Where To Get Free Moving Boxes? [Full Checklist]

Oftentimes, moving house is a stress-filled hassle where the successful end of the relocation journey depends on possessing a sizeable moving budget, making the right decisions, and maybe even having a bit of luck too. So, logic dictates that if you can afford to pay for full-service movers and you actually choose to hire their moving services, then even the notorious randomness of luck will tend to favor you and your upcoming residential move.

Selecting a reputable full-service moving company will mean that you’re also getting professional packers who will pack up your household items quickly and safely. The pros are also bringing all the packing materials (especially cardboard boxes!) they will ever need so you won’t have to worry about where to get free moving boxes to lower that final bill. This is the best case relocation scenario for you, of course.

However, if self-packing is what lies ahead of you as a proven way to cut your moving costs, then hopefully you’ll be willing to go a step further and save even more money by looking for free moving boxes. That’s right – obtaining packing boxes in good condition without paying for them is something you should definitely consider doing to strengthen your moving budget. Where are the best places to get free moving boxes? And just how to get free boxes for moving?

In short, the best places to get free moving boxes from are:

• Friends who have just moved house;
• Online: specialized websites such as Craigslist and Freecycle;
• Supermarkets;
• Shopping malls;
• Home improvement stores;
• Home electronics stores;
• Bookstores;
• Local produce stores;
• Liquor stores and bars;
• Copy centers;
• Recycling centers

Each one of those top places to find moving boxes offer slightly different cardboard boxes in size, sturdiness, and cleanliness, so read on to find out the right source of free cardboard boxes for you.

What kind of free moving boxes do you need?

Cardboard boxes are taken for granted now – those convenient and versatile containers are practically everywhere thanks to their unrivaled affordability. With your thoughts focused solely on the fast approaching move, you surely won’t even think about where cardboard boxes came from, who invented them, and why they have become so ubiquitous.

The history of cardboard boxes is truly fascinating! For example, did you know that modern pre-cut boxes of corrugated cardboard were created by accident? In 1890, a paper bag maker from Brooklyn named Robert Gair had a metal ruler malfunction in his factory and was left with more than 20,000 seed bags that had been cut instead of creased. That accident helped him realize that he could produce prefabricated cartons with pre-cut flat pieces that would make great packing boxes.

However, chances are that you won’t have much time for history when there’s a house move in your future.

Read on to learn how to obtain free moving boxes and save a lot of money as a result. Depending on the size of your home, and more precisely on the number and nature of your stuff in it, you will need various quantities of different packing supplies. Naturally, should you choose to purchase them brand new, cardboard boxes will be your biggest expense so it will surely pay off to score free moving boxes.

But here’s the catch: just because you’re not paying for the cardboard moving boxes, it doesn’t mean that you should accept anycontainers that you can get your hands on. The safety of your prized possessions should be your top priority so make sure the boxes you get are:

• 

  You’ll know you’ve found strong cardboard boxes for your move when they survive a 10-minute play with a baby.
  CLEAN. Second-hand cardboard boxes may have been used for storage or transportation of all sorts of things – from fruits and vegetables, through small live animals, to hazardous substances. Minimize any risks or health hazards by inspecting thoroughly the free empty boxes for moving.
• DRY. Wet spots on the cardboard surface can compromise the integrity, strength, and durability of the containers. If you notice any signs of water damage on the boxes, reject them no matter how free they are.
• STRONG. The free packing boxes you will score from the places below should be able to withstand the weight of whatever you pack inside them. Do not risk damaging your household items in order to go as cheaply as possible! Take only sturdy packing containers in good overall condition, preferably with lids.

READ ALSO: 8 tips for moving on a tight budget

How many free moving boxes do you need?

