Moving – DIY or Moving Boxes

So you are moving to a new home. Congratulations! Moving is a huge event in a person’s life, whether it is a move to a dorm for university, a move to a new apartment, or a move to a first house. No matter where you are moving to, you’re going to have a lot of important items that go with you. The next question is do you pack your items up in boxes you collect from your basement and grocery stores, or do you invest in moving boxes? There are a few questions you need to ask yourself when making this decision.

How much time do you want to save? Investing in moving boxes will save you significant amounts of time. Why is this? Because you don’t have to call multiple stores and make multiple trips to find all of the boxes you’re going to need. It is unlikely that a single store will have enough boxes to allow you to move. By using professional moving boxes, you can take inventory of how many boxes you will need, order them online, and wait for them to arrive.

How much money do you want to save? There is simply no denying that using boxes from local stores is going to be cheaper than shopping for boxes online. If you are on a tight budget when it comes to your move, browsing for free box options is likely the way to go. There are ways to keep the costs down, though, when it comes to moving boxes. If you have some time before your move you can keep an eye out for sales to make buying boxes more affordable. Something else to keep in mind is that you can find economy moving boxes and deluxe moving boxes, so shopping wisely may keep moving boxes in your budget.

Are you worried about keeping fragile items safe? There are many types of moving boxes on the market. Many of these boxes have been designed specifically to keep fragile items safe while in transit. For example, dish pack boxes are made to safely transport your dishes from point A to point B. A standard box you get from a store is not made to keep fragile items safe and will require extra padding and void fill.

How secure are you in the structure of DIY boxes? The strength of boxes will greatly differ depending on where you get the boxes from. A box from a grocery store may hold cans, or may hold lettuce. Obviously this disparity can make a big difference. If you’re trying to pack your books in a box that holds boxes of cereal, that box may not stand up to the abuse of heavy items such as books. If you shop for professional boxes you can select specific strengths of boxes that you need. If you choose to go with DIY boxes, make sure you test the strength of the box. You don’t want to pack a box full of dishes only to have it break under the weight and destroy all your dishes.

Whether you go with professional moving boxes or DIY boxes is completely up to you. We hope these questions will help you decide what types of boxes are right for you and your move. 

Packing Fragile Items

It’s nearing the end of the month, meaning many young adults are heading off to college. Packing up your life and moving to a new place is very daunting, no matter who you are, and this is particularly true when one has a lot of fragile items to transport. Having corrugated boxes isn’t enough. You need to have a strategy to pack your breakable items so they stay intact throughout a trip. If you find yourself at a loss, don’t worry. We have some great tips that will make this process much easier on you.

The item people probably think of first when it comes to protecting breakables is bubble products. Bubble

products have been used for decades as excellent padding to keep items safe. You can use bubble products in many ways to keep your items safe. Use bubble wrap to pad your items and pack them into a corrugated box. This is a simple but effective strategy. Something many people don’t realize, however, is that you can purchase more than just bubble wrap. You can also purchase items such as bubble pouches. These pre-made pouches allow you to simply insert items, no wrapping or cutting required! There are advantages and disadvantages to both options, so it is important to find the method that works best for your needs.

Another great item you can use to protect items is foam products. You can use foam in multiple ways. First, you can use it to actually wrap up your items. You can also use it as a cushioning layer between items. This is very effective with dishes. Foam is very lightweight and won’t scratch up your items when you use it. This makes it a good option for your valuables.

Newsprint is a great economic option for packing and moving fragile items. You can use it to wrap and pack multiple items into one box! You can use it to pack around any shape of item, whether it is something as standard as a plate or a more complicated household decoration. Newsprint isn’t only good for wrapping items. It also makes great void fill. Use it to stuff between objects in a corrugated box to stop the items from moving around and bumping each other.

Speaking of void fill, you may be looking for an item specifically meant to add extra cushioning in a box. Loose fill is the answer to that problem. It acts as a shock absorber for your products and fills in some of the space in boxes to add protection while your items are in transit. There’s a reason people have been using loose fill for so long…it works.

There’s additional ways you can pack fragile items as well. Try wrapping fragile items in towels or clothing. They offer a great deal of protection. Styrofoam is another good option, particularly for larger items. It’s always a good idea to save the box and Styrofoam large electronics came in to safely pack them up again later.

There you have it! Those are our best tips on how to pack up fragile items. We hope that we’ve been of some help to you.

Moving Tips

May is here, and it is a big month for people to move during. Whether you are moving to a house, a new apartment, or have college grads moving, moving is a lot of work and often requires a lot of packing supplies. That’s why we want to offer some of our best tips to make your move as easy as possible.

·         Pack your heavy items in small boxes and your lighter items in large ones. It may be tempting to fit as much as you can into a large box, but you don’t want to make it so heavy that it's impossible to move.

·         If possible, pack electronics in the original box. If not, use bubble wrap to protect them.

·         Tape your boxes closed. During a move, boxes may tip over, someone may drop the box while walking, etc. If the box is taped your possessions will be safer.

·         Use unprinted newsprint instead of newspaper to wrap items. Printed newsprint could stain your items.

·         Pack your boxes by room. It will make the entire experience much more organized.

·         Use wardrobe boxes. These boxes allow you to hang your clothes on hangers inside the box. It will save a lot of time.

·         Always label your boxes so you know what is inside them. If you don’t, you’ll be stuck opening each box to find what you need.

·         Start packing early. It takes much longer than you would expect it to, so start packing the things you don’t use as far in advance as possible.

·         Pack a box of essential items such as a change of clothes, your toothbrush, and other similar items. Have it accessible right when you move in.

·         Pack your items tightly. Do not leave empty space in the boxes. Any item can be damaged. Fill this space with towels or packing paper.

That’s just a few tips for making your next move easier. Looking for moving supplies? ShippingSupply.com has a large selection of items such as boxes, tape, and more that will be a huge help with your new move!