you have probably have laying around in great quantities, it’s cardboard boxes and empty containers.  It’s such a shame to throw them out but what on earth do you use all of them for?  Decorating them is probably my favorite way to repurpose old, weird-looking cardboard boxes into new, trendy and chique storage units.   Here is a step-by-step of a decorating project that I have put together just for y’all-

cardboard

What you Will Need for Success:

  • cardboard boxes, of course.  Ones with lids are all the better.
  • any kind of wrapping paper (from brown kraft paper to colored paper to paper with designs on it)
  •  tape (double-sided is recommended)
  • scissors
  •  ruler

Step One:

  • If you are using a round box, measure the distance from top to bottom and then all the way around.  Cut the paper one inch wider, and three inches longer, than necessary so you can fold down the cut edges.  Apply double stick tape to the top and bottom of the round box.  If you do a row in the middle you risk puckering.  Carefully lay the paper down along the tape.  When you go to the end trim some excess and then fold down that edge, too.  Use the double-sided tape from top to bottom

step-1

  • If you are doing a square box, lay the on top of the wrapping paper.  Trace the edges.  Measure how deep the lid is and then add a couple inches for allowance.  Use the ruler to trace this distance all the way around the other square that you traced.

step-2

Step Two:

Cut out your template.  You are now going to wrap the lid like you would wrap a package, folding and tucking to make tight sides and folds.  You should be have enough paper to be able to wrap to the inside of the lid.  You obviously don’t even have to go all the way to the bottom of the inside of the lid, or fold the edges (unless you are feeling particularly OCD).

step-3

Step Three:

Use double stick tape all along the edges on the inside of the lid.  Do all of this all over again to the bottom of the half of the box.  Try using a different colored paper that compliments the wrapping on the lid.  Maybe use a design for the lid and a solid color for the bottom, or vice versa.

step-4

You can even by sticker, labeling placards from your local craft store that would really make this project look official.

I Heart Cardboard DIY Projects

You would be shocked at what you can do with all those cardboard boxes laying around!  And you would be even more shocked if I told you that you don’t have to be an artsy craftsy creative type person in order to do so.

Anymore nowadays you can find templates and tutorials on the internet for just about every DIY project imaginable, complete with all the supplies you will need and a step-by-step from A to Z.  Here are a just a few amazing things you can create out of cardboard boxes:

A bookshelf!  Okay, so this one should probably be attempted at the pique of your cardboard crafting career, but when it’s all said and done it looks pretty stinking cool.

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A chair!  And I’m not talking about setting a box upside down over a stool, or some other type of cheating.  A not-so-intricate system of notches and slats produces an actual chair that you can actually sit on.

cardboard-chair

A pendant light!  There are several options for these circulating, some of them easier and some of them more complicated.  All in all, they wind up looking cool and are one of those things that look even cooler in cardboard.

cardboard-pending-light

A playhouse!  You’ve been waiting for this one, haven’t you?  Well, this cardboard playhouse has a twist: it’s foldable.  Cutting seams and then taping them with bright colored duct tape makes an awesome playhouse that is easy to fold and fits well underneath a couch or behind other furniture.

cardboard-playhouse

A tray!  These are one of my favorite ways to transform lids or shallow cardboard boxes.  Cover them with some beautiful paper and no one would ever guess what’s at the heart of it all.

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A vase with flowers!  Cut the outline of a vase from several different sheets of cardboard and then glue them all together.  Stick some cardboard stalks out of the top and attach newspaper flowers to them.

cardboard-vase-with-paper-made-flowers

A cat house!  This tends to be a fan favorite.  People love their cats, and they love a good cat house.  The best part is that the opportunities are endless with this.  From a one story bungalow to a veritable apartment complex, you can accommodate one to a hundred cats.

cardboard-cat-house

A desk organizer!  Not all projects for cardboard boxes are strictly fun and no business.  A desk organizer is incredibly useful, and you can even make a cardboard iphone dock.

diy-cardboard-organizer

A picture frame!  This probably has to be another of my favorites.  Picture frames are just so great, and the more homemade the better.  You can make any size, any style, and save yourself a ton of cash.

2 Important Items for Protecting Your Furniture When Moving

Lifting heavy furniture, carrying it through tight doorways, and being exhausted at the end of a long day all plague your mind when you’re making a move. It’s a draining task, for sure. But do you have the appropriate gear for moving? A trailer for all of your furniture, appliances, and items? Just a truck bed? What about dollies?

These things are likely the first things after cardboard boxes that you’ll think of when it comes to planning a move. What may slip your mind, however, are items that can help secure and protect your belongings. Those things are ratchet straps and furniture blankets.

Boxes and furniture shift during a move. It’s the nature of driving your things to a new location. And you can’t really control their shifting unless you have straps.

Cargo straps.
Straps, or cargo straps, are essential. Because they’re available in a range of weight capacities, come with different kinds of hooks, are lighter than chain, and won’t scratch finished items (like all of your wood furniture) the way chain can, they’re versatile, extremely useful, and downright needed for your move.

To emphasize how useful these things are, note that they can also secure heavier equipment like motorcycles, boats, ATVs, and large equipment to trailers. They’ll also strap down snowblowers, lawn mowers, and even lumber in pickup trucks. Pretty useful outside of just moving furniture, huh? Everyone should have a few of these.

Furniture blankets.
This type of blanket’s primary purpose is to save your furniture from rubbing up against other pieces of furniture. This protects your items from rips, tears, scratches, and other marks you wouldn’t want. Typically, you would want to place the blankets between each piece of furniture in your trailer. That’s a lot of blankets, however, so some pieces of furniture need it less than others (i.e., your less expensive pieces or those less prone to damage).

The secret benefit of furniture blankets, though, is dragging heavy furniture over door thresholds and along floors. Washers, dryers, and fridges can be especially tough to move in and out of houses without scratching hardwood flooring, yet they’re usually too heavy to pick up and move inside tight spaces (without the use of a dolly). Furniture blankets double as moving equipment in that you can drag things along floors!

 

The next time you plan to move or help move someone in, invest in a few furniture blankets and cargo straps. They make all the difference in securing down items, whether they’re loose or in cardboard boxes.