What an excellent question! The first thing to remember when trying to get moving boxes free of charge is that you will definitely need containers of different sizes to cover all your self-packing needs. So, diversity of cardboard boxes does matter. The second thing to remember before you have undertaken the most time-consuming task in your personal moving calendar is that

• small packing boxes are good for holding heavy stuff, like your books, for example, and also your extra fragile items;
• medium cardboard boxes are ideal for clothes, shoes, kitchenware, and electronic equipment; while
• large moving boxes, contrary to popular belief, are designed for bulky yet lightweight household items such as bed linen, curtains, coverings, and so on.

Of course, you will most likely be wondering how many moving boxes you will need for the self-packing job ahead of you. Generally speaking, around

• 10 small boxes,
• 8-9 medium-sized containers, and
• 6 large cardboard boxes

should be enough to fit the content of an average room. Use these values only as reference as you won’t really know the precise number of packing boxes you need unless you take advantage of modern technology.

MoveAdvisor is a cutting-edge mobile app for Android-running devices and iPhones that, among a score of other essential functions designed to facilitate your move, will help you calculate the exact number and sizes of the boxes you will need. Simply inventory your entire home through a fun inventory game-like module and the moving app will give you the magic numbers.

GOOD STUFF: How to save money on a long distance move

Where can you get moving boxes for free?

Now that you know what kind of containers you should be looking for your household move, let’s take a closer look at the best places to get free cardboard boxes for moving.

The hunt for free moving boxes is on!

Your circle of friends

Well, your friends do not constitute a place – rather, they can be an excellent source of used moving boxes which, in most cases, will be yours for the asking.

While it’s true that you will definitely know when a close friend or a family member has moved house (you’ll probably be asked to give them a hand anyway), it may be that some of your not-so-close friends or acquaintances have recently relocated to another address and have scores of no longer needful boxes of corrugated cardboard as a result.

Don’t forget to ask your pals if they know anyone who’s just moved house. Most of the cases, those recently moved persons will be happy to get rid of the boxes, for the latter can take up plenty of post-relocation space in their new homes. Also, it’s surely worth attempting to make social networks work for you – a short Facebook or Twitter post like, “I need free moving boxes. H*E*L*P” could end up being unexpectedly beneficial for your wallet.

SEE ALSO: LET FRIENDS HELP YOU MOVE (the ultimate moving game!)

Online: specialized websites

The Internet may not be your very first guess when it comes to places that offer free cardboard moving boxes, but it’s one that you should unquestionably check out before exploring the rest of your options.

• Craigslist is the number one website to search for free moving boxes online. In reality, the great thing about Craigslist is that you get to search for free cardboard boxes near your location so you won’t need to waste time and pay higher transportation costs to reach the pickup location. A great deal of people offer there all types of packing materials after they have moved, so your chances of getting the best deal possible (free of charge!) are really good.
• Freecycle is another well-known website with more than 5,000 groups in the entire world. The concept behind the Freecycle Network is to keep still usable and practical items out of garbage dumps. Amazingly, the non-profit network has more than 9 million registered users worldwide! Freecycle membership is free of charge and all items are posted for free, but the best part is that anything posted on the website costs exactly ZERO dollars. All in all, Freecycle is a modern way to get local free moving boxes, or anything else you might need. Do a simple search and see what you’ll have to work with.

Retail stores and businesses

Yes, many retail stores have more used cardboard boxes than they could ever need. Get the hint?

Below you will see a complete list of places to find free moving boxes for your next move. But before that, there are just a few essential things you should be aware of before you undertake that unavoidable hunt for free moving boxes in your neighborhood, or even entire city.

Big retail stores deal with cardboard boxes on a daily basis as they get the scheduled shipments of goods delivered to their businesses. The bigger the store, the bigger the quantity of cardboard containers they will have. Such businesses are required by law to dispose of all those boxes of corrugated cardboard in an environmentally friendly way. In other words, they are expected to break down the containers and throw them for recycling at designated places. So, anyone who will save them time and efforts by taking the boxes they no longer need is usually welcome.

Mark down a few big stores in your vicinity and speak with their managers about the possibility of collecting free moving boxes at a time that is convenient for them. You’ve got nothing to lose as the worst that can happen is to get a polite refusal or two. What do you do then? You wish them a nice day and move on to the next local business. Simple as that.

