Tips for Using Empty Boxes

Published: March 28, 2019

It’s over.

The long-anticipated move has finally happened. All of your possessions – the ones from your old home and from the storage unit – are reunited in your new residence.

And that means it’s just beginning – the unpacking of numerous boxes filled with clothing, books, kitchenware, gardening equipment and everything else that’s part of your life. Time to dig in.

The sooner boxes are empty and items put away, the sooner life takes on a semblance of normality. You might be living in a new place, but the presence of your personal items lends familiarity and a sense of comfort.

So you unpack. Silverware here, pots there, towels in the linen closet, cleaning supplies under the kitchen sink.

Now, what about all of those empty boxes?

Please do not throw them away. They deserve at least a second use before they wind up in the recycling stream. And there are many who can put those heavy cardboard square right back into action … including you.

Maybe you think your kids will only play video games, but a cardboard fort built from the moving cartons will delight them. Open the ends, put the boxes together, get out the strapping tape. Make tunnels. Stand the boxes up and turn them into a castle. Your kids will enjoy this … for as long as kids enjoy anything (some of that depends on their age, some on their attention span).

There are myriad other uses for your boxes before they go to the curb for pickup by your waste hauler for recycling.

For one, you may need them to store any number of items that don’t quite fit your new digs. The new home features a built-in microwave, but you have a countertop unit that is still serviceable. Box it and put it in the garage. A kid going off to college can use it. Winter clothes (if it’s summer) or summer clothes (if it’s winter) can continue to hang in garment boxers supplied by your mover. Into that spare room they go.

You may well find you have more boxes than you need. No surprise there. Here are a few tips for giving them a new life:

1. Sell them. Local or community message boards, such as NextDoor, often have ads by folks who are moving but without using a moving company. They’re looking for sturdy boxes in good shape. Help them out and make a buck as well. Or give them to a friend who needs them. You might also call a local moving company – it might be glad to take the boxes.
2. Save them. Maybe this move is only temporary for you. You can cut the tape, fold the boxes neatly and stack the boxes. When they’re needed again, just get out the heavy-duty tape and reassemble. And keep the boxes in a dry place so they don’t get moldy and degrade.
3. Recycle. Please don’t put boxes that can be reused in the trash. Waste Management, the giant disposal and recycling company, says about 70 percent of boxes shipped commercially are recovered for recycling, and many of those were made of recycled cardboard. Let’s keep the cardboard out of the landfill!
4. Build the most epic fort ever. If you have small children or just want to feed your inner child, empty cardboard boxes make the best building blocks for forts. Build them in your new living or bedroom, or even in your backyard.

Congratulations on your move. When the last box is broken down and put away, you will know you are done and you are truly home. For more information and tips about reusing cardboard boxes, contact UNITS Moving & Portable Storage today!