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So Much Paper

The packers were not very environmentally friendly.  They were very careful and other than my two Ott floor lamps, which were not packed by the packers but simply put on the truck with the furniture, we’ve not found anything that was broken so I shouldn’t complain.

But, this is how many boxes we’ve unpacked so far:

And this is how much paper we’ve unpacked out of those boxes!

Vince said each roll of that paper weighs about 20 pounds and there were probably 25 rolls of it there.  We’ve hardly made a dent in the boxes so we’ve hardly made a dent in the amount of paper used.

I had noticed a sign down by the Lake Brownwood Fire Department that they have recycling the last Saturday of the month so Vince went down there Saturday morning and dropped off all the boxes and all the paper.  I’m sure he’ll make several trips over the next few months.  They also told him where he could go in town to drop some of it off if he needs to get rid of it before the last Saturday.  The people here really are so nice — too bad everything is dead and ugly and the only green is cactus and mesquite trees and those frickin’ gigantic green grasshoppers!

We really didn’t have nearly as much stuff as they thought we did . . it was all paper!  That’s my story and I’m sticking to it!

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Comments

  1. Judy
    Those moving boxes—people on Freecycle are always looking for those—don’t know if you have ever been on those lists, but people are always begging for them here in Houston. Maybe you could offer your stuff via craigslist, if you don’t want to wait til next month. Just a couple ideas.

    Sibyl

  2. Won’t you need all those boxes and paper when you move again to your permanent house, or do movers come again? Just curious.

      • I would still have a hard time getting rid of those boxes and papers quite yet, knowing I was moving again—-even if you have local movers, or move it yourself. I’d find a place to store them until it’s “all over” and you have a permanent place to live.

  4. Yup, that’s where my brain went, you are going to move yet again, whacha gonna put everything in if you get rid of all the boxes? 🙂

    • Since it will be such a short move next time (maybe), we’ll do a lot of it ourselves. Stuff won’t have to be packed like it was packed for the big move. We’ll have local movers and most of what we’ve unpacked, we’ll move ourselves. I can use a lot of green beans and canned tomatoes in 2 months! (And fabric too I hope!) 🙂

  5. Did your movers get paid by the pound? Ours did. I found a pack of never-used paper in one of the boxes we unpacked.
    I second the idea of freecycle. I got rid of a bunch of boxes that way and did a good deed in the process. Self-movers really appreciate the supplies.
    And, FYI, although you don’t need nearly as much as you have, the packing paper works GREAT for paper piecing.

  7. My sister moved several of years ago and I went to help her unpack. The movers used a TON of paper to pack her wicker baskets (the cheap kind), and even more to pack her plastic cups and bowls! They must be paid by the pound of paper and number of boxes!

  8. Too bad you can’t have chickens there, they’d make short work of the grasshoppers.

  9. Although the packers seem to use tons of paper, that is what protects your “stuff” when in a moving truck! The only time we had damage during our many moves, was when the packers skimped on the paper. I’d rather recycle boxes and paper than deal with insurance claims!

  10. I gotta say, I see all of the pictures of Vince and he is always so cheerful looking in them. If I took pics of my husband and posted them, he’d probably be growling. LOL

  11. Judy, I bet with each box you open, you are so happy ! I am so happy for you, too! Your adventure in moving was so suspenseful for us– I can only imagine how stressful for you.

    Yes, like Sibyl said, people on the Freecycle list groups and Craigslist are always looking for boxes and paper, and it is no different here around the Austin and the San Antonio areas. I try to oblige to the Freecycle lists. Then when they are done with it, they can pass it on, or recycle if it has become unusable. Only if there are no takers, do I take it straight to the recyclers.

  12. I gotta second the Freecycle idea. I run the local Freecycle group and we have a dozen requests a week for boxes and packing material. People will come to your house and pick up from you 🙂 Helps you, helps the other people who are moving, saves the planet, win, win, win.

    • I hit the send button to quick….You are super ambitious to be unpacking that much. I think I would be living in boxes but I guess that would be no fun either. Did the people ever get back to you on the other offer?

  15. I see at least one of Vince’s green t-shirts made to Texas! LOL

    This summer, with Texas being so hot and dry, it makes you wonder why we ever fought with Mexico over it doesn’t it?

  16. Who knows what the answer is – the bottom line is you are not settled until all the boxes are empty – hopefully at a permanent location. Both of us are living out of boxes right now and somedays it works. Hope you get that house. Judy C in NC

  19. I’d love to look out my window and see cactus, mesquite and sand. And I’ll take grasshoppers over mosquitoes anytime, any place.

    I really need to apply myself to downsizing my accumulation of stuff and fixing up my house to sell so I can move to Albuquerque like I’ve said I wanted to do ever since I retired 6 years ago.

  20. It’s amaxing those grasshoppers have anything to live on, with the drought! I bet the New Yorkers are wanting a bit less water right about now! It is amazing the amount of natural disasters lately. You just wonder when it will be “your turn”….

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