Moving Tips to Make your Next Move Greener!
Whether you’re making a move for your green business or your home, you can reduce your carbon footprint and save money during your move with these simple moving tips. Following these simple moving tips will help you save time, money and reduce the waste associated with moving. Read on about how to make your next move green!
Don’t buy new boxes. This is the number one rule that most people break. You don’t need brand new boxes! Buying cardboard boxes from U-Haul or UPS can be really expensive— save some money and go green by using recycled ones.
Why not ask friends if they have any extra boxes from their last move? Or visit local grocery stores, farmer’s markets, coffee shops and apparel stores and ask if they’ll give you their boxes. Don’t forget about packing peanuts too—most times stores just throw them out, so don’t let them go to waste! (And when they are finished, some companies like UPS store will take used peanuts back for reusing!)
Another way to go green is to rent packing boxes, bins, and crates from moving companies like Rent-a-Crate. All you have to do is rent the boxes, fill them, and then send them back so the next person can use them! This saves many people the hassle of buying boxes while saving the environment too.
Take a look around your house. There are probably packing materials lying around your house that you didn’t even think to re-purpose for moving. You can use your own blankets to protect fragile mirrors, pictures, etc., but make sure they can be easily cleaned. This way, your things serve dual purpose—you can move them while protecting fragile belongings AND you aren’t wasting money and materials by purchasing bubble wrap.
Sort, Sort, Sort. One of the worst parts about moving is unpacking everything in your new space, only to realize that some of the stuff you packed you didn’t need to move at all. Avoid this terrible feeling by sorting through your belongings BEFORE the big move day! That way, you aren’t wasting precious space in those recycled boxes, and you’re saving time by not having movers load and unload more things onto their truck.
Most importantly, be prepared! Make sure you start preparing for your move weeks ahead of time—this way you can take stock of what you own, pare down the number of items you need/want to move, and begin to realize what moving materials you have already lying around the house. If you prepare, it’s easy to make your move green—and the environment and your wallet will thank you.
Green Living Ideas would like to thank Tara Chila, blogger for Transit Systems, Inc., for writing and sponsoring this post about moving tips. Tara also blogs about travel, house & home, kids, parenting, and recipes. Transit Systems specializes in a variety of shipping and moving services including international shipping.
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