Cheap packing materials for moving house

A question about : Cheap packing materials for moving house

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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Best answers:

• 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.
• 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!
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• We have moved three times in the last four years (not by choice I hasten to add) and have never bought any packing materials.
  We haunted all the supermarkets and grabbed banana boxes and fruit boxes as they were emptied. Banana ones are best as they have lids, but all fruit boxes are reinforced, stack well and have finger holes for lifting.
  The movers don't want to use them as they "think" they have lift and carry more, however, we didn't give them an option and they all admit that, in the end, they are just as good as ones made specially.
  Of course, they aren't deep enough for some items, but are amazing for things like books and are easy to carry about after the move as you unpack.
• Ikea blue bags - they cost 50p each, hold a lot and have long as well as short straps so I use the long straps to close the bag by tieing in a bow, and carry by the short straps. They are very sturdy so fantastic for heavy things, and you can use them endlessly afterwards. I use mine instead of a laundry basket and store my linens in them on the top shelves of a cupboard, easy to get down by tugging at one strap without needing a step stool, also for xmas decorations etc.
  Otherwise freecycle, there are always packing materials being offered, or try places that sell fridges and washing machines like Currys, go round the back and ask for the big boxes before they crush them.
  Wrap delicate things in towels, and use pillowcases for books, you won't need much bubble wrap.
• Pillowcases for books is a fab idea!! Definitely nicking that one!
  When you sort through paperwork save up all your shredding stuff and use it instead of bubble wrap. Can be a bit messy but nothing a hover can't handle, and it's free.
• +1 for supermarket spare fruit & veg bubblewrap - ask at customer services, agree a time to collect & you may walk out with boxes full!
  +1 for freecycle/freegle for those who have just unpacked & are gazing at all that packing stuff in dismay!
  We've used George at Asda boxes - big & husky & banana boxes - big & stackable, but can get heavy.
  Any off-licence spirits boxes - double layer corrugated cardboard & small enough to be still liftable when full of books. (May disconcert new neighbours.)
  My colleagues who run the stationery cupboard have a lovely knack of having a tidy up & ensuring thick felt tips & a couple of rolls of the broad sellotape emerge as "spare", but then they're wonderful supportive folks.
  We bundled bedding sets into one of the pillowcases (& wrote in marker on the pillow washlabel S-ingle, D-ouble or K-ing)
  Do make sure kettle, mugs, teaspoons, sugar, tea, coffee, steriliser & feeds, glasses & at least one bottle of fizz are secured in passenger footwell so you can find them easily. (We keep vinegar, brown sauce, ketchup & a few other condiments in the door pocket so any emergency fish & chip supper has exactly what each individual wants.) Can spanner & corkscrew on most multitools & penknives - check! then tether to handbag or gaffer to steering wheel as taste permits.
  All good luck with the move!
• In my last move I used a removal company that provided boxes - but in previous moves, we used to raid the cardboard recycle bin behind a row of shops, which was always full of neatly folded boxes.
• Used banana boxes from the supermarkets are really strong and can stack. Take 3 boxes and cut one up to make a base for the other 2 as they have a hole in the bottom. These can be better than the plastic boxes you can buy - unless they get wet.
• ooh there are some lovely,useful tips on here - im taking a break from packing the flat up at this very moment!
  I also raid the supermarket for bubble wrap, they usually dont mind as long as the fruit/veg crate it is in is nearly empty. I also use the wine boxes at the checkout for fragile things like picutre frames and ornaments as they are small enough to put in the car.
  I have been lucky enough in the past to bag some cardboard crates on freecycle from a couple who had emigrated from Australia with paper and bubble wrap. I dont think there is any need to pay for packing materials for a house move, everything is out there for free...!
• I got bubble wrap and boxes from Freecycle. I went into local Waterstones for empty book boxes, as the other boxes were very big and too heavy when filled with books.