When you rent space at a storage facility and begin the process of packing your items to transfer into your storage unit, you may need a considerable amount of packing supplies. Products such as bubble wrap and foam peanuts are valuable for protecting your possessions, but buying them can be expensive — especially if you have dozens of boxes' worth of items that need to be protected. The good news is that there are a number of inexpensive alternatives to these traditional packing supplies, including many things that you can gather in your home and use. Here are some ideas.
Shredded Paper
As long as you have a shredder, you have the necessary tool to make shredded paper to pack into boxes to protect your items. A simple idea is to shred the free newspapers and flyers that arrive on your doorstep, as these are readily available and don't have an associated cost. It's good to realize, however, that ink from these products can sometimes transfer to whatever you're storing, so you won't want to use newspapers and flyers with light-colored items. In this case, simply shredded lined paper and using the shreds is sufficient. If you don't have enough lined paper, you can often pick up large packs of it at your local general merchandise store for a low price.
Old Clothing
If you dig through the bottom of your dresser drawers, you can often find old clothing that you no longer wear. Things such as old T-shirts, socks, and other similar items can all be easily wrapped about fragile possessions before they're loaded into boxes. Similarly, old bed sheets can be sliced into long strips, while old dish towels, wash cloths, and hand towels can all be used for this purpose. Just be sure to wash each of these items before using them for packing your items for storage.
Bags Of Air
Many people buy inflated bags of air to securely package the items that they plan to store, and you can make your own similar products. All you'll need is a series of small plastic bags. Zipper-top bags work well for this project. Close the zipper most of the way, blow in the bag to inflate it, and then quickly close the zipper the rest of the way. You'll lose a little bit of the air, but the bag will remain mostly inflated, making it a valuable packing supply to slip between fragile items in a storage box.
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