When preparing for a move, the list of things to get done can be overwhelming. One of the most important tasks to complete is buying the right supplies for your move. Today, I’ll break down the best places to find all the different supplies you’ll need to pack your home and the pros and cons of different suppliers, so you will feel prepared for your move.
Packing Supply and Box Calculators
Moving.com is a great place to start for everything moving related. This website has many tools you can use to start outlining what you will need for your move – a Moving Cost Calculator, a Packing Supply Calculator, and a Move Planner. Websites for UHaul and Home Depot provide supply calculators so that you can have the best idea of what supplies are needed. Utilizing these resources can show you exactly the amount and the cost of the supplies you need for your specific move.
Best Places to Buy Moving Supplies
Once you have an idea of the amount of supplies you will need to purchase, I recommend buying moving supplies from UHaul. UHaul will give you a great picture of everything you will need with a great selection of supplies, and they even ship to your house for free! Amazon and Home Depot are great choices, too.
If you’re looking for a green option where you can recycle and reuse supplies, I recommend joining Facebook groups, such as “Buy, Sell, Trade” or “Buy Nothing” groups for your area, using your social media to reach out to family and friends, or checking Craigslist for used supplies. However, I do not recommend reusing boxes after the third move, as they begin to deteriorate and become less reliable for moving your items.
Additional Moving Supply Tips:
Here is some more miscellaneous advice I have in terms of moving supplies:
- UHaul and Amazon sell packing paper in a better size and quantity than places like Home Depot.
- UHaul has wine shippers, and Amazon has mesh sleeves for wine and spirit bottles that will protect the bottles while they are being shipped.
- Buy brown paper pads from UHaul to use to wrap art and oversized items, like lamps and tall candle holders.
- You can buy boxes tailored to fit all your items – lamps, golf clubs, TVs, etc.
- I advise to not save Amazon boxes or other random boxes to use for your move – it takes movers longer to load these boxes into the truck because they are not uniform, costing you more money rather than saving it.
Happy moving, friends!
