Cheap packing materials for moving house

Former_MSE_Joanne

Moving house isn't just stressful, it's also expensive, with the cost of boxes and other packaging materials fast adding up. We want to tap MoneySavers' collective knowledge on the best ways you've found to keep costs down without moving all of your personal possessions one by one.

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Anja

Check out freecycle. Thats where I got my boxes and wrapping papers. I just needed to buy bubble wrap - on a big roll and marker pens.

laura_hoggle

I work in a hospital, and we get rid of so many cardboard boxes every day. Every time I have moved, I've asked colleagues every time they empty a box to save them for me. It has meant they have had less waste to dispose of, and I have then passed em on through Freecycle or local free sites.

If you know someone who works in a hospital, ask them if they can source some for you!

DaftyDuck

For packing materials, hunt out houses that have just sold, and see if the new arrivals want rid of their used boxes and paper. Not all removals firms want the boxes back, and rarely want the paper. Find a nice, large house, introduce yourself as a keen recycler, and see if they'll be glad to see the back of all that paper and cardboard.

the-st

Free source of loads of bubble wrap is the fruit and veg section of every supermarket. I regularly help myself to lots of sheets of bubble wrap which are going to be thrown out. Apples and pears displays are the best sources.
Makes ideal wrapping for eBay sales as well as packing for house moves.
Supermarkets are happy because you save them from having to dispose of it.

caedle56

I always use spare linen, bedding, towels etc to wrap delicate stuff. Cushions go between big things. I also save newspaper in the months before a move.
Using what is going to be going with you also saves space in the boxes.

comeandgo

I don't think I've ever bought special items for moving. Ask shops for boxes, use newspaper or towels and bedding and I always have markers and tape in drawer.

penguine

If you are using a removals company, see if you can find one that provides the boxes and packing materials free of charge. Ours did, so long as we returned all the boxes within 3 weeks of moving. This made the difference between the two quotes we got from local removals companies. It was impossible for us to work out how much it would cost to move with the company that was going to charge us for boxes because we didn't know exactly how many we would need, and the two quotes were very close anyway so we went with the company that provided boxes.

rosie383

Re-use empty pringles tubes to carry sharp things like knives or even cutlery.
Use empty carrier bags for wrapping items rather than newspaper so you don't have to wash all the newsprint off.
Ask around friends for leftover paper plates or buy a cheap pack from the pound shop to put between actual plates, which again avoids having to wrap them in newspaper.

kazwookie

Go to your nearest retail park and ask clothes shop etc for their empty boxes, tissue paper, bubble wrap, they have loads and are happy to have it taken away as it saves space in the skips.

shamu95

Pop to your local McDonalds and ask for the fry boxes. They hold 15kg and are easy to stack and they have tons of empty ones every day.