The moving company has left, you have unpacked, but there’s a pile of cardboard boxes taking up space in the garage. Your first thought might be to take them to a recycle center, which is an option, but cardboard takes a lot of energy to recycle. It is better when the boxes can be reused.
1. Give boxes to a charity. Local food pantries often need cardboard boxes to transport food. Be generous and offer to deliver them.
2. Post your boxes on a moving company’s message boards. These are public forums where you can either sell or give away your boxes. List the number of boxes you have, the approximate sizes, and the cost per box. Or you could offer one price for all your boxes.
3. Some moving companies offer drop-off and pick-up locations for boxes. This is a free service meant to swap favors between movers. But be sure to down your boxes and bundle similar sizes to make transporting them easier.
4. Give your boxes away on Craiglist.org. Under “for sale” there is a “free” tab. Just make an ad with the number and type of boxes you have and arrange to be available for pick-up.
5. Sell your boxes on BoxQuest.com or BoxCycle.com. These sites help the environment by making sure gently used boxes get reused. You simply sign up, fill in the blanks to create your ad, and the website will help you find a buyer. They advertise for you and deal with collecting the payment. You just make yourself available for the pickup.
Feel good about making sure your boxes are being reused. When you recycle you are contributing to a healthy environment!
