Moving Made Easy and Cheap
Moving house can be one of the most stressful things you can do and can also be a financial burden. However, with a little planning, you can reduce your overall costs and make the whole experience much more manageable and something that the whole family can get involved in. The key is to make use of things like secondhand packing cartons, old boxes and sheets. All of which can be reused to help make the move quicker, cheaper and more fun. You can also get the kids to draw onto the boxes to preoccupy them as you pack, making it quicker to offload the boxes into the right rooms and faster to identify which boxes can be used for which rooms if you move in the future.
Save the Trees
Using new single-use boxes is a sure-fire way to damage the environment and pile up your own costs. Consider using second-hand packing cartons. You can either reuse ones that you already have or contact a local company to see whether they have any that you can have. Companies and organisations such as paper merchants, supermarkets and libraries will no doubt get bulk stock delivered in sturdy corrugated boxes. The thickness of the box will enable you to load up larger quantities of items without fear of damage or breaking. Once you've finished with the boxes fold them flat and store them at home, they will take up minimal space and can be reused again.
Don't Throw Away the Broken Things
It's inevitable that some of your boxes will end up breaking. However, they can still be used as part of the move. Strip them down to create cheap walkways through your new home. They can be laid throughout the corridors to enable yourself and the moving company to walk through the house without damaging the flooring or making it dirty. Eliminating the need to remove your shoes will also make moving day a lot faster and more efficient.
Waterproof Your Boxes
Boxes will clearly fall apart if they get wet, and bin liners are usually too thin to be used to cover them. The sharp corners of the boxes will easily tear through the plastic. To prolong the life of your boxes, use garden bags. They are often a lot thicker and are designed not to tear when organic waste like branches and sticks are put inside. They can then be reused to store the flat boxes.
