New and Used Moving Boxes and Packing Supplies

So what makes a box a moving box?

Moving boxes are designed to be carried in your arms or stacked on a hand truck. Moving boxes come in various sizes and shapes, but the size of moving boxes is always presented in three inside dimensions: first Length, then Width, then Height (sometimes referred to as Depth). Measurements of moving boxes are always in that order. If you are looking down at the moving box, the inside dimensions are the length and the width.

Moving boxes come in a single wall corrugated cardboard or double wall corrugated cardboard or sometimes, triple wall corrugated cardboard. The thicker the wall, the higher the ECT is. ECT (Edge Crush Test) is a rating found on the bottom flap of moving boxes. The higher the ECT number is on the flap of the moving box, the more a moving box can hold in gross weight. For example a 44 ECT moving box will allow a gross package weight of 95 pounds.

Moving boxes are designed to protect your goods but they also are designed to save time in a move. Movers use professional moving boxes on a daily basis. Because of the familiarity of the boxes, the movers know exactly how many moving boxes can be stacked horizontally and vertically in their moving trucks.

When non-moving boxes are used in a move, packing the moving truck can be like doing a jigsaw puzzle where all the pieces don't quite fit. You can be assured that buying moving boxes will save you money. Movers charge by the hour, their main focus is to pack your goods into the moving van as tightly as possible to assure that they don't move in transit. Buying industry standard moving boxes for your next move can save many hours of time, especially if it is a large move, and keep your goods from getting damaged.

Used moving boxes may be obtained for less money, even free, but there are some cons to used moving boxes. Click here for more information on used moving boxes.

Most Common Moving Boxes.

The most common moving boxes are:

Small Moving Boxes: 15" x 12" x 9 " - 25 boxes in a bundle, 32 ECT, shipped flat.

Although this moving box is small, it is best suited to pack heavy things such as books, shoes, tools etc. The most common mistake when packing for a move is trying to keep books such as encyclopedias together in one big moving box for easy un-packing. This makes large moving boxes almost impossible to lift and because of the heavy weight, they can never be stacked on top of other moving boxes. Small moving boxes are always sized to fit comfortably when carried ( the length is usually the distance between your arms, in this case 15 inches ) and are supported evenly on the back of hand truck. This makes small moving boxes ideal for packing and transporting heavy items.

Medium Moving Boxes : 18" x 15" x 12" - 20 boxes in a bundle, 32 ECT, shipped flat.

Medium sized moving boxes are all-purpose moving boxes that can be packed with heavy items, but can still be carried easily. Medium sized moving boxes are best suited for mixed packs (some heavy household goods mixed with light goods).

Large Moving boxes: 24" x 16" x 17" - 15 boxes in a bundle, 32 ECT, shipped flat.

Large moving boxes are best suited for light goods such as bedding, drapes, towels, clothing, etc. Small knick-knacks can be wrapped in towels and placed amongst drapes for maximum protection. Overloading large moving boxes can make them very difficult to lift, but if need be these moving boxes will still be strong enough for larger items such as computer, lamps, plants etc.

Wardrobe Boxes: 24" x 24" x 40" - 3 boxes in a bundle, double wall corrugated, shipped flat.

Heavy-duty wardrobe moving boxes are probably the easiest moving boxes to pack. They come with a sturdy metal hanging bar that mounts at the top of the box. This metal bar is where you hang your clothes, but it also has a second duty as a cross support. Packing the wardrobe box is as easy as going to your closet, pushing together two feet of clothing and then re-hanging in the wardrobe box. Most clothing will not hang to the entire 40 inches of depth that the wardrobe box allows, so the bottom of the wardrobe boxes become another place to pack additional clothing. The best way to pack this space is to place your clothing in garbage bags and place the bags upright for easy retrieval from the top. Wardrobe moving boxes are also excellent for storage in a garage or basement. After the move, you can store winter coats in the summer and summer coats in the winter.

Wardrobe moving boxes can be purchased as part of a wardrobe kit, which contains everything needed to pack your closets.

Frame Boxes (also known as picture boxes, mirror boxes) : 41"x 6.5"x 34", 4 boxes in a bundle, shipped flat.

Frame moving boxes are perfect for wall mirrors, oil paintings, basically anything that is slide into box that is less than 6 inches in depth. You can normally put two or three paintings or mirrors in each box, but always make sure that there is plenty of packing material such as packing paper, bubble wrap etc. between them. All of the above bundles (including the frame moving boxes) usually are shipped flat in a frame moving box, so keep this in mind when calculating how many of frame moving boxes that you require.

Other moving boxes

Kitchen Moving boxes (also known as china barrels or dish packs) 19" x 19" x 22", 350lb test weight boxes, 5 in a bundle, shipped flat.

Kitchen moving boxes are primarily designed to carry dishes. They are most commonly sold as part of a kitchen package that should also include a sufficient amount of packing paper to wrap each dish before placing them in a kitchen moving box. Never use newspaper to wrap dishes, as the ink will in almost all cases, stain your dishes. Bubblewrap is also excellent for wrapping dishes. To save money and receive additional protection, regular scrunched up newspaper can make an excellent barrier between your dishes. Just make sure that the ink filled newsprint does not make direct contact with bare dishes.

Although there are specific moving boxes available in any size and shape for almost any household item, the main thing to consider when packing for a move is consistency in size of the moving boxes. The more irregular shape moving boxes that you bring into your move, the longer it will take for a mover (or yourself ) to pack efficiently and safely into the back of a moving truck.

Always, fill your moving boxes, but never over fill. Anytime you overfill a moving box and that moving box can not be stacked on a handtruck or in the back of a moving van, it will cost you money.