5 Ways to Use Excess Paper to Help With Your Move

As you go from room to room in your house to plan a move, you are bound to run into a lot of clutter. Among the clutter, you will most likely find a lot of different papers. Papers could include old junk mail, papers you no longer need, and random items you've gathered through the years.



Before you just recycle the excess paper, consider ways to use excess paper with your move. Essentially, you can upcycle paper to help you through the move and then recycle the leftover paper once you get settled in your new home. As you clean out your house and gather extra paper, learn some useful ways to get the most out of the paper.

1. Packing Material

Paper will provide a nice protective cushion for some of your fragile items. Avoid the purchase of bubble wrap and get the most out of the extra paper you have. Use multiple layers of paper to wrap mugs, glasses, vases, and collectible items you can display in your home. For mugs and cups, follow basic gift-wrapping techniques to ensure they get fully covered.

If you have a lot of paper, use the pages generously with the items you pack. For example, you could wrap a mug in three to four layers of paper to add extra protection. The paper will help protect smaller items as well. For example, children can wrap their toys up in paper to add some extra protection.

2. Retractable Cord Wraps

If you wrap up a lot of electronics, then you want to protect the cords, especially if the cords retract. You do not want cords to tangle or have outlet plugs bend or warp in any way. Wrap a paper around the end of a cord and tape the paper down to keep the cord covered. The ball of paper on the end will help prevent cord tangles and damage.

Once you reach your new home, you can easily pull off the paper and connect the electronic device as needed. Along with traditional electronic cords, you could add a layer of paper protection on other cords like USB cords and phone chargers. Just wrap the cords up completely and label the paper so you know what the cords go to.

3. Shredded Paper Padding

If you have a paper shredder, then you could transform shreds of paper into protective padding for your moving boxes. Shredded paper can replace supplies like bubble wrap and packing peanuts. Shred all of the extra papers you have in the home. As you shred paper, save the shreds in a large garbage bag or box.

You can place the shreds in moving boxes to add a cushion of protection. For example, you could surround an appliance like a coffee maker with some shredded paper. The paper can create a cushion for electronics like video game consoles or laptop computers.

Once you place an item on a bottom layer of shredded paper, toss in some more shredded paper on the top so your items remain protected on all sides. Once you are all moved into your new home, you can recycle the shredded paper. The shredded paper will take up less space and keep any personal information confidential.

4. Paper Labels & Lists

Use leftover paper to easily label items and stay organized during your move. You can tape pieces of paper on boxes for basic room labels. If you use a moving service, the movers can easily read the labels and help keep all of your boxes organized.

Use extra paper to add checklists and reminders on the top inside of a box. For example, you could open the top of a box and see a full list of what you have inside. You could write out detailed things or general items like "kitchen utensils and cooking accessories". The quick little notes allow you to know what boxes you open without the need to dig through the whole box.

The notes will make it a lot easier to unpack items and speed up the unpacking process.

5. Clothing Layers

As you pack clothes, you could eliminate excess wrinkles and keep clothes organized. For example, you could put a single sheet of paper between clothes. The papers will keep the clothes smooth and allow you to easily separate items. You could also use paper to label areas of clothes.

For example, you could write "Winter Closet Clothes" and place the piece of paper above a pile of sweaters. If you have a lot of shoes, then you could crumble papers up into small balls. Shove the small paper balls into the shoes to help maintain the shape and prevent any squishing. Fit as many balls as you can into each shoe and then pack them all together in a box.

For all of your moving service needs, contact us at United Moving & Storage. We can provide you with moving trucks, white glove moving services, and moving supplies. As you prepare your scrap paper for your move, we can help with each additional step of the way.