What to do with the leftover packing materials

So far, you’ve had a chance to hear many times how difficult moving can be. And yes, it can truly be quite difficult sometimes. It is not just about the actual moving day, but everything that precedes it and comes after. That is why one of the keys to a less stressful relocation is good preparation and making a plan in which you will enter the necessary steps related to your move. One of the reasons why such a plan is very important is because it will make the post-moving period easier. Especially when unpacking. However, one question always arises and that is what do with the leftover packing materials. Well, we’ve come up with some interesting ideas, and we invite you to take a look and use whatever you find useful.

Clearing the clutter

Okay, the biggest part of your moving is done. We congratulate you for it. However, before you can really start enjoying the new life in the new house, there are still other things to do. For instance, cleaning the house and clearing up the mess that had accumulated. And it is not hard to imagine the horror scene with the pile of packing materials being scattered all over the place. In a way, this could be some kind of a project for you. How fun, we won’t go into it, but it is certainly something that needs to be done. The good news is that, once you get over with it, you are practically done with everything that needed to be done. And the only thing that’s left is to make yourself a cup of coffee and enjoy the home.

Do not let things pile up

Considering the fact that you still have a lot of work to do, you don’t have that much luxury to neglect to tidy up regularly. So, it is in everybody’s best interest to quickly get over with unpacking so that you could move on to the leftover packing materials. So, work out a strategy which will help you finish all the tasks on time. If you are moving with your family, then everyone should have a task. This will speed up the process a lot.

Find the new purpose of the leftover packing materials

We’ll start with the most obvious one. If we are talking about cardboard boxes, in case they are still in good shape after relocation is over, you can really reuse them for different purposes. Below you’ll find some of the ideas.

Cardboard boxes are good for storing items

If your new house has a basement or an attic, there’s always something to pack and store away. Or if you don’t, but you still want to free up space in the house, a personal self-storage is always a good solution. And, packing items into cardboard boxes is really one of the best ways to organize a storage unit. That way you will keep it neat and you’ll have a better overlook of the space which will help you to easier find what you are looking for. Plus, your belongings will be safer inside the boxes than if being left out of the boxes.

Save them for the next time

You’ll never know when you’ll move out again. So, if you know that will happen in the near future, shorten your time searching for materials for packing. Good, quality packing materials are sometimes hard to find, and it can be really time to consume to obtain all the proper ones, which are in a good condition. Hence, why not use the same boxes again if you’ve preserved them in good condition?

Offer your boxes to other people

If you know someone who is moving out soon or needs additional packing materials for other reasons, this is a great chance to get rid of the boxes you do not need anymore, but that will be of grand help to others. This way, you killed two birds with one stone. So, put an add that you are offering sturdy, quality boxes and be ready to pick up the phone to give more information to those who are calling. You can even put an advertise on the internet and reach a bigger number of people.

Donate boxes

In case you have a lot of leftover packing materials, especially boxes, you could even donate some. Or you could pack certain items in those boxes and take it to some charities where they can decide what to do next with them.

Recycle styrofoam peanuts, bubble wrap and what’s left of packing paper

Wondering how you can reuse the packing paper and torn bubble wrap? Well, you don’t need to. Unless you’re really creative and think about some alternative usages for some DIY project, we suggest you recycle these materials and, in that way, get rid of them. If you’re lucky, you could even earn some extra dollars for the donated materials. On the other hand, the packing paper, and even bubble wrap could be quite handy during remodeling the house or when fixing something. You can use them to cover furniture or to cover floors and prevent damage to the floor.

The same thing goes for styrofoam peanuts. Usually, there’s a lot of styrofoam among leftover packing materials. But this material is very difficult, practically impossible to degrade in soil. So, the best thing would be to offer it to companies which recycle these types of materials. If you throw them somewhere randomly that could cause a lot of damage to the environment in the long run. So, think responsibly.

When you look at the matter a bit closer you will see that it is not too much complicated to handle the pile of leftover packing materials. Hopefully, after reading this article you will also come up with some of your own ideas.