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When you’re moving, the most important thing is to get organised. The last thing you probably want to think about when you move house is where you’ll get boxes. To be sure that things would get from point A to point B in one piece, you need the right kind of packing supplies. Moving boxes should definitely form part of your moving checklist. Whether you’re in New South Wales, South Australia Gold Coast or Sydney CBD, these same concepts can be applied, wherever you’re moving to or from.
Packing materials do not have to be expensive, and you can even get some for free. Free moving boxes are sometimes suited to light duty packing, but some boxes can be great for storing things in storage units for extended periods of time. When you’re trying to organise your home for moving, here are some of the places you may want to check to help you with moving packing and find the boxes you need for moving:
Boxes and Packing Supplies for Moving and Storing
Moving boxes are available at most hardware stores and even some grocery stores. Typically, the staff at these places can help with any questions about how to pack up your belongings. When on the hunt for moving supplies such as cardboard moving boxes, you will want an assortment of sizes for all your possessions. Medium boxes are the most common and will come in handy for packing kitchenware and personal items. Larger boxes can be good for packing clothing, tools or toys.
You may be lucky enough to find come bubble wrap in the boxes you get, so you can carefully pack your delicate or fragile goods.
Self Storage Facilities
A good self storage facility will have boxes available to purchase or hire. They are usually in the form of flat pack boxes which you unfold and tape together to form a secure rigid container for you to store your goods. They will be available in a range of shapes and sizes, from a cube box to rectangular boxes and you will even be able to find them in bulk packs. Reach out to to a reputable storage facility like StoragePlus to see what storage solutions they offer. A local storage facility is always close by.
Moving Companies
The most obvious place to get packing materials is the moving company you are hiring. They will do everything for you, from packing your stuff and securing it with packing tape, furniture removals, to unpacking it in your new home. However, if you want to save some money, you can choose not to hire movers and pack yourself. In addition, if you have way too much stuff that does not fit the standard moving boxes, movers might be unable to pack them or charge extra for the service.
Retail Stores
Large retail stores will have moving boxes in their storage solutions area, and some might even give them away for free. You just have to ask. If you go on business days during business hours, you’ll have better luck than on the weekend.
Boxes at big-box stores are typically made of thinner cardboard than what you’ll find in grocery stores, but they’re still much sturdier than regular cardboard. They are also harder to carry because they’re not flat-packed boxes, but instead ready-built boxes with tapered sides. Keep your eyes peeled for product recalls too, as this could mean the store will be inundated with spare boxes which you can take home for free. A large box to keep an eye out for is a large mirror box. These boxes are often long and protective to keep the mirror they used to house safe and sound for transport.
Grocery Stores
Grocery stores will usually have some boxes in their bakery section or by the produce. You may even find some medium to large boxes at the meat counter.
This is a great place to look. They have boxes that are clean, easy to carry, and usually made from strong cardboard that can withstand long periods of the moving process. They typically can’t be taped shut, but you can still secure them with packing tape.
Liquor Stores
Liquor stores have good boxes, and most of them are open late at night and on weekends. The best thing about this is that the liquor store employee will never question why you want all these empty boxes. They would only want to sell something, and they’d be glad to help you out with your need. They will have a surplus of wine boxes and spirit boxes ready to discard at a moments notice.
Restaurants & Cafes
Restaurants receive their supplies in cardboard boxes, and they usually have a lot of leftovers that they will be happy to give away. Local restaurants may even deliver to your door.
You can call your local eateries, ask if they have any extra boxes they could sell you, and then head over and pick them up. Some local restaurants and cafes will have discarded newspapers which you can use as packing paper for your glassware or delicate china.
Bookstores
Bookstores receive books on pallets and are left with large quantities of empty cardboard boxes after the shelves are filled. Bookstore owners are usually glad to donate their old boxes if they do not need them anymore.
Offices and Businesses
This might seem like a no-brainer, but you can always grab a stack of boxes at your workplace. Many companies are shifting to more transparent and flexible workspaces, but they often leave stacks of boxes behind when they’re done moving all the stuff out.
You can also ask your boss if you can have some of the old boxes they use to ship products. If they’re not in used condition, that’s fine because you’ll be reusing them anyway, and even if they are a little beat up, they will still serve the purpose of keeping your things. Some offices will have old archive boxes laying around that they won’t mind if you take too.
Friends and Family
Ask friends and family if they have any extra boxes around. Sometimes people will have an additional box or two lying around from when they moved or when they packed up their own kids’ bedrooms when they went off to college.
As long as these were originally purchased for packing moving purposes rather than for storage purposes, they will surely give them away.
Your friends or family may have a heavy duty tea chest which you can borrow to move delicate items that need protection when moving. A tea chest is a large wooden box with a hinged lid which can be great for storing things for an extended period of time to keep things safe.
Local Stores That Sell Moving Boxes
You can find these stores in most major cities and are open on business days and weekends too. There are many different types of moving boxes in many different sizes available. It’s best to go early in the day or late at night when the store isn’t busy to get the assistance you need from the employees who are there. They will often sell a moving pack of boxes and you can grab some packing tape at the same time while you’re there. You can also find a range of moving products and supplies which can help you move from your current location to the eastern suburbs or beyond!
Schools and Universities
You can ask at the library or the administrative office at the local schools if they have any boxes that they can give out. Schools often use a lot of boxes to ship books, equipment, and other supplies. Most of these schools will be more than happy to help you get free moving boxes. You do not need to worry about getting used cardboard boxes as they will be strong enough to hold your lightweight items such as books, papers, garments, etc.
Online Retailers
Even if you happen to get some boxes perfect for moving, they’re usually only available in limited quantities. They may also be in short supply as the moving season gets underway.
For an easy solution to all of these problems, check out online retailers that offer related services. Choose the kind with a fast shipping turnout and inexpensive fees and can easily give you 100 or more boxes at once.
You can even customize your pack boxes order and choose the size, pattern, and colour of your boxes.
Moving Boxes Aren’t So Hard To Find
When it comes to moving things in and out of your house, you can do things faster as long as you have enough boxes for moving on hand. Sure, you can always rely on friends and family members for this kind of help, but it’s easier to plan ahead and get those cardboard boxes for moving.
It’s easy to find the boxes you need to move house, and you can ask for some of them for free. You only need where to look, and be sure to ask politely. If you need to purchase flat pack boxes, look for the sellers that will give them to you at reasonable prices and check that the quality of the boxes can withstand the journey they are about to embark on. Whether its packing paper, or free moving boxes you’re after, there are a range of moving supplies you can find for free which you can cross off of your moving checklist.
