Last updated Sep. 28, 2022 by Jessica Green
There are plenty of places to get free wooden crates near you. If you’re in need of free wooden crates, here are the 12 best places to visit.
Grocery Stores
Grocery stores often receive shipments of food in wooden crates. They discard these wooden crates after selling their content. You can visit your local grocery store and make enquires about their wooden crates.
Beer Distributors
Beer distributors have stacks of wooden crates that are of no use to them. These crates are usually 4 to 6 feet tall.
You can take permission from the distributors to make use of their crates.
Bakery Supply Stores
Bakeries ship their products on wooden pallets made out of wood. Once the product is delivered, the bakery has use for the crate. Ask your local bakery supply store for their unused wooden crates.
Schools/Universities
Most schools make use of wooden crates to make stages for presentations. There are lots of theatre departments in universities that will give out their container when you request for one.
Electronics Stores/Computer Repair Shops
Many electronics stores ship their products in wooden crates, and once they unpack them, they have no use for the container. Visit your local computer repair shop or electronics store and make a request.
Liquor Stores
If you’re looking for big wooden crates for DIY projects, liquor stores can be an excellent place to get it for free.
Most liquor stores give out wooden crates that are sturdy enough to hold bottles of wine or liquor.
Bookstores
Most bookstores tend to get lots of books shipped in wooden crates and boxes. Many bookstores will be happy to give away their old boxes to save themselves the trouble of disposing of them.
Craigslist
There are always free items listed on Craigslist including wood crates and pallets. If you decide to get a free item from Craigslist, it’s important that you verify the seller’s identity and arrange to pick up the crates in a safe location.
Freecycle
Freecycle is an organization that encourages people to recycle their goods instead of throwing them away. This organization allows its members to give away goods.
If you’re in need of wooden crates, you can visit FreeCycle to find out if there are any crates that have been given out.
Hardware Stores
Hardware stores are one of the best places to look for antique wooden crates. Most hardware stores sell their products in crates from the manufacturer. But once those products have been offloaded from the truck, the store will have no use for the empty crates.
It’s much cheaper for them to throw them away than it is to ship them back to the manufacturer. You can visit any hardware store closest to you for their wooden crates.
Furniture store
Furniture stores often order items in bulk. This means they are likely to have several wooden crates at their disposal.
Many furniture store owners will be happy to give them away for free if you make a request for them.
Warehouses and storage facilities
Warehouses and storage facilities use large wooden crates and boxes to store their products. If you call ahead, many warehouse and storage facility owners will be happy to give these away for free.
