Where to find free moving boxes (and which to skip)
Where to get free moving boxes near you, from box-sharing bins to neighbors and local shops, and how to tell a good used box from one that will split.
The BoxTrack team · · 5 min read
Someone on the street posted a photo of thirty flattened boxes leaning against their garage, with one line underneath: "Free, take them all, gone by Sunday." By Saturday afternoon there were four left, and two of them had a soft corner from the rain.
Free moving boxes are out there, often in bigger piles than you'd expect, because everyone who just moved has a garage full of them. The trick is finding them early, picking the good ones, and getting enough of the sizes you actually need.
Start with a count
Before you collect anything, work out how many boxes you need and in which sizes. Free boxes come in whatever mix the last person had, and it's easy to end up with twenty large boxes and no small ones for books. Our free moving box calculator gives a count by size for your home, and our guide to how many moving boxes you need walks through it room by room.
Worth knowing before you collect
Where free boxes turn up
Box-sharing bins at U-Haul
U-Haul runs a Take A Box, Leave A Box program: people who've finished moving drop off their used boxes, and anyone can take them for free. U-Haul's own pages say you'll find the bins at its centers, and some describe them as being at many locations, so call your nearest one before you drive over. What's in the bin on any day depends entirely on who came by.
U-Haul also has an online board, Customer Connect, with a Box Exchange where people list boxes and packing supplies in their area. Plenty of posts are someone giving away a whole move's worth.
Neighbors and local gifting groups
The people with the most boxes are the ones who just moved in. Freecycle is a nonprofit network of local town groups where everything posted has to be free. The Buy Nothing Project is a network of neighborhood groups where members give and ask for things, with no selling or trading. Craigslist has a free section too, and U-Haul's own list of places to look includes it.
An "ask" post works well in these groups. Say how many boxes you need, which sizes, and when you can pick up. Then offer your boxes back to the same group once you've unpacked.
Shops, restaurants and offices
Businesses throw out boxes every day. U-Haul's list of places to get free boxes points to restaurants and coffee shops, which it says get shipments at least twice a week, and copy centers, whose paper boxes it calls terrific. A paper box is small and has a lid, which makes it one of the best free boxes there is for books and files.
Call or ask in person first. Some places break boxes down and bale them for recycling right away, so ask when deliveries come in and whether they'd hold some for you.
Your own deliveries and workplace
Start saving every sturdy shipping box from online orders the moment you know you're moving. Ask at work too. An office that gets supplies by the case often has a recycling pile you can take from.
Which free boxes to keep, and which to skip
A used box has already been through at least one trip. UPS's packaging guidance says the more times a box is used, the less rigid it becomes, and up to 50 percent less protective. If you do reuse a box, UPS says it should be rigid, with no punctures, tears, rips or corner damage, and with all its flaps intact. Old shipping labels should be removed or covered.
| Box | Take it? | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Moving box used once, dry and square | ✓ | Built for this, and still strong |
| Office paper box with lid | ✓ | Small, sturdy, good for books and files |
| Shipping box from an online order | ✓ | Fine if it's rigid and the flaps are intact |
| Box with soft corners or water stains | ✗ | It's likely to give way under weight |
| Torn, punctured or missing flaps | ✗ | Won't close or stack properly |
| Greasy or food-stained box | ✗ | Smells, stains and can carry pests |
Pests are worth a minute's check. University of Minnesota Extension says some cockroaches are usually brought into homes in infested boxes, bags and luggage, and advises looking over boxes before you bring them inside. Penn State Extension says cockroaches typically get into homes in boxes, grocery bags and suitcases. Look inside the folds and seams, and leave behind anything with droppings, egg cases or a damp, musty smell.
Keep used boxes for the lighter jobs if you're unsure about them. Pillows, towels, toys and linens are fine in a box that's seen better days. Books, dishes and tools need the strongest boxes you have.
If movers are loading what you packed
If you're hiring a moving company for an interstate move, the FMCSA notes that it can be harder to make a damage claim for things you packed yourself. That's another reason to use the sound boxes, tape the bottoms well and fill each one to the top. Our guide to moving box sizes covers which box suits what.
Mismatched boxes, one list
Free boxes rarely match. One still says "paper towels," another has a liquor brand on the side, and a third has somebody else's "Kitchen" written on it in marker. By the time the truck is unloaded, the old writing is more confusing than helpful.
BoxTrack gives every box a fresh label, whatever it used to hold. Make a box in the app, snap a photo of what goes in, and AI lists the items for you to check. Print a QR label and stick it over the old markings, and you can scan any box later to see what's inside, or search for "phone charger" and get the box number. See how BoxTrack works for a move. Your first box is free, and our free moving box labels print without an account.
After the move, pass them on
Flatten the good boxes and give them back the way you got them: a post in your local group, the Box Exchange, or a box-sharing bin. U-Haul also suggests keeping a few for storage. The rest go in the recycling.
Sources
- U-Haul, Box sharing and green products
- U-Haul, Reduce, reuse, recycle: Take A Box, Leave A Box
- U-Haul, 8 best places to get free boxes
- U-Haul, Customer Connect Box Exchange
- U-Haul, What to do with your moving boxes after moving
- The Freecycle Network, About Freecycle
- Buy Nothing Project, Community guidelines
- UPS, Anatomy of a cardboard box
- UPS, Packaging guidelines
- University of Minnesota Extension, Cockroaches
- Penn State Extension, American cockroaches
- FMCSA, Your rights and responsibilities when you move
- BoxTrack, Moving box calculator
