Packing and moving your home requires a lot of supplies. The most important and heavily used supply is the humble cardboard box. While cardboard is a relatively inexpensive and widely available material, there are benefits to keeping your boxes when you’re finished. Choosing to reuse boxes either from a prior move or from somebody else can benefit you as well.

Here are the key reasons to reuse your cardboard moving boxes:

Save Money

You can buy brand-new moving boxes from a variety of retailers ranging from home improvement stores to post office branches. They come in plenty of sizes and shapes to fit your needs and belongings. While each box is inexpensive—sometimes less than a dollar each—you need a lot of them. Even a studio apartment of less than 1000 square feet could require 20 to 30 boxes. This adds up quickly when buying boxes. Multi-bedroom homes can easily spend over $100 on boxes alone.

While there are definite advantages to buying boxes (clean, no damage, etc) you might save your moving budget by reusing old boxes.

Help the Environment

A standard cardboard box will last a long time if stored properly. By breaking down boxes and stacking them flat in a clean, dry space, you can expect to reuse the same boxes for two or three moves before they show signs of damage. That alone is a good reason to keep them rather than throw them away, but keeping your old boxes will also help keep all that cardboard out of landfills. Even with careful recycling, a vast amount of cardboard boxes end up in the trash.

Reusing your own boxes or using free boxes is an eco-friendly choice. Not only can you make your next move more convenient, you can do your part to reduce consumption and waste.

If you know you won’t need your boxes again or otherwise don’t want to keep them, donate or recycle responsibly. People are always moving and looking for free boxes, so by passing yours on to the next person you’re helping everybody be more cost-efficient and eco-friendly.