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Highlights
- The home moving process is an expensive affair so you should use every chance you get to lower your packing costs and moving expenses.
- Getting moving boxes for free is an excellent way to reduce your overall packing costs because cardboard boxes often prove to be the biggest expense when packing for a move.
- There are many good places to find free moving boxes: from friends who have recently moved house to local retail stores and recycling centers.
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 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 help out your moving budget.
Where are the best places to get free moving boxes?
The top places to find free moving boxes near you offer slightly different cardboard boxes in size, sturdiness, and cleanliness. So, read on to find out the right source of free packing boxes near you.
Where to get free moving boxes
Now, let’s take a closer look at the best places to get free cardboard boxes for moving.
Your friends
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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), some of your not-so-close friends or acquaintances may have recently relocated to another address and as a result, they may have scores of no longer needed boxes of corrugated cardboard.
Don’t forget to ask your pals if they know anyone who’s just moved house. In most cases, those recently moved persons will be happy to get rid of the boxes they don’t need, for those containers can take up plenty of storage space in their new homes.
Also, it’s surely worth attempting to make social networks work for you. How? A short Facebook or Twitter post like, I need free moving boxes. HELP! can end up being unexpectedly beneficial for your wallet.
SEE ALSO: LET FRIENDS HELP YOU MOVE
Online: specialized websites
The Internet may not be your very first guess when it comes to places that offer used moving boxes for free. However, you should unquestionably check out these two online sources of free boxes 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 you so you won’t need to waste time and pay higher transportation costs to get to the pickup location.
Plenty of people offer on Craigslist 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 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 free moving boxes near you, or anything else you might need. Do a simple search and see for yourself.
Local retail stores
![Cheap or free moving boxes?](https://www.mymovingreviews.com/move/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/used-cardboard-boxes.jpg)
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 brave hunt for free moving boxes within your neighborhood, or even around the 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 number 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 have to break down the containers and throw them for recycling at designated places. So, anyone who will save them time and effort by taking the cardboard 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.
Ultimately, 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
it is a nice article but i am wondering how about plastic moving boxes – where can i find information about them?
Making a moving sale is an interesting idea – I am planning to move this summer and I will certainly use these tips! Thanks. Jeremy
Great! When I come to think of it, my aunt and uncle recently moved – I can surely ask them if they still keep their boxes!
I had never thought about facebook but it really works – funny as it may sound. I did post your article on my wall and one of my friends I am not keeping in touch with wrote me to tell me he has some boxes he is not using so I just had to drive by after work and pick them up. He got some extra empty space at his attic and I got some free boxes – isn’t that awesome!
Thanks for the free tips! I’m gonna use those for sure! M. Aiden
I didn’t know there could be so many ways to supply myself with boxes for my moving!
You can check them online too. Make sure you do get those with high quality. So that you can use them in the future. Thanks for the ideas you shared too.
Moving is one of the most stressful things in life and not having the right equipment/ people to help is a mistake. Planning, planning, planning.
Craigslist. Works every time. Not only have I gotten boxes from Craigslist, but when I was done with them, I passed them on to yet another craigslister!! Happy moving!!
Never thought of a liquor store for boxes. There is a third option for moving boxes. In Portland, Oregon you can rent moving boxes from a company called AlienBox. Cheaper then driving all over town to buy boxes, assemble them and then break them back down to recycle.
You can go to a local Dick’s Sporting Goods Store or Walmart. They are always receiving trucks into their warehouses and stores and should always have cardboard boxes available for free if you just ask a manager.
The idiot at my supermarket's service desk snidely informed me at lunchtime today that they don't save boxes for people. Sure enough, a whole pallet of them broken down behind the store. What a waste, and what horrible customer service skills. Taking my shopping dollars (and maybe finding boxes) elsewhere
Thank you so much for this post! I learn a lot from here on where I could get free boxes,like asking your friends and family if they have used boxes, or check supermarket for used boxes.
I found out that there are some companies who sell brand new boxes and used boxes. They will buy back your boxes as soon as your done using it!
Just remember that boxes don’t hold up well with damp, and they are easily crushed when stacked. If it’s a treasured family possession I would always used a plastic storage crate because it’s made for the job.
Moving is very hard and stressful to do on your own, sometimes a bit of money is well spent if you manage to get all your belongings moved undamaged!
I would always recommend using plastic removal crates when you are transporting your valuable items though. They aren’t going to crush when stacked and aren’t affected my moisture etc.
Have you heard of BoxGiver? I know people donate their moving boxes on there. Hope this helps!
I moved states recently and got a ton of free moving boxes on BoxGiver.