Sorting your belongings into piles and packaging them up can make you realize that your stuff takes up far more room than you’d anticipated, and the process of getting it all from one place to another can require loads (literally) of boxes. George Carlin famously reduced modern adult living to the quest to find “a place for my stuff,” and there may be no time in life when his words ring truer than when you’re prepping for a move.

Moving is a pricey endeavor as it is, whether you’re hiring a moving company or renting a trailer, but luckily the clever individual can snag armloads of moving boxes in a stress-free manner.

Retail Receiving Rooms

An underutilized source for free moving boxes is the stockroom of your local retail store. Regardless of what sort of products they sell – groceries, books, spy equipment – stores generally receive dozens of boxes full of inventory each day. Though sometimes they reuse these boxes to return unsold merchandise or to mail special orders, oftentimes the receiving crew unceremoniously pitches the boxes straight into the recycling bin. While you could root around in the bins after dark to retrieve the boxes you require, it’s easier and frankly more dignified to call up the store manager and ask for some boxes to be set aside for you.

Of course, the risk with picking up your boxes secondhand is that they may not be in the best condition. Even though you may not expect your belongings to pass through dozens of hands on their way to your new domicile, you still want containers that are sturdy enough to survive their journey, whether you’re moving around the block or around the world. There’s a better way!

Packaging And Shipping Supply Companies

You might think that shipping and packaging supply companies cater only to commercial or industrial clients rather than individuals changing residences, but a high-quality packaging company will be happy to work with you to fulfill an order of any size. Their experience selling large volumes of supplies to industrial organizations generally means their products will be priced far more affordably than the boxes you could acquire at your local retail shipping supply shop.

Another advantage to working with a shipping supplies company is that you’ll be able to pick up additional moving necessities such as tape and shipping labels in one fell swoop.

Moving can be an adventure both exciting and stressful, so although it might seem like a small task, making sure that you’ve got enough boxes in which to pack everything will make you feel more organized and confident that you have the whole process under control.