What to do with leftover packing materials?

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After the move, you will be le with tons of leftover packing materials. The easiest way to dispose of them is to throw them in the garbage. However, even though this is the most convenient way to get rid of the leftover boxes and wraps, that might not be the best solution. This is the worst solution if you are trying to be more sustainable. It might make it easier, but you can reuse the items you have instead of throwing them away. If you hired packing and unpacking services for your relocation to Mississippi, they will unpack and reassemble your items and put them in place. After they are finished, they will collect all the leftovers. But do you want them to do that? Yes, to some extent. They should collect all the small pieces of rubbish, damaged boxes, pieces of packing tapes, and plastic straps. But, there are some things that you could put to good use. Maybe you won’t use it for moving again, but there are a ton of other things that you can do with them. Especially boxes that are in good shape, larger pieces of plastic wraps, plastic straps, or sheets of wrapping paper.

How to save your leftover packing materials

Moving leaves lots of trash behind. Many different packing and moving materials are used to pack and move your belongings. The more items you have, logically, you will be left with more packing materials. However, those materials usually look unusable after the unpacking process. This is especially true if you used low-quality materials that are only for one use. That also greatly depends on the moving company you hired for your move. If your movers are sloppy and careless, you probably will not have to think about using your leftover packing materials, because there will be nothing to use. Not only will they damage the materials if they are careless, but they will also damage the items inside.

On the other hand, if you hire movers in Mississippi that are reputable and professional, like local movers Oxford MS, for example, they will certainly deliver your boxes in perfect shape, and properly unpack them. That is if you decided to use their packing and unpacking services. After a move with them, you will be left with high-quality packing materials that are in perfect shape to be reused.

Picture of leftover packing materials
Moving will leave a lot of trash behind

Hire unpacking services if you want to have some leftover packing materials

Hiring packing and unpacking services for your relocation is a smart move. And even though those services became a moving industry standard a long time ago, some people still think that it is an unnecessary luxury. And they could not be more wrong. Hiring packing and unpacking services can immensely ease such a complicated and stressful process as moving is. Apart, packing is the most difficult part of moving, since it takes a lot of time and dedication to complete. And it is not strange that packing and unpacking are the most popular of all available moving services. No one wants to do this by themselves. Even if you have friends or family members to help you, professional help is better. But if you want to retain some of the leftover packing materials, as mentioned above, you need to hire professionals. If you are moving to the Memphis TN area, movers in Southaven MS should be your first choice. Only then you can start planning about what to do with moving leftovers, even before your move is finished.

Different packing and moving materials

Even though professional movers will certainly watch out for your belongings, when it comes to unpacking, ask your Oakland TN movers to be more careful with wraps and boxes that could later be used for something else. Of course, you cannot expect them to spend three days unpacking your belongings, just so you could save some plastic wraps. But, just to be gentle where and when it is possible. That way you can hope to save a little more materials that you could use later. Here is a small list of packing materials that could be found in almost every packing situation.

Roll of paper
Tell your movers to be carefull with your packing materials

Packing materials

  • Cardboard moving boxes are the first thing you will think about when you talk about leftover packing materials. They are the bulkiest packing material that gives the most protection to your items.
  • Plastic trash bags can be put to good use after the move, but only if they remain intact.
  • Wrapping paper
  • Plastic wraps, with and without bubbles
  • Plastic sheeting
  • Packing tape is the one thing that is hard to find good use after unpacking with Spyder Moving Services TN since it is useless once you have finished using it.
  • Anti-Slip Sheets are not something that all moving companies use, but they can be very useful for you if you have it
  • Packing peanuts
  • Packing foam sheets

Using leftover packing materials for storing your items in a storage unit

Your movers unpacked your belongings, picked up the trash, and left your premises. Now what? The first thing you will think about when you see all those moving boxes is to put something in them. Because that is what the boxes are made for. But having so many full cardboard boxes around the house is not that practical. You just made it to your new home, don’t let it get cluttered that fast. You will trip on them and it will look bad. Yes, you could have one or two boxes with some items in your closet or somewhere where it is not in plain sight. However, if you have enough items to fill out the rest of your boxes as well, you should rent a storage unit. So, use your leftover moving boxes to store your excess items in a storage unit until it is time to move again with some long distance movers Memphis.

If you do not have enough items to rent a storage unit, keep your boxes anyway. The advantage of cardboard boxes is that they can easily be disassembled and stored somewhere in your home to wait for your next relocation. If stored correctly, they take almost no space. Just make sure to keep them in a place where they won’t be exposed to moisture since it will make them unusable in the future.

People using packing paper to pack
You can reuse packing materials for storing things in storage

Give away your leftover packing materials

If you think that you will not be moving anytime soon and that you do not have enough items to rent a storage unit, there is no reason to keep all those boxes. They will just be another thing that you keep for no reason, and you probably don’t want that. In that case, you can ask your friends or acquaintances if they have such needs. If you know someone that is moving soon or someone who needs your boxes for storage, give them away. You can even sell them online if they are high-quality packing materials that you paid a lot of money for. Or if you feel like it, you can always give them away for free. It is a nice and conscientious thing to do. First, you will not be cluttering your home with unnecessary items. Secondly, you will be helping the other person in need. Thirdly, it is an environmentally responsible thing to do. If the person you give them to keeps them in a good shape also, they can be given to someone else again, which is an environmentally friendly thing to do.

Recycle everything recyclable

If you do not have anyone to give your leftover materials to, and you do not need them, you should take them to recycle. Fortunately, recycling has become an important part of our lives in the recent decade or two. People are becoming more aware of the ongoing pollution problem, which makes recycling a must. Not all countries have made this a rule, but we are slowly getting there. Nevertheless, this necessary annoyance is helping our planet, at least to some extent. Again, if you are trying to be sustainable, this is one of the best things you can do with your leftover packing materials.

Turn your leftover packing materials into art

This is the best choice for artistic people. You obviously won’t be able to reuse every little packing material you have left, but it is a fun project. People have shared ideas online of artworks made from cardboard boxes, stretch wrap, packing tape, and packing tubes. If you have preserved packing materials because you moved with careful movers like some movers Somerville TN, a little creativity is all you need.

Rose next to a piece of paper
You can even make art from cardboard

Search the internet for ideas

There are many more uses for leftover packing materials. Some people use them for storage; some people use them to create different forms of art. You can additionally explore the internet to find ideas. Nevertheless, to be able to do anything, the most important part is to have responsible movers that will do the packing and unpacking. If you are moving to southern parts of Mississippi, hire movers Biloxi MS, and you will have tons of perfectly preserved packing materials, that you can later use how you want.