SUPER USEFUL: Packing timeline: what to pack when and how and where and why

Top places to get free moving boxes

• Supermarkets. This is your best bet as large grocery stores receive substantial shipments of articles on a regular basis, sometimes daily. Timing is important – ask the managers of a few retail stores what time they get their deliveries and be there shortly before they have gotten the chance to throw them away.
• Shopping malls. Huge shopping centers can house hundreds of individual stores, mostly for clothes, shoes, and children toys. Keep in mind that shoe boxes are especially sturdy and can be ideal for storing smaller items. Also, the containers from children toys come in all shapes and sizes – exactly what you’re looking for. It’s a good idea to have a quick look in the area behind the malls where they should keep special waste bins for recycling cardboard.
• Home improvement stores. Those superstores overflow with tools, construction products and just about any items for the home you can think of. And yes, many of those articles found in such stores have been delivered in … cardboard boxes of various sizes.
• Home electronics stores. That is where you should be able to find cardboard boxes that are big and clean enough to serve your immediate packing needs. The good news with scoring large-sized moving boxes for free is that even if you end up not using some of them as packing containers, you may as well cut them up and use the large pieces of thick cardboard to protect your home on Moving day.
• Bookstores. Bookstores are the ideal places to find free moving boxes that are stronger than what you’ll normally find in other stores. As you know, books are heavy so they are transported in cardboard containers with thicker walls for extra protection.
• Local produce stores. Keep an eye out for banana boxes because they are smaller in size but are extremely convenient to carry around so you can surely put them to good use. Moreover, if you’re very lucky, you might even score plastic crates for fruits and vegetables – the ultimate moving container that can serve long after you’ve arrived in your new residence.
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  Free cardboard boxes for moving just waiting to be picked? Become the Cardboard Master you’ve always wanted to be.
  Liquor stores. Visit local liquor stores and bars and see if they can offer you special strong boxes that have been designed to accommodate the weight of glass bottles and their content. Some of the liquor boxes which you can get free of charge will not have lids – minor inconvenience which you might be willing to discard thanks to the unbeatable price.
• Copy centers. Copy centers are the places where you can find copier paper boxes. Uniform in size and strong enough for most of your packing needs, those containers have convenient lids and sometimes even handles for easier transportation. And because of the uniformed size, stacking copier paper boxes in the back of moving truck is a piece of cake.
• Recycling centers. It’s no secret that many cardboard boxes end their life journeys at recycling centers. If you haven’t had much luck getting free moving boxes from any of places mentioned above, why don’t you pay a visit to a nearby recycling center and see what they got to offer? A word of advice: be very cautious when considering boxes straight out of recycling stations – inspect them closely for signs of damage and possible infestations too.

BONUS ADVICE: Where to buy cheap moving boxes?

To hunt down and find free cardboard boxes for moving will be a great option when it comes to reducing your moving costs and aiding your moving budget at the same time. The real problem here is time – a luxurious commodity you may not have in sufficient quantity prior to the move. Another possible issue with collecting free cardboard boxes is the understandable lack of energy to speak with store managers and negotiate the terms of the deals.

In other words, getting free packing boxes will only work for you if you can spare the time required to get your hands on those cardboard containers without actually paying for them. The good news is that time is something you can learn to manage throughout your household move without having to have an honorary degree in Time Management.

But how? How can you possibly control the time you have until the date of the residential move? Regardless of whether you’re moving across the country to San Antonio, San Jose, or Charlotte, you’ll always have enough time to get 100% ready as long as you follow a high-quality home moving checklist – the only proven way to take full advantage of every hour of every day until it’s time to move out.

So, where can you buy packing boxes cheaply? In such cases, your best bet is to contact a few local movers and get accurate quotes for the services of packing – often, the price of the required packing materials, including all the moving containers, will be included in the quoted cost.