Monthly Archives: July 2016

Cheap Moving Boxes or Bust

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Cheap moving boxes are a must for the moving process.  With how expensive the entire moving process is, it is essential that the packing materials be of a decent price.  After all, you only wind up using them once, so what’s the point in spending a lot of money on them?  It isn’t entirely necessary to invest in the really expensive, really heavy duty boxes.  Maybe for heaviest stuff, like the kitchen supplies and books, but for the most part our belongings don’t wind up weighing that much and they don’t need triple reinforced corrugated cardboard to get them point A to point B without mishap.

Many companies boast that they are selling cheap moving boxes, but it is helpful to make some comparisons between providers before deciding who, in fact, is actually doing so and is, therefore, the best fit for your investment.

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Let’s completely take local, through the door type stores off the table.  It is safe to say these places are not going to be offering you the most bang for our buck.  These companies have to pay the middle-man and so their products are going to be priced higher than what you want.  They might be a good resource for your simple packaging and shipping needs, but not for something as huge as a move.

Which brings us to on-line providers.  On-line providers are the middle man that the local companies have to compensate for, which is why you are going to get a better deal.  There is no need to cover the costs of shipping to the local stores and all that jazz.  The product will be shipped directly to your door!

First and foremost, online companies offer bulk products at wholesale prices.  This is the first thing that you need to compare.  How much product is coming with what price?  Don’t be fooled by lower dollars.  One place could offer twenty-five boxes for twenty-five dollars.  Another place could offer twenty boxes for twenty-one dollars.  You might be originally attracted to the idea of saving four bucks, but you will find that you are losing a “free” box at that price.  Now, if they are selling twenty boxes at nineteen dollars, that’s the better deal!

Secondly, make sure that shipping costs aren’t going to negate all of the saving that you worked hard to configure.  Most of these companies offer free shipping, but some of them won’t.  At the same time, a lot of them will offer coupon codes for free shipping that are easy to come across.  Either way, when looking for cheap moving boxes make sure that is what you wind up with!

Using Packaging Supplies to Create a Unique Unboxing Experience

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Everyone loves to get something in the mail.  Of course I’m referring to something fun, and not the un-fun stuff like bills and spam.  That should go without saying, of course… I was talking to my neighbor the other day and she was saying that even when she orders something for herself she still feels excited waiting for it.  When she gets home from work and sees that the box has arrived her heart skips a beat.  There’s just something about it.  Tearing the heavy, outer layer.  Needing special tools to do so (and I’m talking about scissors, of course).  You’ve gotta work for it!  You see your name on it.  Then you get to the inside packaging.  This can be a let-down, or it can be another step to prolong the delicious process.  It all depends on the packaging supplies you use.

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Like buttoned!  Yes, I said buttons.  Buttons look just like candy.  A bright, thick pop of color that you really want to take a bite out of but you know you shouldn’t (but you still might try anyway).  After you’ve boxed up your precious cargo, whatever it may be, use some white string to wrap around it, threading it through the button with each pass, and then tie a bow right above the button at the end.  There are tutorials on-line for how to do this, so don’t write it off immediately.  Even if you are using a simple paper bag to wrap something, make small dots on it with a silver Sharpie, and then use the string and button trick.  You will find yourself adding these simple do-dads to your packaging supplies list!

The longer you can drag out the unboxing experience, the better.  I’m not talking about a Christmas present prank, where you have a box in a box in a box in a box, or an entire roll of tape wrapped around a gift card.  I’m talking about clean lines and bright colors and thoughtfulness.  It’s all about the thoughtfulness.

Like tissue paper!  Is tissue paper a necessary part of packaging supplies?  Not at all.  But it is a thoughtful one.  Wrap what you are sending in some tissue paper and you will be simultaneously sending the message that you want the recipient to look at this like a gift.  “Here you go, unwrap this.”  It’s like saying, what’s inside?  Even though you already know.

What Good Are Cheap Moving Boxes?

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That’s more or less a rhetorical question.  Cheap moving boxes are amazing, and awesome, and super convenient.  So they are obviously a lot of good (not sure if that that statement is grammatically correct, but I’m going to go with it).

The next question would be this: what is the difference cheap moving boxes and expensive moving boxes?  I mean, why not have them all the same for an incredibly low and feasible price?  Well, there are a couple reasons as to why this is the way it is.  One of them has to do with money.  Actually, all of them have to do with money.

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Usually it’s the name brands that are the more expensive, and they generally tend to be the better quality.  U-Haul can afford to make really strong boxes because they bring in a lot of cash.  And they bring in even more cash from selling their really strong boxes and really strong prices.  Ridiculous prices, in fact.  And people will continue spending the ridiculous prices because they know U-Haul and they know they have a lot of money and can afford to put out a reliable product.  Is this making sense?  Not only that, you know that when you are dealing with a big company like U-Haul you are likely to have great customer service and also to be well compensated if something doesn’t work out well.  This is because they have the extra funds to compensate you sufficiently, instead of just the “I’m sorry”, or even the “I don’t really care”, from the lower income companies that make the cheap moving boxes.

But I mean, a box is a box is a box, you know.  I gravitate towards the less expensive kinds because I’m dealing with cardboard boxes.  If I wanted to buy an Xbox One I probably wouldn’t go the cheap route because I want the warranty and all the safety precautions.  If I’m spending a ton of money on something that I intend on using for an extended period of time (i.e. years) than I am going to go the extra mile to ensure the least amount of problem.  This isn’t a reality when it comes to boxes, which is why I will always go with the cheap ones.  It’s just boxes.  So I will order cheap moving boxes from a tiny online reality and chalk it up to the fact that I’m dealing with cardboard with one of them bends or breaks.

Tips for Organizing Your Shipping Supplies

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In this day and age, a lot of people operate small business from their homes.  A lot of these companies are purely internet run, and so they involve a tremendous amount of shipping, which means an even more tremendous amount of shipping supplies.  The thing is, just because someone is a savvy business person doesn’t mean they are well organized.  If you have a private business there are probably a lot of areas that you aren’t great in, but you can still have a business because you know how to run one.  And if you are really that great of a business person you will probably hire someone else to do the stuff you aren’t that good at.  Or you will consult the internet.

Here are some tips for how to organize all of those shipping supplies so that you can have a shipping room that anyone could be proud of:

Become friends with IKEA.  You may not live right next to one, but most of us live within a couple hours of one.  They literally have the best furniture for when it comes to organizing.  Start with tall shelves.  IKEA makes shelves that go from floor to ceiling, and are solid enough to hold up against life.  So the first key to organizing your shipping supplies is having the right props.  Making piles on the floor just isn’t going to cut it.

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Have the shipping supplies.  There is no point in organizing something if you aren’t well-stocked in it, but you need to be well-stocked in shipping supplies if your business depends on it.  So instead of making small purchases here and there, find an online retailer that you can order in bulk from and then do a monthly or quarterly order of the same thing.  Stack those different shipping supplies in segregated shelves: like size bubble mailers with like size bubble mailers, and the same with boxes.

Treat them appropriately.  If you have bubble wrap, don’t put your bubble wrap on the floor and just unwind it vertically when you need it.  There are plenty of closet rod systems from Lowe’s or Wal Mart that can make it really easy for you to hang the bubble wrap up, thus clearing up space on the ground for other necessary things that a shipping closet might need, like recycling bins.  And make sure that you put smaller items like tape or Sharpies in bins so that they aren’t falling all over the place.