Choosing the right boxes to store your things implies knowing what your priorities are, how much money you are willing to spend and also, being sure of what things you will take with you; if it is better to use new or recycled ones. Find out the pros and cons of reusing moving boxes.
Is it safe to reuse boxes for your move?
Reusing moving boxes can be beneficial for your wallet and for preserving the environment. However, using recycled boxes may cause you some problems. If you use one of those boxes where you received an appliance, it may work for you, but will it really resist the move from one place to another?
There may be times when you find it prudent to reuse one of your boxes. But at other times, it might be better to buy new ones. Fortunately, we have the information you need to make the right decision.
Benefits of using recycled boxes
The main reason many people choose to use recycled boxes is to be able to save a little money, because purchasing packages with packaging material can be quite expensive. Even the option of buying a combo of a few different sized boxes could cost you upwards of $60.
Getting used or free moving boxes is not very difficult; there are some stores with specific spaces, where people usually leave previously used material that you can take to store your belongings, as long as you leave in exchange any other item to pack that you have already taken advantage of. This system is called “take a box, leave a box”.
Another option you might consider to get recycled boxes is to search online at sites such as U-Haul Exchange, Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace. Because many people use these platforms to give away used material or sell it at fairly nominal prices.
Recycling packaging boxes greatly benefits the environment. The United States produced an amount of 67.4 million tons of waste made up of cardboard and paper in 2018 alone. Repurposing moving boxes means a big help in reducing paper scraps.
Inconveniences of using recycled boxes
Of course, using recycled boxes has its risk factor. They might be covered with dirt or even oil stains, because of the time and environment they were stored in, so it is totally understandable that you don’t want to expose your things to such conditions. In addition to this, boxes lose their original strength over the years, and this could lead to them breaking if you store a lot of things in them, resulting in damage to your belongings.
Even if you inspect the boxes for structural or cleanliness issues, reusing them may not be a good idea. It is very likely that they are infested with moths or bedbugs that are not visible to the naked eye. Or in many cases, they may be full of cockroaches that you don’t want to bring into your new home.
Another important point to mention is that when it comes to used boxes, you don’t have the opportunity to select the right sizes for the objects you have at home, because as they say, “you get what you get”. Therefore, it will be more complicated to find boxes that fit some specific items, which will cause a waste of time and, consequently, delays when moving day arrives.
Finally, you will have to do an exhaustive search for boxes that are in the best possible condition; in stores, with friends, at work or through the web. This process will take up a lot of your time, time that you could invest in packing your belongings.
Moving day has arrived
Whether you decide to use recycled boxes or buy new ones, it is important that you do your best to hire a good moving company to move them to your new address. For this you have the support of Nice Guy Movers, an excellent group that not only offers transportation in Orlando, but also packing and boxing services.
