Free Packing Materials for Moving: Use What's in Your Home

Throughout my life, I've moved every three years. Two of which were overseas, while the others were in the United States. I didn't realize how much time and money was put into the effort when my father was in the Army, since we used moving companies.

Now, I do the work myself and know how expensive and difficult moving is. Our last move from Chicago, Illinois to Annandale, Virginia proved to be another heavy-duty, work load.

As the expenses increased, we were able to save in some areas, such as packing materials. Instead of using the traditional bubble wrap and packing paper, we used items we already owned. We did not have a single broken item when we arrived in Annandale.

Christmas Wrapping

Every year, I have Christmas wrap left over from the year before. This may be a staple in your home, also. Instead of throwing it away, or boxing it for the move, wrap glasses, plates, bowls and glass lids with it. It is easy to work with because it is not too stiff, but still sturdy enough to protect your belongings.

Newspaper

I purchased $12 worth of newspapers to stuff and wrap other glass items. Newspaper works as well as Christmas wrap, but I don't care for it as much. The ink rubs off, so be sure not to add anything to the box that the ink will ruin.

Sheets, blankets, towels

So that I wouldn't have to wash all the blankets, sheets and towels after our arrival, I used these packing materials in large plastic bins. These items served for layering picture frames and original pieces of art work. Blankets, sheets and towels are also great tools to wrap large, glass dishes like serving dishes. In our case, I wanted to protect my dishes that we purchased years ago in Japan.

We used extra blankets around the head-board and dressers to keep it from being scratched, also.

Stuffed animals

Although our children cleaned out their toy boxes, we did save several stuffed animals. Instead of using crumpled paper as filling, use the stuffed animals, if you have some in your home. We placed large pieces of artwork in boxes, and surrounded it with stuffed animals to minimize shifting.

Pillows

Our pillows protected our heavier, more expensive pieces such as our computer monitor and television. My husband taped the pillows around it, and strategically placed the monitor and TV in the moving truck. There was little movement since the the pillows acted as barriers.

Clothing

My husband has a lot of T-shirts, and I used many of these to pack any extra glass items that were left.