Professional packing supplies can add up quickly — and if you’re moving on a budget, spending $100+ on bubble wrap and packing paper feels painful. The good news: your home is already full of excellent packing materials. Here are the best packing hacks using items you already own for your Twin Cities move.

Clothing and Linens: Your Best Free Padding

Towels, t-shirts, sweaters, and dish towels are genuinely excellent cushioning material — and you have to move them anyway.

Wrap wine glasses in dish towels. Pad picture frames with sweaters. Cushion fragile decorative items with folded t-shirts. You’re simultaneously protecting breakables AND packing soft goods.

Socks for Glasses and Cups

Individual socks are perfect for protecting glasses, cups, and small decorative items. Slide one sock over each glass before packing.

This eliminates the need for foam pouches or bubble wrap for most glasses and keeps your socks organized during the move.

Suitcases and Duffel Bags for Heavy Items

Your suitcases and duffel bags — which you have to move anyway — are perfect for packing books, records, tools, and other heavy items.

Suitcases have wheels, which makes them easier to transport than heavy boxes. Pack books in suitcases first before reaching for small boxes.

Pots and Pans as Containers

Your largest pots and mixing bowls can pack smaller kitchen items inside them — spice jars, small appliances, utensils.

Nest items naturally — a colander can hold smaller items while wrapped in a moving blanket. This maximizes truck space efficiency.

Plastic Wrap from the Kitchen

A roll of plastic wrap from your kitchen can substitute for stretch wrap to bundle items together or wrap furniture legs.

Wrap plastic wrap around appliance handles and cabinet doors to keep them from opening during transport.

Newspaper for Non-Food Items

While newspaper ink transfers onto dishes (never use it for anything you eat from), it’s fine for wrapping non-food items: tools, hardware, non-stick pans, plant pots.

Check with neighbors or your building’s recycling room for free newspapers before your move.

Produce Boxes from Grocery Stores

Grocery stores and farmers markets regularly discard heavy, divided produce boxes — especially banana boxes and wine boxes.

Banana boxes are particularly good: they’re strong, have a lid, and have handles. Ask at the customer service desk of any large grocery store in Minneapolis.

Ready to Move? Let’s Make It Easy.

At Cheep Cheep Movers, we make local moving in the Twin Cities affordable and stress-free. Whether you need a full-service move or just some extra muscle, we’re here to help.

📞 Call us: 612-234-6605
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