There are basically two separate times that we find
ourselves needing packaging supplies: when we move, and when we send off a
package. In both circumstances it comes
down to properly protecting what we are packaging. Sometimes you can throw a stack of pots in a
box and seal it up, because not a whole heck of a lot is going to destroy your
pots in the moving process. Sometimes
you can just put some books in a simple mailing envelope and send it off without
having to worry about it being broken in the delivery process.
It goes without saying that packaging supplies can be pretty
expensive. This is more or less because
they are specialty items, and they can be up-charged. At the same time, sometimes the specialty
items are really the best way to go.
Sometimes they are just the more expensive way to go. When packing up my grandmother’s wine
goblets, I will absolutely choose the actual glass dividers that just about guarantee
my priceless family heirlooms are not going to break (unless the moving van
runs over the box). If it’s just my
coffee mugs that I got from Dollar General, I am going to try and find some
alternatives. There is simply no need to
buy the specialty box and dividers for those.
On the flip side, if I put the kids hand-prints on mugs for
Christmas gifts, I’m going to make sure that I use the right packaging
supplies. I’m not going to wrap them up
in paper towel and put them in a bubble envelope. It’s a waste of paper towel, money wasted on
a bubble envelope, and it’s going to wind up being a waste on the cost of
shipping, too. Instead, I would buy the
actual box that is specifically designed for shipping coffee mugs. I don’t know who came up with this idea, but
they were a genius. Sending off
hand-painted coffee mugs can be a ton of money in shipping, and the whole
attempt at saving by going the hand-made gift route goes down the drain. The special coffee mug boxes shape
specifically to the mug, no extra padding needed. The size and shape maximizes the strengths of
the actual mug, and you don’t wind up wasting your cash on unnecessary
packaging supplies or shipping costs.
Sometimes, when it comes down to packaging for a move, or
for a delivery, it comes down to the best choice, which might be more economical
in different ways.
