sheryl Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 (edited) Home Buying Q 1: decorating/painting, etc to sell a home. Home Buying Q 2: ranch vs. 2 story home...wwy say? Home Buying Q 3: older home vs. newer home....wwy say? Home Buying Q 4: bedroom floors ~ expose wood OR recarpet....wwy say? HB Q 5: Moving boxes ~ new: higher $ OR pre-owned: free? HOW to store furniture? This is such a silly question (or is it....:D). Question 1: buy new moving boxes or use free, pre-owned? Question 2: how do you actually "store" your furniture? BOXES: To save money I'm searching for free boxes on Craigslist. These would be free boxes, but more than likely used by one or more previous families in their moves. This grosses me out a little thinking what could they have stored in the boxes....what did they put in there to move? Was it clean? Was it ?????? We could buy new boxes directly from u-haul or such a place, but the price will sky rocket. But, they would be new and unused. My dh can bring home certain boxes every now and then, but they will be few and far between and only a certain size/dimension...still it's better than nothing. STORING FURNITURE: We will store some smaller items in transparent boxes, cardboard/moving boxes (hoping no water damage and/or bug problems, such as: cockroaches, spiders and termites) and for larger furniture pieces.......what is the best technique for storing wooden tables, upholstered furniture, etc? Is it best to use huge sheets? Maybe buy the cheapest fabric at Walmart and cover the furniture and bind with tape? Is there another way? Thanks y'all in advance for your suggestions. Sheryl <>< Edited January 22, 2011 by sheryl Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newbie Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 I like new and unused. You can order online cheap. Store furn. w/friend w/garage or storage facility. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brenda in FL Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 We used new boxes - but we saved them and used them for our second move and even now - we saved most of them to use ourselves in the future (since we are renting - I'm quite confident we will need them again!) Using new boxes from the same source also help for stacking. And may I suggest finding the smaller 12' cube book boxes? The small 1.5 cubic foot box gets too heavy when filled with books!! (This was a cost that was definitely worth it for the second move!) We bought plastic mattress bags for our matresses and left the box springs plain - they did get dirty though. Covering your upholstered furniture while in storage may be a good idea - our stuff did get dusty. We took the legs off tables and wrapped the tops with old blankets so they did not get scratched up. We also bought a huge roll of plastic wrap that was helpful for things like wrapping things with doors/drawers so they wouldn't open, wrapping the table legs together (after protecting them with sheets), wrapping containers that did not have lids before boxing them - toy tubs, silverware trays, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris in VA Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 Be careful with old boxes--roach eggs survive a long, long time...ask me how I know. :tongue_smilie: New boxes stack easily, aren't truly that expensive, and are nice and sturdy. Also consider packing things in space bags (for comforters and pillows, not fine linens) or plastic tubs (toys, decorations). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LidiyaDawn Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 Be careful with old boxes--roach eggs survive a long, long time...ask me how I know. :tongue_smilie: New boxes stack easily, aren't truly that expensive, and are nice and sturdy. Also consider packing things in space bags (for comforters and pillows, not fine linens) or plastic tubs (toys, decorations). and BEDBUGS are often spread via cardboard boxes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alyeska Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 Home Depot here sells really good moving boxes for super cheap. I assume all Home Depots would sell them...? The large boxes are 1.37, medium .97, and small .67. It makes buying all new boxes do-able. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheryl Posted January 22, 2011 Author Share Posted January 22, 2011 Home Depot here sells really good moving boxes for super cheap. I assume all Home Depots would sell them...? The large boxes are 1.37, medium .97, and small .67. It makes buying all new boxes do-able. GREAT....thanks for that tip. I didn't even think that HD or Lowe's sold them, but it makes sense they do. and BEDBUGS are often spread via cardboard boxes. Right, that's my concern and reason for posting. New boxes, even though at a higher price, seems like the best route to go. And, Alyeska says to try HD/Lowe's which is a great resource tip. Be careful with old boxes--roach eggs survive a long, long time...ask me how I know. :tongue_smilie: New boxes stack easily, aren't truly that expensive, and are nice and sturdy. Also consider packing things in space bags (for comforters and pillows, not fine linens) or plastic tubs (toys, decorations). Oh dear, that's exactly what I'm trying to avoid. We live in the se where there are bugs and I don't want to make it any easier for them to "rehome" with us...:lol: We used new boxes - but we saved them and used them for our second move and even now - we saved most of them to use ourselves in the future (since we are renting - I'm quite confident we will need them again!) Using new boxes from the same source also help for stacking. And may I suggest finding the smaller 12' cube book boxes? The small 1.5 cubic foot box gets too heavy when filled with books!! (This was a cost that was definitely worth it for the second move!) We bought plastic mattress bags for our matresses and left the box springs plain - they did get dirty though. Covering your upholstered furniture while in storage may be a good idea - our stuff did get dusty. We took the legs off tables and wrapped the tops with old blankets so they did not get scratched up. We also bought a huge roll of plastic wrap that was helpful for things like wrapping things with doors/drawers so they wouldn't open, wrapping the table legs together (after protecting them with sheets), wrapping containers that did not have lids before boxing them - toy tubs, silverware trays, etc. That's what I was thinking. Use old sheets or blankets and wrap up furniture with them and secure with that scretch tape. