Free Moving Boxes are Not Always your Best Option

Posted on 28/04/2015

We all know that moving house costs a bomb, and you will be shelling out hard earned cash all over the place, just to make your life that little bit easier during a really stressful time, and will be desperate to cut costs in every way that you can, but often spending that little bit extra can be the difference between disaster and success, as well as safeguarding against losing a whole lot more than you could ever save! There are so many ways in which to save money when you are moving that we must encourage you not to skimp on your packaging costs, as free moving boxes are not always your best option.

Firstly, consider logistics. Are you aiming to get your packaging from your removal company, or will you be saving a few pennies by getting some free ones on the internet? If you go down the new box route, and get them delivered by your removals company, then you will be saving a lot of time and will not even have to leave your home! Make sure that your expenditure saving of approximately two pounds per box is not over shadowed by the cost of driving to where ever your ‘free’ boxes need to be picked up from. While you may work out that it is indeed cheaper to drive out to pick up some second hand boxes for free, you have to keep in mind the cost of security. You know for certain that the boxes delivered by the moving company will be brand new, and of the highest quality for the job in hand. After all, they have been recommended by professionals! Work out whether the expense and effort of traveling all the way to pick up the free boxes combined with not knowing the true condition of them is worth the saving and you may change your mind…

If you are still convinced that the few pounds that you may save by getting free boxes is worth it, then consider the risks that you are putting yourself in front of. Your home is full of your most treasured possessions, and these boxes will be holding them as they are transported between houses. The integrity of these boxes is key to the survival of your valuable items. If a box has been crushed before hand, then it will have lost most of its structure in the process, and will be useless if something relatively heavy falls on it during transit. Also consider that while your removals company will be well trained in carrying these types of boxes, there is no guarantee that even the most seasoned handler will be prepared to deal with a box whose bottom opens up and drops the entire contents. If a box has been taped up a couple of times then the areas in which they have been taped and undone will become weak, which puts your treasured items in jeopardy no matter who is carrying them! Misshapen boxes will not stack as well as perfectly square new boxes, which can mean serious problems if you have limited space in a van, and they all fall over, crushing both themselves and other objects in transit.

So you see, there are many pitfalls to using free moving boxes, and they should often be avoided, as the expense of new boxes more often outweigh the issues than not. That said, always make sure that your new boxes are recycled and come from a sustainable source, and that you only buy as many as you truly need.