If you plan on moving you are going to need some boxes. You could buy some nice cardboard boxes in stores with the exact dimensions you need. Or you can go to the grocery store and get them for free. How?

What do you think happens to the boxes that produce and other grocery store products come in? Grocery stores usually recycle those boxes or throw them away. You can get your hands on those boxes if you come at the right time, or call the store and have somebody hold them for you. Most stores, like Walmart, will usually start unloading items from boxes around midnight. So if you want to get some boxes, without calling in beforehand, go to the grocery store around 11-12AM. Just ask the people unloading the boxes if you can have some. Chances are you will score some free boxes, but if you fail you can always try the next store or even the next day – different people will have different attitudes about giving away those boxes: The grocery stores are not obligated to give anything away for free, so it really depends on who is working at the time.  You could also try calling in the store beforehand to see if anyone can hold onto the boxes for you.

When I moved a year ago I called into my local grocery store – Randalls, and asked them if I could have some boxes. The person I called was confused at first, but agreed to hold some for me. I went to the store in the morning to pick them up, and found out that they had just recycled the ones that were reserved for me. But I talked to another one of the employees and he said they would receive another shipment that evening, and told me to come back. I came back that evening and he had at least 30 boxes waiting for me. I tipped the guy $5 bucks for his hard work, and scored the perfect moving boxes.  When you receive the boxes, make sure you do not get any banana boxes. This guy explained:

Ohhhh no no, please do not use banana boxes for moving!!! I work in food service, and there is no single type of box that harbors more bugs and pests than banana boxes!! We find all kinds of beetles and roaches and spiders and stuff that isn’t from our hemisphere coming out of the creases of those boxes!! These guys will be more than happy to move into your new place with you. Like I said, I work in a restaurant, and I just moved, and the only type of box I wouldn’t take home for this purpose was banana boxes.

A better alternative are egg boxes from the dairy department. They are big, sturdy to protect the eggs, clean because the eggs are boxed themselves inside, and they also have handles. The conversation goes the same, just call the service desk and ask about egg boxes. Most of the time that I’ve called about them, the service people seem to have heard that request before…

So the next time you move, or need some storage boxes head too your local grocery store for some free ones.

Has anyone else done this before?

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