Purchasing packing materials when you move is a big expense. There are packing materials that you will need to purchase, but if you look around your house for a while, most probably you will find many packing materials that you can make use of!
Many of the things you are thinking of throwing out-like those old curtains- will make great packing materials. Why throw out money on packing materials when it’s not necessary?
These are other packing materials that you will need to buy in any case of moving and packing. You will need bubble wrap and some big pieces of plastic or shrink wrap. You will also want to buy mattress bags if you don’t have them. (I’m sure you know what these are! Remember when you got your mattresses they came in big plastic bags?)
By law, all glass in your furniture must be bubble wrapped as a safety precaution. You can save money and do the bubble wrapping yourself! You might want to shrink wrap your sofas or any furniture containing fabric to keep them clean. (This is worthwhile if your belongings will be going into long term storage.)
Remember you will also need lots of masking tape. BuzzMoving recommends using only the plastic masking tape and not the paper since it’s much stronger and won’t tear.
Another consideration is wardrobe boxes. Wardrobe boxes are expensive. They are only necessary if you have clothing that can’t be folded into regular boxes. Since most of our clothing nowadays is permanent press, wardrobe boxes aren’t a good investment.
However, if you do want wardrobe boxes you will be able to find used wardrobe boxes for packing clothes that will be much cheaper then new ones. If you don’t need them, then don’t waste your money!
There are lots of packing materials you already have in the house and may not even realize it! Fabrics such as old curtains, old blankets, towels, linens, sheets, and pillowcases are classic packing materials. You might even use the new ones you have or ones that are in good condition as a packing material. They won't get damaged. Use them to wrap items that you are planning to pack in your moving boxes. One good example is using an old blanket as protection and wrapping a table lamp with it before you box it.
Another great and useful packing material is old newspapers! Save all of your old newspapers since they are a great protective packing material. There is no reason to spend money and buy special paper when you already have lots of old newspapers!
Why is newspaper such a good packing material? Newspapers can be crumpled up and stuffed into anything and anywhere! It's great for easily filling up those empty spaces inboxes. Newspapers are also lightweight so it will not make your moving boxes any heavier.
The most important packing material you will need is cardboard boxes. Except for your large items you will want to be sure to pack everything into moving boxes. There are lots of great places to find used cardboard boxes, in mint condition. They will be great to use as moving boxes and you can always find used boxes for free!