Moving tips - some specific questions

[mctlaw]

Hi there, we are preparing for a cross-country move in which we are doing a "partial pack" with our professional movers. Basically, they will pack the fragile stuff and we will pack the rest of the boxables. I know there are some great threads on moving which I will look up, but here are a couple pointed questions for those w/ experience:

1. How do you pack your hanging clothes?
2. Best source for packing boxes?

TIA!

[DietCokeLover]

You can get boxes that have a hanging bar in them that are great for hanging clothes.

Check with your moving company for boxes. Also liquor stores are great.

[pharmjenn]

I don't know if it is the past source, but we found the best price for new boxes was UHaul. You can purchase as many as you want, and then any you don't use, you can return and get a refund.
Also, if you have an active local freecycle, that is a great source for boxes. Our local ones also have offers of moving boxes. Or Craigslist in the free section.

For hanging clothes, most things I folded into boxes or suitcases, but we did have a couple of the hanging cardboard wardrobe boxes. They can fit quite a lot on a hanging metal rod.

[larig]

Costco has some kits. They only had one in stock today, but on line they have bunches, including wardrobe boxes, in which you transport you clothes hanging up inside the box.

http://www.costco.com/Common/Categor...61*&lang=en-US

[saleenl]

We just moved (with a partial pack) and I found that Home Depot had by far the cheapest moving boxes. Also, they have great hours so you can pick them up as needed and not have to store a ton all at once. The small ones were only 74 cents, the mediums $1.14 and the larges $1.38.

They also sell wardrobe boxes (for hanging clothes) for $9.98 which is the cheapest I could find. Their packing paper is ridiculously expensive so we bought ours from the moving company.

Too bad you're not in New England, my living room is currently more than 50% boxes and packing paper!

[alien_host]

If you are using movers to pack the truck, it is best to use standard sized boxes...they stack a lot better. The odd sized boxes you get at the grocery store can be harder to stack and less efficient space-wise in the truck and take longer for the movers to fill the truck w/ misc. sized boxes (and you pay them by the hour).

Home Depot has the "small" - (great for books) boxes at a pretty good price...I want to say 75 cents. And IIRC those are standard sized like Uhaul or movers sell.

We got a lot of boxes on Craigslist for free.

eta: saleenl and I cross posted.

[mctlaw]

Thanks all for the great tips! Home Depot is the cheapest I've seen so far; glad to see I'm not off base. I'll check out the possible CL sources as well!

[KrisM]

Our movers gave us the wardrobe boxes to use, but it was a local move, so they got them back the same day. But, check with yours, in case.

I always found Home Depot the cheapest for the boxes, too.

[sariana]

We did a partial pack when we moved 5 years ago. Our moving company actually gave away the boxes from previous customers' moves. I guess they couldn't reuse them, so they let us pick them up to use. Some were in perfect condition. We happened to live a couple of miles from the trucking company's building, so picking up the boxes was easy for me.

As for packing itself, one thing I remember is that books should be packed either spine down or upright, the same as they would be on a shelf. It is tempting to pack them spine up to create a nice flat surface, in essence creating another layer. But books are not designed to "hang" from their spines and will be damaged this way.

Also keep in mind the total weight of the packed box. Book boxes are small for a reason--they get heavy quickly. It is best to mix in some lighter items if you can rather than packing them to the brim with books (or other heavy items).

For hanging clothes we used wardrobe boxes, with a bar across the top. The people who design moving boxes are clever, I must say.

[traciann]

Yes, Home Depot for boxes! I also recommend the wardobe boxes. I have moved clothes twice and its horrible. We are moving again shortly and I will shell out the money for wardobe boxes. We got boxes from Walmart for free...but this next time I will do Home Depot boxes. Its just easier to stack the same size boxes.