Whether you are going to be moving across town or across the United States, you have to be careful about how you pack your possessions. Making arrangements for the right movers for your items to be moved affordably and efficiently is one thing while making sure that they are packed properly is another. For the most part, movers will not pack your stuff for you. It is your responsibility to make sure that your stuff is packed properly. Many people think that if you are going to be moving and packing, you have to use all-new packing materials. This can get quite pricey. You can definitely go this route but be prepared to spend some serious dollars. If you are like most people during these tough economic times, you are probably thinking of ways to save money on almost everything-and this includes packing materials. Here are some simple tips on saving money in packing materials for your move.
Recycle past packing materials
If you moved before and kept some of the packing materials and boxes from that move at your attic or basement, now is the time to take them out. If you have thrown your packing materials away, ask your friends and family who may have recently moved or may have stored their stuff. It makes a lot of sense to recycle past packing materials. Boxes are the most common items you can recycle. If you can get plastic sheeting, these are very helpful as well. The best packing materials to recycle, if you can get a hold of them, are foam peanuts. These are the foam particles that are usually packed into boxes with fragile items. They take up a lot of space and provide a very flexible cushioning for whatever item that is moved. Another reason to recycle is because they can be environmentally-sensitive so you are actually doing the environment a favor by recycling these materials. Recycling, in general, is environmentally-responsible, but you will be doing a greater service when you recycle plastics, foam and other synthetic packing materials.
Use newspapers
Newspapers are quite indispensable when it comes to moving. The great thing about them is that they can be crumpled and that they can act like plastic packing materials. For instance, if you are moving glasses, you can crumple some newspapers, stuff them into the glass and then crumple some all around the glass pieces so they don’t move around. They are very flexible and very cheap. Another great thing about them is that they are easy to recycle, and they can be found almost everywhere. Use old newspapers to save money on packing materials. They are great substitutes for most packing items. Of course, they are not as efficient as foam peanuts or molded foam packing materials, but they can be compressed more to achieve the proper padding for the item you are moving.
Pack fragile items with towels
You can save quite a bit of money by using your household cloth items efficiently. Take the case of towels. They take up a lot of space but are also very soft. It might be a really good idea to wrap fragile items with them. They act as a cushion that absorbs the shock. For example, if you are going to be moving your sensitive computer equipment and want to save on packing materials, you might want to wrap it around with towels. They are also a great lining for moving boxes to absorb the external shock so that the items inside don’t move around as much or bump into each other. Of course, you have to organize towels properly because you will need the right size to match the items you are wrapping them with. You wouldn’t want it when you use a really big towel when it becomes really bulky, and you will have a tough time closing the box that you are packing.
Wrap clothes in plastic and use as padding
If you run out of towels or simply like the idea of using cloth items to pad sensitive equipment and other possessions, you might want to use your clothes as packing materials. This may sound crazy but it makes a lot of sense. The great thing about packing with clothes especially shirts and pants is that they can be rolled up, wrapped around items and that they are very flexible and versatile. If you want to preserve your clothes while at the same time use them for padding, you should wrap them in plastic. Again, don’t use new plastics because that will defeat the purpose of recycling packing materials. Instead, use grocery bags, tape them shut and mold them to fit in a corner and wrap them around the insides of the box. Use your creativity as to where you can use rolled-up clothing. They can really help you save a lot of money and at the same time, they can insulate the packing boxes from the shock of the trip.
Recycle grocery bags
In addition to keeping your clothing clean as mentioned above, you can also use grocery bags to pack loose items that you plan to move. If you have a lot of pens, pencils, kids toys and anything that is loose, you can use recycled grocery bags to hold them together. It also makes sense to recycle rubber bands or pieces of twine to hold things together while you wrap them in recycled grocery bags Follow the tips above to save a pretty penny on packing materials for your move. If you are looking for a great mover in the New York area, you should contact Empire Mover today and save time, effort, money and headaches. They have the experience and the customer-service focus to do your move professionally.
