ArtsAutosBooksBusinessEducationEntertainmentFamilyFashionFoodGamesGenderHealthHolidaysHomeHubPagesPersonal FinancePetsPoliticsReligionSportsTechnologyTravel

Where and How to Get Cheap Moving Boxes

Updated on February 13, 2013
Time for that dreaded move
Time for that dreaded move | Source

As if moving wasn't expensive enough on it's own; now you have to add in the cost of boxes to put your crap in?!


If you have a 1-2 bedroom house, U-Haul has a full kit for you with 15 small boxes, 20 medium boxes, 10 large boxes, 10 extra large boxes for around $130. Seriously, $130 for boxes?! Yes, and this is how many boxes U-Haul recommends for moving a 1-2 bedroom house. Most of us don't want to pay that much for boxes. In fact, paying for moving boxes should be your last resort. You should be able to get the majority of the boxes you need for free. So, how can we find cheap or even free moving boxes?

Ask Local Businesses

Most local businesses just throw out the cardboard boxes that their products or merchandise comes in. Simply go into the store, ask to talk to the manager and let them know what you were hoping to do. The worst thing they can do is tell you no right? If they say yes, ask them to have their employees not throw them out and you will come pick them up at the end of the day, week or whatever agreement you come to.

Ask Your Workplace

Almost anywhere you work, they are going to have some sort of boxes. This is the one of my favorite ideas since the boxes are still in great condition. Make sure you talk to whoever is in charge and clear it with them to take any empty boxes that you find. Then, let your co-workers know that you are gather them up so that they don't throw them away. Each day after work, you should have a stack of boxes to load in your vehicle and bring home with you. Start doing this plenty of time before your move and you will be set.

A perfectly good cardboard box next to the dumpster.
A perfectly good cardboard box next to the dumpster. | Source

Go Dumpster Diving

Okay, so you probably shouldn't go literally diving into dumpsters to save money. But, there are a lot of people who are too lazy to lift things up to put them into a dumpster. I have found many treasures just sitting next to the dumpster. In the months before your move, just keep your to eyes open for cardboard boxes that have been left out by the dumpsters. Find out when trash is usually picked up and go out the night before. This is usually when the dumpsters are overflowing and it is very easy to find things your looking for without have to swim through trash.

Ask Your Friends

If you have a friend who just moved, or is about to move. Ask them if you can have their boxes once they are done with them. Another option is to borrow plastic totes if you know anyone with them. Totes are my favorite moving boxes since you can use them for long term storage or moving. If you borrow plastic totes from someone, it is much easier to return them undamaged than it is for cardboard boxes.

Moving Boxes on Craigslist

This was a posting I found on Craigslist in my area for $100. (These are almost always negotiable)
This was a posting I found on Craigslist in my area for $100. (These are almost always negotiable) | Source

Check Craigslist

If you can not find any or enough boxes for free, your next step is to look on Craigslist, eBay, Amazon or another favorite online bargain store. Sometimes Craigslist will even have boxes listed in their "free" section. People will list things that they want to get rid of and will tell you to come by their house and just pick it up.

working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)