You’ve finished moving and now you have a lot of empty boxes and plastic wrapping lying around. So, what can you do with all of those now? You can give them to other people about to move, use them for other purposes or get rid of them. There are many useful things you can do with leftover packing materials. However, even if you choose to throw it all away, you’ll need to do it responsibly. Take a look at our guide for handling leftover packing materials and all your problems with will be over!

Recycle

The best way of handling leftover packing materials is to recycle them. You can do that in many different ways. Give them to people who’re moving. You probably got some of those extra packaging supplies from people who moved before you or other kind sources. So, you can return the favor by giving your boxes to those in need.

Unfortunately, not all of your boxes will survive your relocation in good condition. In addition to this, you’ll have a lot of wrapping materials which you won’t be able to use again. In these cases, you should recycle all those materials. You can leave them in the recycle bin, or, if you have a lot of them – drive them to the recycling facility. Don’t let your relocation endanger the environment when you can do something about it.

The toughest thing to properly dispose of is all the plastic. If you have plastic boxes there’s no need to throw them away, since you can always use them for storage. However, other plastic you’ll use for wrapping, and it’s not really easy to properly dispose of that. If you’ll use it for other projects, make sure you properly dispose of it later.

Repurpose

The best way of handling leftover packing materials is to repurpose them. You can make a lot of interesting things with the materials you used for packing. So, get out your scissors, paint, and glue and find out how to make use of your leftover packing supplies.

Boxes

You can use your old boxes to make a lot of things. Cut out shapes of cardboard to make decorations for your kid’s room. With some glue and a little bit of work, you can transform the best of your moving boxes into boxes for storing your things. Getting a more organized storage space can be very useful after the move. In addition to this, you can use your cardboard moving boxes Sudbury to make a variety of other things. The only limit is the limit of your imagination. So, don’t be afraid to go wild when repurposing your cardboard boxes.

Rags and cloth

You’ll use a lot of old clothing and towels to protect your things during the relocation. Once you finish your move, though, they won’t be of much use. Accordingly, you’ll only be able to make cleaning rags out of them and this is still handling leftover packing materials even though it’s not extremely useful. On the other hand, all those cleaning rags might come in handy on a moving day. If your wrapping materials are not too dirty after your move, you can figure out more interesting ways to use them.

Packing peanuts

The magnificent foam peanut has many uses apart from its main function. You can fill an old pillowcase with them and get an improvised cushion. We suggest you only use these outside though. Also, you can use the soft peanut to baby proof any hard edges in your home. With a little editing, you can get the perfect shape to cover those sharp table corners. In addition to this, you can use this packing material for gardening. You can place them under potted pants so they will absorb all the drainage. So, when you water your plants now you’ll have a drainage system to remove all the excess water.

Plastic

You can repurpose your plastic wraps and bags in countless ways. You can use your wraps when cleaning, painting your home or packing for your next relocation. However, once you can’t use them anymore, make sure you dispose of them in an eco-friendly manner. You can reuse your plastic bags for carrying groceries or for packing up your winter clothes.

Do not attempt handling leftover packing materials in certain ways

When you’re getting rid of your excess packing supplies there are some things you should never consider doing. For your safety and those around you:

• don’t burn your leftover packing supplies – don’t get rid of your packing materials by burning them. Not only can this cause severe damage to the environment, but it can also have devastating consequences if the fire spreads.
• don’t throw them in a river – it can damage the ecosystem in the river and that’s bad for the environment.
• keep them out of reach – you should keep your packing materials out of reach. Most of them can cause your child or pet serious medical problem if ingested. This is especially important for the packing peanuts. They are very poisonous if you eat them, so keep them out of the reach of your kid and your dog.
• do not keep old cardboard where you sleep – handling leftover packing materials shouldn’t endanger you and your family. So, make sure you don’t breathe in a lot of old cardboard when you sleep.

As you can see there are many ways of handling leftover packing materials without damaging the environment. Apart from this, you can get a lot of use from them! So, don’t be afraid to experiment and unleash your creativity. If you need any help with your move or find some other awesome ideas to repurpose your packing supplies, feel free to contact us.