Boxes

We're still packing and in fact bit the bullet and actually paid money for boxes. Lots of our previous boxes have been damp out in the garage, crushed or otherwise damaged, so we decided it was time to get some new ones and there don't seem to be any available online for free or cheap. We've found that it's a bit easier to find things if the boxes look the same and have a label on them all in the same place. And it's also easier and more efficient to pack them tightly together if they are all the same size.

There is a local U-Haul dealer near us and they as a company have loads of really nifty moving aids like funky boxes, foam packing materials, tacos to hold open your box, really more than anyone could need. The only draw back is expense and the fact that when I got to the local dealer they carried about 5% of what's available online. So I just stuck to a wardrobe box, a dish barrel (both of these are double walled boxes) and 10 book boxes plus some foam sheets and packing paper. I got the packing paper just because I hate having to re-wash everything once you unpack to try and get the newsprint off. Then I checked my receipt and saw that they had charged me for small boxes instead of book boxes so they owed me $7. Fair enough. We headed out to work and then we decided to stop by Home Depot to get some 2x4's that Steve needs to make and finish the trim on his trailer. I checked out lights and boxes too. We managed to get 2 flush mount light fixtures for the trailer for $5 each (a smokin' deal) and the boxes are $1.29 each for small, $1.99 for medium and $2.49 for large. So of course I stocked up. I got 10 small, 4 meduim and 4 large plus a pack of their paper which was $4 (not the $12.50 U-Haul charges) for a grand total of $35. I went back to U-Haul to return the 10 small boxes and discovered that they can't make a refund on a debit card purchase and wouldn't give me cash so after haggling for a while they finally wrote me a cheque for $39 and change. All in all I spent the same amount of money but got 4 medium and 4 large boxes extra by shopping at Home Depot, and since we were going there anyways it wasn't too bad gas wise. Oh and I shouldn't forget...as much as I loathe those stick on lino tiles, you know the ones....they had some white ones on for $15 per box clearance for 45 sq.ft. so that works out way way cheaper than lino for the floor of the tent trailer plus I need 45 feet and this will mean less waste hopefully. Saves me a little bit in my budget too.

Now I just have to get the boxes filled and figure out the best way to pack my wedding gown and actually get some more sorting done. we are almost at an impass. The garage is full of a nearly completed trailer so I don't have any room to sort things out. The house if full of packed and semi-packed boxes and garage sale items. I can't work on the tent trailer yet because of the rain which is pouring down for days and it's windy too, but I can't put it in the garage to work on it until the other trailer is out of there. Hopefully by the end of this weekend the trailer will be finished, the paint will have cured enough to be waterproof and we can move it outside and start using it for either storage or as a utility trailer.

Details on building the trailer will follow soon too.