Boxes are essential moving supplies. However many you think you’ll need, odds are you’ll need more. Knowing where to get moving boxes helps manage your budget, protect your belongings, and helps keep your household organized during the trip to your new home.
Moving Companies
A full service moving company will be able to provide all the boxes you need at an affordable price. Buying boxes from your mover has several advantages, including:
- Convenience. Requesting boxes from your mover saves time and effort. Instead of driving around to different stores or scavenging for boxes online, all the supplies you need are brought right to your door. For a small fee, the movers will even help you pack!
- Durability. Free boxes range in quality. Some are strong, while others fall apart under moderate strain. But boxes supplied by your moving company are guaranteed to be durable enough to secure your belongings over the course of the entire trip.
- Uniformity. Boxes are easier to stack when they’re the same size. They’re also more stable. Free boxes come in a variety of sizes, which makes them harder to load and more likely to shift during transit.
- Customizable. Some items in your home require specialized moving boxes, which in most instances are only available through a moving company. These boxes are designed to protect fragile possessions (e.g. mirrors, televisions) or make it easier to pack cumbersome belongings (e.g. clothes).
Office Supply and Hardware Stores
Any store that sells home and office supplies normally has a wide range of boxes for storage of loose materials. They generally sell a number of different sizes, so you’ll have no trouble finding boxes as large or as small as you need. Larger chains may also sell specialized boxes for your wardrobe, televisions, mirrors, and other items, though they may have to be purchased online rather than at your local store.
Liquor Stores
One of the best places to find free boxes. Liquor stores receive regular shipments of bottles, so they normally have lots of empty boxes lying around. Store owners don’t have any use for them once they’ve been unloaded, so they’re generally happy to let you take as many as you need. Best of all, because they’re designed to handle heavy and often fragile objects, liquor boxes are incredibly durable. Sadly, because liquor bottles aren’t all the same size, liquor boxes aren’t either. Searching for boxes from the same brand or which were built for the same type of alcohol, wine for instance, will help minimize the problem.
Shopping Centers and Grocery Stores
Like liquor stores, retail centers and shopping malls receive shipments nearly every single day, so they have lots of boxes for you to take. Some even have handles built into the sides to make them easy to carry, for the convenience of staff. The only downside is that strength and durability are largely based on what they sell.
Book stores have incredibly strong boxes, but jewelry stores might not. Grocery stores need strong boxes to protect their food, but their boxes sometimes contain moisture or residue from their prior contents. There’s no reason not to reach out to stores in your area, but you’ll have to be a little more selective with what you take.
Amazon Shipments
Moving companies aren’t the only ones who deliver boxes straight to your door. Amazon and its competitors do it everyday at homes throughout the country. Though their size depends on what you order, the boxes themselves are normally quite robust. Storing them in your basement or garage will allow you to accumulate a large supply you can fall back on whenever you run short of other boxes. They might not be suitable for every item in your home, but they’re a great way to pack odds and ends.
Friends and Family
You would be surprised how many people have spare boxes lying around their home. Ask around and you’ll probably find at least a few friends and family members who can spare some. If you know anyone who’s recently moved or will be moving in the near future, ask if you can have their boxes once they’ve finished unpacking. Be careful though. It’s not uncommon for boxes to get damaged during a move. Moving companies have lots of experience loading and unloading, so if your friends hired one, their boxes are probably in good shape.
Apps and Websites
One of the best ways to find free boxes is to log onto sites like Craigslist, Freecycle, Nextdoor, or Facebook Marketplace and either run a search or post an ad. There are a lot of people trying to get rid of unwanted boxes. Often, they just completed a move themselves and would rather give their boxes away rather than send them to a landfill.
Recycling Centers
Recycling centers receive mountains of cardboard boxes every day. Call ahead and ask if you can come down and take a few off their hands. While not every box arrives in superb condition, they get so many that finding good ones isn’t an issue. Most have only been used once. Sizes vary considerably, which is a problem when it comes to stacking, but a benefit if you have especially large or small items you need packed.
Purchase Moving Boxes From North American
North American is a full service moving company, with the resources to help you navigate your move from start to finish. We supply moving boxes of every size and can even provide an estimate on how many you’ll need to safely pack each room in your house. Once boxes have been purchased, our crews are available to help assemble them and package your belongings. They can even assist with the unpacking process, ensuring everything is set up safely in your new home. Make your move as stress-free as possible. Call us today for a free quote!