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 Depending on where you are & how far you are moving, there are options like this: http://www.movingboxesmadegreen.com/ (If you are interested in finding more companies/locations that do this type of thing, you can google 'environmental moving boxes'.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suzanne in ABQ Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 Home Buying Q 1: decorating/painting, etc to sell a home.Home Buying Q 2: ranch vs. 2 story home...wwy say? Home Buying Q 3: older home vs. newer home....wwy say? Home Buying Q 4: bedroom floors ~ expose wood OR recarpet....wwy say? HB Q 5: Moving boxes ~ new: higher $ OR pre-owned: free? HOW to store furniture? This is such a silly question (or is it....:D). Question 1: buy new moving boxes or use free, pre-owned? Question 2: how do you actually "store" your furniture? BOXES: To save money I'm searching for free boxes on Craigslist. These would be free boxes, but more than likely used by one or more previous families in their moves. This grosses me out a little thinking what could they have stored in the boxes....what did they put in there to move? Was it clean? Was it ?????? We could buy new boxes directly from u-haul or such a place, but the price will sky rocket. But, they would be new and unused. My dh can bring home certain boxes every now and then, but they will be few and far between and only a certain size/dimension...still it's better than nothing. STORING FURNITURE: We will store some smaller items in transparent boxes, cardboard/moving boxes (hoping no water damage and/or bug problems, such as: cockroaches, spiders and termites) and for larger furniture pieces.......what is the best technique for storing wooden tables, upholstered furniture, etc? Is it best to use huge sheets? Maybe buy the cheapest fabric at Walmart and cover the furniture and bind with tape? Is there another way? Thanks y'all in advance for your suggestions. Sheryl <>< Well, if you can get boxes that have only been used once, quite recently, they would be okay. We were in the military and always had new boxes, but I always sold them within a month of our move, and all our items were wrapped in clean paper (which I also sold), so I'm totally comfortable that those boxes and paper were clean for the next user. If you have a military base nearby, I wouldn't hesitate to get boxes from them (provided they had done a door-to-door move and their stuff wasn't in storage at all). As for your furniture, cover the wood pieces with blankets or sheets. Cover upholstered furniture with shrink wrap. You can probably buy rolls of it at Home Depot or Lowe's. You just go around and around and around the furniture until it is all sealed up. Don't forget to wrap around the bottom to keep critters from climbing up inside. You'll need a partner for this -- one to hold the sofa/chair up on its side while the other walks around and around with the roll of shrink wrap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheryl Posted January 22, 2011 Author Share Posted January 22, 2011 Depending on where you are & how far you are moving, there are options like this: http://www.movingboxesmadegreen.com/ (If you are interested in finding more companies/locations that do this type of thing, you can google 'environmental moving boxes'.) THanks, Stacia! Well, if you can get boxes that have only been used once, quite recently, they would be okay. We were in the military and always had new boxes, but I always sold them within a month of our move, and all our items were wrapped in clean paper (which I also sold), so I'm totally comfortable that those boxes and paper were clean for the next user. If you have a military base nearby, I wouldn't hesitate to get boxes from them (provided they had done a door-to-door move and their stuff wasn't in storage at all). As for your furniture, cover the wood pieces with blankets or sheets. Cover upholstered furniture with shrink wrap. You can probably buy rolls of it at Home Depot or Lowe's. You just go around and around and around the furniture until it is all sealed up. Don't forget to wrap around the bottom to keep critters from climbing up inside. You'll need a partner for this -- one to hold the sofa/chair up on its side while the other walks around and around with the roll of shrink wrap. Suzanne, Thanks for that. We live in NC and have military bases, but none close to us. I did check out Home Depot, as suggested by a poster on this thread...forget name, and she's right the prices are cheap for new boxes. Wood furniture...I'll see if we can remove legs first and "stack" pieces flat. That will store better. But, I'm not sure if we can do this. The upholstered pieces.....big rolls of shrink wrap? I'm searching for it now. THANKS!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Veritaserum Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 (edited) We bought moving boxes from Home Depot. Uniform sizing, clean interiors, and instant availability were worth the cost to us. We wrapped blankets and tablecloths around our nice dining table and leather furniture. We used plastic mattress bags for mattresses. We stored furniture and boxes in a storage facility after we sold our old house and the new one wasn't ready yet (construction). Edited January 22, 2011 by Veritaserum Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cjzimmer1 Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 I've only had one major move in my life (from an apartment I live in for a year after we were married to our current house). We didn't need a ton of boxes but we went to book stores and asked them about boxes, also grocery store have boxes (especially in the produce department) that are good for lighter weight things like clothes or bulky things that don't pack together. The biggest source of our boxes came from work. They were upgrading computers that summer and bought 750+ computer, 300+laptops and about 50 laser printers. I didn't take them all but we had so many I threw many away unused. Is there any larger business you could contact if they are upgrading computer and willing to give you boxes? Otherwise what about a place like Walmart/Target? Or maybe just a mom and pop store? Since these places often have to pay someone to take their stuff away many are happy to have you take it for free. All that inventory has to arrive in boxes, I think if you ask around you could find lots of clean boxes. Also don't forget to ask friends and family to save them for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.