Boxes!

[juliet]

Can anyone suggest where we might be able to acquire boxes, of a variety suitable for Moving Things In? We have some solid plastic ones already; we're after cardboard now (disposable or in some other way temporary).

I have already thought of asking Unwins, or the Red Square. Other suggestions welcome...

Edit: I forgot to mention the other constraints: that we have basically no free time between now and Saturday (which is when we move) - so local shops are doable but further afield not so much; and that we have no form of transport until the actual moving date so things need to be public-transport-friendly. I am leaning towards putting in an order with Viking for flat-pack cardboard boxes, which is environmentally bad but I can't work out the logistics of any other options :-( (though I will haul home as many boxes as I can from work - we have several paper-boxes).

Comments

[rillaith.livejournal.com]

Sainsbury's or equivalent at the time they're unloading, mainly fruit though.

[wechsler.livejournal.com]

Assuming they've not succumbed to the damp, I think we still have a (literal) shedful of them.

[juliet]

That would be good; however, I forgot to mention the *other* constraint - that we have v little time free the next couple of days, & need them this week. I suspect there's not time to go pinch yours :-/

[karen2205]

If you can't get them for free anywhere, people like Viking Direct - a stationery supplier, sell flat pack boxes, that tend to be quite sturdy, but it's probably worthwhile seeing if you can get them for free from a supermarket/DIY shop etc.

[juliet]

Aha. That may actually be the most convenient option (since we are *extremely* time-limited atm). Thank you!

[sashajwolf.livejournal.com]

We used The Big Yellow, who do a very reliable next-day delivery service. The boxes are so durable that some of them have passed through several hands and are still being used for friends' moves three years later, if that's of any reassurance on the environmental front.

[mstevens.livejournal.com]

I've had good results with bigyellow boxes too (and been paying them far too much money for ages to store stuff because I'm too disorganised to retrieve it :( but you can't blame that on them). Google suggests there are many companies who will ship you boxes for suitably extortionate fees, I've used one of those as well, but I forget which.

[arkady.livejournal.com]

reddragdiva and redcountess have a whole load of boxes they need to get rid of following their recent house move. Come to that, so do I - despite having moved back at the beginning of August, I have a stack of them still!

[juliet]

Hrm. That would be ideal - the problem is getting them from where you guys are to Bermondsey, via public transport, in the next couple of days :-/

[cogitates]

[barrysarll.livejournal.com]

Most offices get through a ridiculous number of boxes - paper for the printers &c. They're free, convenient and environmentally sound in that you're reusing them. Ask the Facilities Manager or equivalent at your places of employment.

[juliet]

We have a handful of paper boxes under the printer, in fact (have just inspected). The thing I *didn't* mention is that I need to be able to get whatever we use home on the tube in the next couple of days :-/ (hence thinking of local shops - less far to carry bulky boxes). I guess I can at least take a couple - cheers for the suggestion!

(yes, we should have thought about this earlier - my excuse is that hey, we've been focusing on the decorating)

[barrysarll.livejournal.com]

The Tube is a bit of a bind, but paper boxes and the like are easier than you might think to flatpack and then reassemble with strong tape.

[http://users.livejournal.com/_nicolai_/]

As already noted, the boxes that fruit arrive at supermarkets in are strong (since the fruit can take none of the weight of a stack). Wine boxes are not so good since they assume the contents will take some of the weight of a stack. You have to ask the supermarket to save them, as they tend to compact and recycle them immediately these days.
I've usually used boxes that used to hold computer equipment, as they're always the best. Can you find someone who has just had a delivery of a lot of laptops, LCD screens, or similar?

[flick.livejournal.com]

Managed to miss this, sorry.

Suggested solution: walk five minutes down the road to our place, get bus back again....

We have at least a dozen or so that you can have.

[juliet]

Ooh! Now *that* is not a bad plan :-) Email me (juliet@the.earth.li) with yr address & when you might be about this week?

I have just ordered a pack of flatpack boxes, & will take some of the paper boxes from office, but Bitter Previous Experience indicates that you always need more than you think you do.

Thank you!

[flick.livejournal.com]

Ok, will do.

[mr-tom.livejournal.com]

Removals companies will supply you with boxes if you're moving house with them. You might find a nice one that will just flog you some.

Archival boxes are good, though expensive, because you can reuse them in your new home for all your mortgage papers and the like - hence not environmentally unfriendly, as immediately reusable!

[jhaelan.livejournal.com]

http://www.theboxcompany.co.uk

Good, but a tad pricey. Includes things like wardrobe boxes (with a rail) for things you don't want to fold