boxes for packing

Callie22

Archive boxes are great for moving, they're really strong and sturdy and just the right size for packing books without getting too heavy. I wouldn't recommend the cheap ones from Argos but if you get some decent quality ones they'll last for ages, as you can collapse them for easy storage.

MoHunter

Personally I second the lidded banana boxes that you can get free from the supermarket. We moved recently and used them for most of our stuff. The ones from Tesco we found were sturdiest and very well suited for the task. Our only packaging costs went into a few rolls of large heavy duty black bin bags (for clothes/bedding etc), and we also bought a bunch of large Sports Direct carrier bags (again used for clothes and various other items).
Good luck with your move.

Newly_retired

When we moved last year our removals firm supplied all the boxes, in 3 sizes, the smallest for books, largest for bedding. They took away those we emptied but we kept the rest.
Your firm may not supply them free as they are going into storage.
Our firm told us they hate banana boxes as they often have to repack the contents into their own boxes because of the hole in the bottom. It makes them unstable, apart from the risk of things falling through.

Mrs_Soup

Our removal firm supplied as many boxes as we wanted - the only ones they wanted back was the wardrobe ones. They would then call back later and collect any other emptied boxes which apparently they then sell but that was not a requirement- you could keep them forever and some we still have. This was an expensive company though.

googler

Stationery suppliers or cash n carry - get 'document filing boxes'

They usually have double bottoms, as they're designed to take heavy weight paper etc. They have strong lids, so you can stack them. When they're all the same size, it makes it so much easier to pack the removal van.....

They fold flat, so once you're done, you can pack them away for next time, lend them to friends for their removals, etc.

flimf

When we knew we were moving we asked the local shop to save all their boxes for a month, all for free! And then we went to ikea and got 5 of their big blue bags at 45p each to move clothes and sheets/curtains etc

martindow

Try asking on freecycle/ freegle to get boxes from people who have recently moved. As has been said, unless things are very light you don't want anything bigger than 18 inch cube boxes and for heavy items like books 12 inch cubes or possibly 18x12x12.

If you can't scrounge old removals boxes, rather than going around getting boxes from shops which can be very time consuming, it may be worth considering buying boxes from local packaging companies. Get prices from several suppliers as they vary a lot and make sure they are double wall and good quality.

catya_2

I just brought 20XL packing boxes from ebay for £15 it came with bubblewrap and packing tape -brilliant!

egoode

For books I've always found wine boxes to be a good size to stop them getting too heavy. I had an off licence at the end of my street and they had a whole heap of boxes for me to take for my books.

sacha28

We move in 3 weeks and went to our local supermarket and was given 25 boxes free of charge they were even flat packed!

With regards to clothes, we had 4 suitcases and have just borrowed another 2 from a friend which was sufficient.

I read newspapers and have been keeping them the past few weeks instead of putting them out for the recycling and they have been a (free-ish) godsend. We're moving to a place with an open fire too so no need to worry about getting rid of them the other end.

As a nurse I always seem to come home with micropore in my pocket and, whilst clearing out the drawers in our sideboard, found 30 rolls. This stuff is amazing, tho I know not everyone has access to it!!

We have done our packing on a shoe string, the only thing we have really paid for is the newspapers but I buy them anyway!